EuroBLECH 2012 – Plan your visit now and save!

From 23 – 27 October 2012 the world’s leading technology exhibition for sheet metal working will open its doors in Hanover, Germany. EuroBLECH 2012 will, once again, be an important industry barometer for everyone involved in sheet metal working.

Visitors who buy their tickets in advance from the online ticket shop at www.euroblech.com will save money and time on-site. The day ticket entry price on-site is €32; visitors who buy online pay €26. The season ticket price on-site is €52, online it is €46.Visitors who already received an invitation or complimentary admission ticket can now activate their ticket online and avoid queuing at the show.

EuroBLECH 2012 is open from Tuesday, 23 October to Friday, 26 October 2012, from 09:00 - 18:00 and on Saturday, 27 October 2012, from 09:00 - 15:00.

Hanover, with its excellent infrastructure, can easily be reached by air, train, car and public transport. Drivers can find extensive parking areas directly at the exhibition grounds. The train station ‘Hannover Laatzen’ is directly linked with entrance ‘West 1’ via the ‘Skywalk’. In addition to regional trains, high speed ICE-trains stop at this station during exhibitions. The German railway company “Deutsche Bahn” offers special prices for visitors to EuroBLECH. German airline Lufthansa also offers reduced rates for flights to Hanover during EuroBLECH.

World-famous for international exhibitions, Hanover offers accommodation of all ratings. Numerous travel agencies world-wide, offer travel packages to EuroBLECH 2012.

http://www.euroblech.com/english/visitors/travel/

EuroBLECH 2012 Show Preview available

The new online EuroBLECH 2012 Show Preview with detailed information on many exhibitors and their products is now available. With this user-friendly online version visitors will be able to create and print their personalised Show Preview, with company and product descriptions sorted by hall or category.

With this year’s theme “For a sustainable future”, EuroBLECH will showcase ideas and expertise with a special focus on energy efficient technology, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and intelligent use of material. The new official EuroBLECH 2012 Online Show Preview gives visitors an idea of the wide variety of products and services on display from 23 – 27 October 2012 in Hanover. Hundreds of exhibiting companies provide detailed information about their exhibits, their new technologies and sophisticated solutions.

We hope you enjoy browsing the Show Preview and look forward to welcoming you to EuroBLECH 2012.

http://www.euroblech.com/preview/english/

Seminars alongside EuroBLECH 2012

The upcoming EuroBLECH 2012 will host a series of seminars alongside the exhibition. The second International Seminar on Hot Sheet Metal Forming Technology will take place on the 24th and 25th of October 2012 at the Hanover Exhibition Grounds. Organisers of this seminar are CHS² and Grundig Akademie.

The German Association Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME) is organising a special purchasing conference at the exhibition grounds’ Convention Center (CC) on Thursday, 25 October. The conference focuses on trends and key-issues concerning industrial procurement, e.g. market development and key performance indicators in steel purchasing, best practice examples within the fields of energy procurement, process optimisation within inventory management as well as career opportunities in purchasing.

Information on all seminars held alongside EuroBLECH 2012 can be found on the exhibition website.

http://www.euroblech.com/english/visitors/seminars/

Awards at EuroBLECH 2012

Vogel Business Media, publishers of the official EuroBLECH Show Daily, will, once again, be awarding a price for the most innovative exhibits at EuroBLECH 2012.

An expert jury will examine and choose innovative machines, tools, processes and tools exhibited in the categories Forming, Stamping, Automation, Joining, Cutting, Tools and Surface technology. The Awards will be handed over at EuroBLECH 2012 in an official Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, 23 October 2012.

Positive outlook for the automotive market in Eastern Europe

Car sales in Rumania fell below expectations during the first six months of 2012, according to the German foreign trade agency gtai. However, news on the manufacturing front was positive, with Ford and Dacia producing new models there and suppliers also reporting increases. gtai rates Russia as one of the driving forces in this sector, with car sales forecast to exceed 2.8 million units in 2012. Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation is expected to have a positive effect, thanks to a reduction in the import duties it levies, although the beneficial effects of this measure are partially offset by a new scrappage charge for imported vehicles; this further fosters the trend towards production in Russia itself. The situation in the Czech Republic is also quite favourable, according to gtai, not just in terms of production and exports, but also in vehicle sales on the domestic market. Suppliers in the Czech Republic also continue to increase their commitment to the country.

