HYDRA MES boosts shopfloor connectivity
The new MPDV Shopfloor Connectivity Suite drastically cuts the time it takes for manufacturing companies to connect mixed machinery to the internal HYDRA Manufacturing Execution System (MES) – creating total manufacturing transparency.

Machines and systems in the manufacturing industry are seldom a perfect match, no matter the size of the company. Businesses can make their production processes more efficient and boost their competitiveness by integrating their machines into manufacturing execution systems (MES) - but this generally involves a great deal of effort. Efficient production calls for transparency, which in turn requires methodical data capture on the shop floor - and this can only be achieved by interlinking machines and connecting them with an MES. Until now, it could take anything up to an entire day to connect a machine, depending on its make and complexity. But the Shopfloor Connectivity Suite that MPDV Mikrolab GmbH is showcasing at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 can accelerate the process no end and reduce the time required to just one hour in some cases.

It achieves these massive time savings by assisting machine connection in four clear-cut stages: 1. Determining the input channels, 2. Selecting and setting the driver, 3. Configuring the data source, and 4. Connecting the channels. If required, the chosen settings can then be used as a template for other areas or plants. The Shopfloor Connectivity Suite includes an extensive library of drivers and interfaces, and customized configurations can be added with ease. The accompanying software package contains a user-friendly driver development kit for this purpose. In short, HYDRA provides manufacturing companies with an extensive and easy-to-operate tool for interlinking their machines that enables them to capture more data with very little configuration effort involved.

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3D x 2 makes 6D
LEONI protec cable systems GmbH is unveiling a laser sensor system at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 that works in up to six dimensions - the new advintec 6D laser measurement calibration system measures grippers and components inline.

The precise measurement of grippers and the components in their grasp presents a great challenge in process automation - for instance, in powertrain applications or where engine or transmission parts need measuring. Local company LEONI protec cable systems GmbH has succeeded in developing a system that uses a fully automatic inline process to accurately measure grippers and components and ensure objects are gripped correctly – and it’s unveiling this advintec 6D laser measuring system at HANNOVER MESSE 2016.

What makes the advintec 6D laser measuring system so special is the laser sensors' ability to work in up to six dimensions so that changes to either the gripper or the position of the part can be quickly detected and corrected online. This not only avoids collisions but also helps get positioning as accurate as possible. The ultra-precise advintec 6D laser measuring system operates without any aids or reference components, which not only saves costs but also automatically corrects the robot’s programming directly and automatically – and without interrupting the production process. There is no need for manual program corrections, the system is easy to integrate and operate, and it’s simple to commission using the supplied robot program. This also makes it a very attractively priced alternative to conventional mechanical systems. Last but not least, the advintec 6D laser measuring system offers increased plant availability, exceptional quality assurance, trouble-free scalability and standardization.

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The virtual employee that lightens the load
Celebrating its premiere at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an innovative solution for automating business processes, such as ERP and PLM, which it performs like a virtual employee.

The Robotic Process Automation (RPA) that Roboyo GmbH from Baldham in Upper Bavaria, Germany, is unveiling in the Young & Innovative Digital Factory is an innovative technology for automating structured business processes. The company is in Hannover to show how RPA can work like a virtual employee to interact with applications’ user interfaces and carry out structured processes automatically.

The company name Roboyo derives from the word robot and the Spanish term for help, "apoyo", which neatly sums up what RPA does - it provides robots that help. In actual fact, this doesn’t mean a humanoid co-worker built from steel and circuit boards sitting at a keyboard and operating business applications such as ERP systems, PLM systems, Office applications, etc., but rather a virtual binary assistant, made up of ones and zeros – in other words, a software robot. It works round the clock, makes no mistakes, cuts costs and documents all work seamlessly. All in all, this makes RPA an extremely handy assistant for mastering the strategic challenges presented by the digital revolution, Industry 4.0 and the changing world of work - and it represents another revolutionary step in intelligent process automation.

