The 24th International Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibition, EuroBLECH 2016, ended today after five successful show days. A total of 60,636 visitors from some 100 different countries came to Hanover to get an overview of the latest technical developments in sheet metal processing and invest in new production equipment. A total of 1,503 companies from 41 countries exhibited at this year’s show.

The trend for digitised manufacturing boosts innovation and business activity in the sheet metal working industry and its leading industry exhibition,” says Nicola Hamann, Managing Director of the organisers, Mack Brooks Exhibitions. “The atmosphere at this year’s show was filled with an overall fascination about the recent technological advancements and the large number of positive international business contacts.”

With an increase of 2% in visitor numbers compared to the previous show, this year’s EuroBLECH clearly surpassed the 60,000 visitor mark. Not even the strike of two German airlines on the third exhibition day had an impact on the buoyant mood of the participants and the positive development of the visitor numbers. The results of this year’s EuroBLECH, a barometer of the industry sector, show a record floor space of some 88,000 square metres net and a sustainable increase in visitor numbers; this demonstrates a healthy economic outlook for the industry sector with its global business activity”, explains Nicola Hamann.

A total of 39% of visitors and 54% of exhibitors came from outside Germany at this year’s show. This is a further increase by 2% each compared to the previous show and represents a record percentage in international attendance. EuroBLECH 2016 saw a major increase in Asian visitors (+30%), but also in visitors from EU countries outside Germany (+11%). Major visitor countries, next to Germany, included the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Great Britain, Turkey and India.

A great majority of the visitors came from the industry (80%), followed by visitors from workshops, trade and services. Most important sectors the visitors belonged to were engineering, sheet metal & products, steel and aluminium construction as well as the automotive industry and its suppliers.

With 99% the percentage of trade visitors was, once again, very high. Besides the high rate of international visitors the exhibition could, once again, register a high percentage of visitors from the top management with decision-making and buying capacity. The percentage of visitors involved in decision-making has increased by 3% to a total of 84%.

The preliminary results of the exhibition survey show that both exhibitors and visitors at this year’s EuroBLECH were highly satisfied. The visitors praised the completeness and international range of the products on display. The exhibitors praised the qualified and international audience with its high percentage of decision-makers. The exhibitors also stated that they had met a large number of new business contacts. Three quarters of all exhibitors stated on-site that they intended to exhibit again at the next EuroBLECH, held from 23 – 27 October 2018 in Hanover, Germany.

Next year Mack Brooks Exhibitions will organise BLECH India, from 27 – 29 April 2017, in Mumbai. In spring 2018 the organisers of EuroBLECH will hold Indo Sheet Metal, from 7 – 9 March 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia, and AsiaBLECH, from 8 -10 May 2018, in Shanghai, China

By means of a smartphone, customers can get in contact with the service in order to receive expert help directly at their facility.

Competent help directly at the facility: The new free service app from Schuler makes exactly that possible. Through their smartphone, customers can quickly find answers to their questions and help solve a problem, for example, by evaluating the Schuler experts’ pictures and videos, which were entered via the app. The software is part of the SmartPress Shop concept, with which Schuler will present solutions for networking in forming technology at the EuroBLECH trade fair in Hanover.

“With the Service App, we are even better able to help our customers increase the availability of their systems and minimize downtimes,” says Managing Director Axel Meyer, Head of the Service Division at Schuler. “The dialog with Schuler’s experts on the intuitive software usually leads to a faster problem solu- tion. Through their smartphone, the customers receive a competent support from us while they are at their press. It can not get any faster. ”

With the experience of tens of thousands of installed Schuler presses in the background, the service can often locate the cause relatively easily by means of the image or video file that the customer has recorded on the system with the app. If a component has to be exchanged, the user can capture it with the camera of his smartphone and send a request to the service using the part number.

If necessary, the service hotline can also be called from the app. On request, users can also receive product information and service news – for example, on appointments for training courses or software updates for plant controls – as push messages on their mobile phones to keep up to date.

EuroBLECH 2016 will open its doors in Hanover, Germany. The exhibition will, once again, be the meeting place for sheet metal working professionals from all over the world looking to find enhanced machinery and innovative production solutions. Visitors will be able to discover an extensive variety of products, from conventional systems to high-tech solutions, and gain an insight into the latest technological advancements in sheet metal working. With this year’s theme “The New Generation of Sheet Metal Working”, EuroBLECH 2016 reflects the trend towards digitalisation and smart manufacturing in modern sheet metal processing. Five months ahead of the show, the organisers, Mack Brooks Exhibitions, announce a further increase in exhibition space of the world’s leading trade show for this industry sector.

A total of 1,522 exhibitors from 40 countries have already secured their stand space at this year’s EuroBLECH, the 24th International Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibition, covering a net exhibition space of more than 90,000 square metres across eight halls at the Hanover Exhibition Grounds. This represents an increase in net floor space of 4% compared with the previous exhibition and reflects the fact that exhibiting companies have booked bigger stands to demonstrate an even larger choice of enhanced machinery and cutting- edge solutions. Major exhibitor countries are Germany, Italy, China, Turkey, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Great Britain and the USA. EuroBLECH is traditionally renowned as a highly international event. The previous exhibition was more international than ever, with 52% of exhibitors and 37% of visitors coming from outside Germany. A total of 59,618 trade visitors from 105 countries attended the event in 2014.

