Around 80,000 expected at MAKTEK

The eight edition of MAKTEK Eurasia,a major international exhibition for metal-cuttingmachine Tools, metal-forming machinery, tooling,metrology, CADCAM software and many other manufacturing technologies will take place on 30 September to 5 October 2024. Taking place at the Tüyap Fair and Congress Centre in Istanbul, the show will provide access to the latest technologies, innovations, industry trends and co-operation opportunities.

The previous edition of this biennial exhibition in 2022 saw 1000 exhibitor span 14 halls across 120,000 m² of floor space. In total, nearly 80,000 visitors were in attendance. According to an organiser survey, nearly 62% attended the show to see new innovations, while almost 49% visited to make contact with new suppliers.

More information www.maktekfuari.com/en

Plan, manage and optimise factories in digital reality

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has launched a new digitalisation solution, Digital Factory, to help manufacturers build accurate digital replicas of their plants. It enables manufacturers to optimise floor plans and quickly pivot production lines, and prepare for smarter and more sustainable future factories with open interfaces that enable digital twins of shop-floor assets. Such solutions could save a global manufacturing company millions of pounds a year by avoiding costly mistakes and offering a 50% reduction in travel costs and on-site training. 

Hexagon addresses this issue through its expertise in: reality capture and surveying equipment; software to visualise, explore and simulate scenarios in 3D; and high-productivity cloud-native collaboration workflows. Digitalisation technologies are a proven technology with over two decades of use in civil infrastructure, architecture and public safety. However, their potential has yet to see full realisation in the manufacturing space, where significant disruption now requires manufacturers to rethink their production equipment and use of space.

According to research, 32% of manufacturers believe that outdated or ineffective manual processes and workflows are barriers to productivity and collaboration. Digital Factory is a future-ready alternative to traditional factory planning that enables manufacturerstoramp up productivity and increase efficiency in remodelling, preventing costly mistakes. It also empowers more efficient collaboration between manufacturing and operations teams from anywhere in the world. The core of the solution is improved access to up-to-date data in immersive virtual environments that reflect reality, addressing a major barrier that smart factory initiatives face today. 

Hexagon offers complete workflows to ensure manufacturers achieve the maximum value, from scanning the factory and processing the data into actionable 3D models for various applications, to managing the data in the cloud.

More information www.bit.ly/4eiiB3J

BLM’s MES software now for all machines

“ProTube Enterprise is the Manufacturing Execution System [MES] developed by our Software Division for production management of BLM Group’s tube processing, cutting and bending machines, with an awareness of the ever-increasing importance of software in the development of advanced manufacturing solutions,” says Paolo Benatti (pictured), technical director of BLM Group’s Software Division. “Now, the system is being extended to embrace sheet metal processing. ProTube Enterprise therefore changes its name and becomes Prometheus, keeping the fundamental aspects unchanged: a single communication interface with the customer’s ERP, a single order and job management system, a single planning system, and a single monitoring dashboard.”

The extension of production management to sheet metal laser cutting represents a major step forward in offering integrated solutions. Through a single management system, the customer has a complete and unified view of all production processes, regardless of the technology used. This allows for greater flexibility and ease in the planning and execution of jobs. Through the communication interface, enriched for unified tube and sheet metal management, the customer can interact directly with orders, monitor production progress, manage any rejects by preparing corresponding completion orders if necessary, and receive notifications in real time.

“Thanks to Prometheus, the customer can constantly monitor the status of the machines, control production in real time, and intervene promptly in case of any problems such as redirecting production from a machine stopped for maintenance to another,” says Benatti. “With Prometheus, the user does not perceive the technological differences of the various

connected machines, but rather a same management mode for all plants, which facilitates the operator.”

More information www.blmgroup.com

AI-powered quotes available via MakerVerse

MakerVerse, a platform for sourcing industrial parts, is releasinga new version of its AI-based automatic pricing technology. The latestversion enables precise and customisable auto-quotes for CNCmanufactured parts, taking into account full component specifications based on 2D drawings. Auto quoting is available for over 150 materials and 35 different surface finishes.

According to MakerVerse, the automatic pricing feature is the first of its kind due to its approach to extracting and analysing geometric metadata from 3D files and product manufacturing information (PMI) from traditional 2D technical drawings. This dual extraction process automatically configures all requirements, features and tolerances, saving time and manual errors. MakerVerse’s approach guarantees that the price reflects the exact specifications defined by the customer rather than using general tolerances and standards.

“By integrating advanced AI technologies, we can fully understand the part design and extract critical manufacturing information directly from customer files,” says Markus Seibold, CEO of MakerVerse. “This capability allows us to provide a price for the component exactly as defined by the customer, ensuring precision and consistency from design to delivery.”

Using the combined geometric and PMI data, MakerVerse’s CNC pricing engine generates a quote for the part in minutes.

“By automating the pricing process and leveraging detailed data extraction, we not only increase efficiency but also provide our customers with precision and reliability in their manufacturing processes,” states Manish Katoch, CTO of MakerVerse.

While the current system generates a price in minutes, MakerVerse is already working on reducing this process to seconds. This next innovation will enhance the user experience further by providing immediate pricing feedback, enabling faster decision-making and streamlined procurement processes.

More information www.makerverse.com

Vericut provides boost for major machining company

EMGE AŞ, a major machining company in Türkiye with more than 40 CNC machines on site, is now benefiting from the introduction of Vericut verification, simulation and optimisation software. This astute investment is helping the company to drive higher levels of efficiency and reliability in its extensive machining operations, which see the manufacture of around 1.5 million parts per annum from materials that include aluminium, steel, titanium and composites.

“After introducing 5S, Kaizen and lean production strategies, we decided to invest in Vericut as a means of reducing set-up times in our production processes,” explains Emre Uluhan, a mechanical engineer with responsibility for EMGE’s NC Programming Department. “This decision enables us to detect potential machining errors beforehand, simulate multiple operations in a single file, and execute them swiftly and reliably. Additionally, we can create specific simulation templates for new machines added to our inventory.”

Before Vericut, the process of simulating and verifying operations at EMGE was vastly different.

“We previously had to create separate simulation files for each operation, which led to inefficiencies due to the time required,” he says. “In contrast, using Vericut means we need just a single session to simulate programs of parts produced using multiple set-ups. Vericut operates so quickly and reliably that we observed an increase in our production efficiency from the very first moment of using it.”

EMGE reports a reduction in processing times for first article inspection (FAI) parts of 50% thanks to the confidence provided by Vericut simulations.

“I would recommend Vericut to any manufacturer that wants to prioritise machine efficiency, reduce part processing costs and avoid material wastage due to high material costs,” concludes Uluhan.

More information www.vericut.com