http://www.gtai.de/GTAI/Navigation/EN/invest.html

Slight reduction for domestic appliances market in the UK

In the UK, the major domestic appliances (MDA) market posted a slight reduction (-1%) in the first six months of 2012, according to GfK TEMAX, a market research company. However, refrigeration equipment provided a stabilising force with an increase of 1% over the same period. The market value for the six main categories of MDAs (washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, cookers) now stands at £340 million. However, the outlook for the second half of 2012 is unclear, with a slowdown possible.

http://www.gfkrt.com

Eurofer expects moderate steel market recovery in 2Q 2013

According to Eurofer’s quarterly steel market outlook, published in July 2012, market fundamentals may remain depressed longer than expected. Only from the 2nd quarter of 2013 onwards is EU steel demand forecast to improve again, said the organisation. Solid order books have softened the manufacturing sector downturn, according to Eurofer. The organisation fears, however, that corporate and consumer retrenchment will result in fewer new orders for the time being. Construction activity across the EU is likely to remain under pressure as well, which may backfire on steel sales in the EU, with demand in the 2nd half of 2012 seen as stabilising around the depressed levels of H2-2011. Eurofer's director-general Gordon Moffat is quoted as saying: "Our base case scenario is still a moderate improvement of the business cycle in 2013 and a corresponding pick-up in real and apparent consumption. However, confidence and access to finance need to improve to get the market moving upward again". The full report is available as a PDF document from Eurofer's website.

http://www.eurofer.be

Updated control system for ARKU FlatMaster series

The completely updated control system for the ARKU FlatMaster series offers a clear and intuitive user interface. The precision leveller series with its models for sheet thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 60mm can now be set up for levelling in a matter of seconds. Optional extras are a reverse levelling function and a fully automatic rotating unit. This can deliver time savings of up to 50% combined with best flatness results, particularly for symmetrical sheet metal parts.

The reliable feed series ARKU ServoMaster HiSpeed has also been revised. Now the new roll feed can achieve accelerations of up to 60m/s². The ServoMaster series is designed for applications with strip cross-sections of up to 1,500mm². Feed precision exceeds +/-0.1mm and the roll feed system sets the standard with its technical availability of 95 to 98%.

Image: ARKU FlatMaster 88 now with updated control system. Photo: ARKU

http://www.arku.de/en/home.html

Lean - the new L-Class spot and projection welding machines from DALEX

Lean - the new L-Class spot and projection welding machines from DALEX increase welding economy. The new resistance welding units feature a robust design and excel in terms of short retooling times. Furthermore, the newly developed welding control system makes for exceptionally easy operation of the machines. The range includes the L4 type units for spot welding and L6 systems for projection welding, and all models are available as either alternating current or middle-frequency versions.

Another innovation is the 2-S transformer which reaches 48 volts. Whereas conventional transformers usually deliver an idling voltage of between 6 and 16 volts, the new 2-S transformer generates up to 48 volts, depending on welding resistance. This means that resistance from surface coatings or contamination of the workpiece can be overcome without the usual problems.

Image: Dr. Walther Spies, managing director and shareholder of DALEX, presents the new L-class of welding machines. Photo: DALEX

http://www.dalex.de/index.php?id=11&L=1

Georg supplies new high-performance slitting line for German Steel Service Centre Delta-Stahl

Commissioning of the new slitting line means that Delta-Stahl will be able to increase production capacity and also process material of higher strengths more efficiently. The new line has been designed for processing steel coils of material widths up to 1.800mm and thickness ranges from 0.25 to 4.18mm, whereby the master coils are separated into max. 50 strips and then recoiled with straight edges. The line runs at a speed of max. 400m/min. at highest quality standard in terms of cutting result and surface quality. This applies particularly to the material strength ranges of up to 1,400N/mm demanded today.