The New Generation of Sheet Metal Working

Today’s production is undergoing major changes. Automated production, machine-to- machine communication, intelligent process chains – smart manufacturing has now become an integral part of sheet metal working. Data exchange along the entire production value chain paves the way for optimised manufacturing processes, improved planning reliability, more flexibility and higher product quality. With product variety increasing and batch sizes decreasing, manufacturing processes in sheet metal working are becoming ever more complex and require highly efficient and flexible solutions. Companies in the industry sector are, therefore, currently facing an environment of change that requires vital decisions for the long-term adaptation of their production processes.

With this year’s theme “The New Generation of Sheet Metal Working” EuroBLECH reflects the prevailing somewhat revolutionary development in production technology. As the global business barometer and leading industry platform for the sheet metal working industry, EuroBLECH will present a large variety of tailor-made solutions for optimising and modernising production processes. Exhibiting companies will put a comprehensive range of machinery, tools and systems for the entire value chain of sheet metal processing on display. The exhibition profile includes sheet metal, semi-finished and finished products, welding and surface treatment, processing of hybrid structures, tools, quality control, CAD/CAM/CIM systems and R&D.

Visitors will be able to see live demonstrations of a large variety of machinery and systems and discuss practical applications with top industry experts. The show targets all sheet metal working specialists at every management level in small and medium-sized companies as well as large enterprises. Visitors include design engineers, production managers, quality managers, buyers, manufacturers, technical directors and experts in associations and R&D.

Information for visitors

A visitor brochure in twelve languages is now available from the organisers and can be ordered via the multi-lingual show website www.euroblech.com. The leaflet includes the show profile, a plan of the exhibition halls, practical information about the exhibition as well as useful information on travel and accommodation.

The online exhibitor list, available at www.euroblech.com, is regularly updated and provides plenty of information on exhibiting companies. The online newsletter “EuroBLECH Bulletin” offers latest news about the show, its exhibitors and the industry sector. EuroBLECH can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. The official hashtag is #euroblech.

EuroBLECH 2016 will be open from Tuesday, 25th October 2016, to Friday, 28th October 2016, from 9.00 – 18.00 and on Saturday, 29th October 2016, from 9.00 – 15.00. The show will take place in halls 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 27 at the Hanover Exhibition Grounds in Germany.

50 percent less energy consumption, longer die service lives and greater precision: these are the benefits offered by Schuler Beutler’s newly developed MSC-2000 automatic blanking press with ServoDirect Technology. The new machine generation features two electrically coupled, freely programmable pressure points without gear transmission. By linking the pressure points in the press uprights, the machine’s rigidity has been significantly increased. The innovation has now received the “Award to EuroBLECH” in the category blanking by the trade magazines blechnet and MM MaschinenMarkt.

“The MSC-2000’s highly precise and efficient part production opens up new perspectives for blanking and forming businesses – while at the same time being extremely good value for money,” explains Joachim Beyer, the Chief Technology Officer of Schuler AG. “The drive concept represents a leap in innovation, as it offers the complete functionality of ServoDirect Technology and allows flexible adjustment to all conceivable die functions and forming processes.”

Play-free and lubrication-free drivetrain
The play-free and lubrication-free drivetrain consists of a highly dynamic servo motor, brake module and eccentric shaft with conrods, knuckle-joint and slide. The new MSC-2000 automatic blanking press uses two such drivetrains facing each other – synchronized via the drive control – which deliver a press force of 2,000 kilonewtons.

“There are pre-programmed profiles for knuckle-joint standard, blanking, coining, bending and drawing processes,” explains Adrian Achermann, General Manager of the Schuler subsidiary Beutler Nova. After adapting the slide motion to the workpiece, the servo direct drive also enables the user to raise the speed – and thus also the output performance in oscillating mode. Thanks to the freely programmable slide movement, dies can also be set up quickly in production.

The drivetrain’s reduced mass moment of inertia increases the dynamic response of the slide movement. Together with the lack of gear transmission and the use of roller bearings, this cuts electrical power consumption by more than 50 percent. Users can also confirm this whenever and wherever they so wish: press data can be accessed from anywhere, for example via smartphone.

The Sheet Metal Division of DANOBAT is taking part from 21 to 25 October in the 23rd International Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibition, EuroBlech, which will open its door again in Hanover, Germany.

As the world’s leading exhibition and business barometer for the sheet metal working industry, EuroBLECH offers its audience a comprehensive idea of the prevailing technological trends. DANOBAT will be present at Hall 12, stand B49, with an area of 300 sqm, where it will be shown its fiber laser cutting machine model IRIS, which is equipped with a 4 kW power source, which enables the cutting of higher thicknesses and getting better cutting qualities, and an electric punch-shear combination machine CUPRA, a fully servo-electric and low consumption machine.

As in previous editions of EuroBlech, DANOBAT hopes to strengthen its relationship with its international clients so that it can face the current economic situation from a strong position.