Image: With Georg's new high-performance slitting line, Delta-Stahl is able to cut strip material in the quality grades required by the automotive industry.

http://www.georg.com

Mazak integrated its laser cutting and machine tool operations

Mazak integrated its laser cutting and machine tool operations in April 2012, in order to provide an even more comprehensive metal cutting solution. The company now offers a range of over 240 machines in total, including some 40 different laser processing models. The range of laser machines includes models for processing 2D sheet materials as well as 3D tube and profiles; these machines are renowned for their high accuracy, reliability, power and flexibility. One of the latest units available is the new 2.5kW version of the 3D FABRI GEAR 220 Mk II, a fully automated, ultra-reliable 3D laser machine specifically designed for the machining of long components. The machine is one of Mazak’s largest, capable of cutting numerous shapes, from round to triangular, square, rectangular pipe and structural material to a length of up to 8m. Also new is the advanced laser machine OPTIPLEX 3015, featuring exceptionally high productivity with a 120m/min rapid traverse rate and a 2.5kW resonator, ensuring high speed cutting of thick, mild carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium worksheets. Crucially, the OPTIPLEX 3015 is capable of highly accurate positioning to within ±0.05 / 500 mm on X-, Y-axis and ±0.01 / 100 mm on the Z-axis.

Image: Mazak’s OPTIPLEX 3015 fibre channels increase beam density and deliver greater laser energy into the cut, making it ideal for high speed cutting of thin worksheets. Photo: Mazak

http://www.mazak.eu

Unpickled hot-rolled strip in widths of up to 2,000 mm

Unpickled hot-rolled strip in widths of up to 2,000 mm (6.5 ft) is now available from Salzgitter Flachstahl. The company's hot-rolling line has been rebuilt to produce nominal widths from 900mm to 2,000mm, with very tight tolerances, depending on the type of steel. Widths exceeding 1,880mm (6 ft) can be produced as wide sheet or plate for a broad variety of applications. The spectrum of steel types includes simple construction steels, micro-alloyed steels and pipe input stock to API X80, carbon steels (to C-80), alloyed or heat-treated steels as well as high-temperature steels and copper-alloyed steels for railcar construction. The milling thicknesses lie between 1.5 mm and 25.4 mm, and the milling widths depend on the DIN EN 10051 strength class. The specific dimensions available depend on the particular steel strength. Pickled hot-rolled wide strip can be provided in nominal widths of maximum 1,880mm (6.16 ft), also subject to the type of steel.

http://www.salzgitter-flachstahl.de/en/

Schuler’s new Crossbar Robot significantly speeds up parts transport in press lines

Crossbar Robots are mounted overhead and are similar in their movement and motion freedom to the human arm - except that they use negative pressure and suction cups instead of fingers to pick up the blanks, reposition them where necessary, and release them again. The new unit introduced by Schuler is lighter, faster and more compact than its predecessor and ensures that stamped parts are moved quickly and safely from one station of a press line to the next. The unit, which is also suitable for machine retrofits, features a very compact design and highly dynamic servo motors, and whereas a press line equipped with the former model could reach a maximum output of twelve parts per minute, up to 14 parts per minute will now be possible. The new robot is currently in the test phase and is due to be released in the coming months. Like its predecessor, the new Crossbar Robot is based on a tried-and-tested 6-axis standard robot. However, Schuler Automation’s engineers have given it an extra joint, the crossbar, and attached tooling to pick up the metal part. Including the overhead track, the number of axes increases from six to eight - and with it manoeuvrability. This is particularly beneficial when transporting large parts, such as the typical wing of a Porsche. The maximum carrying weight is 90 kilograms; after deducting tooling, the maximum part weight is 50 to 60 kilograms.

For older press lines, being retrofitted with Crossbar Robots can result in a genuine quantum leap in productivity: in many cases, a feeder unloads parts and temporarily deposits them between two presses before a different feeder picks them up and loads them into the next station. Schuler’s Crossbar Robots transport the parts directly, thus replacing the need for two devices with tooling and the intermediate station.

Image: Thanks to its compact design, the new Crossbar Robot can move more parts per minute. Photo: Schuler

http://www.schulergroup.com/technologien/

Latest version of SPI sheet metal processing software

The latest version of SPI sheet metal processing software permits the unfolding of freely formed shapes which have so far been considered impossible to produce in conventional bending processes. The added analytical function of the software also permits the sub-division of any freely formed area into flat, cylindrical and continuously bent sections. The SPI system works independently from the shape of any model and its main aim is to avoid opposing bend angles in the unfolded part. The result is a marked reduction in individual processing steps whilst maintaining precision in production. The new SPI software now also permits the forming of bullet corners involving various bending angles in angular or rounded designs. This function is intended for corner designs where two or three bends meet. In the course of processing, the facets generated are bent one by one on top of each other, ultimately resulting in the desired bullet corner.

Image: SPI software permits the generation of bullet corners in sheet metal designs. Graph: SPI

http://www.spi.de