Take the driving seat in value creation!
Visitors to the SEW-EURODRIVE showcase factory at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 can try out two exciting roles for themselves - either as a customer configuring a gearmotor or as a plant manager directing a product through the assembly line.

As a family business with operations worldwide, SEW-EURODRIVE has been setting standards in drive technology for some 85 years. It is at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to present its highly efficient solutions for end-to-end process and logistics chains. For this year’s fair, the company has recreated a section of the showcase factory based at its production and logistics site in Graben-Neudorf - perfect for helping company directors, designers and project planners get a clear picture of what the Industry 4.0 concept is all about.

Featuring an authentic gearmotor assembly unit, this exceptionally impressive model makes use of the full range of modular SEW-EURODRIVE technology and shows exactly how logistics processes can be designed to Industry 4.0 standards using flexible, autonomous logistics assistants. In addition to the Bruchsal-based company's main specialism of drive technology, a range of other fields of expertise are also on show, including control and automation technology, navigation, energy supply and storage, visualization, object-oriented parameterization and simulation. What’s more, this is by no means just a simple demonstration. In fact, visitors to the SEW-EURODRIVE stand can take on an active role themselves - either as a customer using the model to configure a personalized gearmotor, or as a creative manufacturer directing a product through assembly using a control system inspired by the world of gaming.

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The heart of Industry 4.0 – people

Bosch Rexroth is exhibiting the new Active Cockpit production information system at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, using a modular production line with five intelligent, networked stations to show that humans won’t have to give up the reins any time soon.

Dr. Steffen Haack, member of the Executive Board at Bosch Rexroth AG responsible for the Industrial Applications business unit and sales, is confident: “Employee acceptance is crucial to the success of Industry 4.0. During numerous pilot projects, we have built up a great deal of experience in our own production plants and used this as a basis for developing new system solutions that support both processes and the people working in a networked factory.” The latest developments, which the company is showcasing at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, include the Active Cockpit, a new production information system that has been designed to boost productivity by providing better information.

The Active Cockpit is an interactive web-based communication platform that records all the relevant data from a production line and updates it dynamically. However, crucially, it also maps out this information in real-time visualizations, directly at the production line. As a result, the Active Cockpit serves as a link between production systems and company IT systems that will support networked assembly under Industry 4.0 conditions. This new communication platform puts people at the very heart of everything, ensuring that workers can immediately identify production deviations and implement improvements straight away, for example. Indeed, having all the relevant data at your fingertips is the ideal starting point for making well-founded decisions. Visitors to HANNOVER MESSE 2016 can experience the Active Cockpit in action in a modular production line for themselves. Bosch Rexroth is exhibiting five intelligent, networked stations to show how autonomous production lines can be linked up with manual assembly stations, how production network functions can interact with company IT systems and how pre-existing machinery can be easily connected.

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Tracking down the Big Bang with big data
The ASTRON Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy is at Holland High Tech House at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to showcase the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), one of the most ambitious scientific projects in the world today, which is trying to answer fundamental questions about how the galaxy was born.

The SKA project, which ten countries and various universities and companies are currently involved in, aims to create a radio telescope with a total catchment area of around one square kilometer - an impressive scale that should help make it some 50 times more sensitive than other radio telescopes. The scientists running the project believe that analyzing the data collected by the SKA will require high-performance computers and long-distance networks with a performance capacity that would dwarf current global Internet traffic. Indeed, the antennae of the SKA will receive signals from space that correspond to a data volume of a good 14 exabytes. To put that into context, it would take about 28 million years to play back 14 exabytes of digital music.

As one of the project partners at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, the ASTRON Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy is explaining how data processing systems are going to meet these ultimate big-data requirements. ASTRON and IBM have set up a public-private partnership called DOME, which is staffed by an interdisciplinary team of scientists from both organizations and will run for five years. At the "ASTRON & IBM Center for Exascale Technology" created specifically for the project in Drenthe, Netherlands, the team will focus on developing leading future technologies and highly efficient exascale system architectures that will allow scientists to process, save and analyze the huge amounts of data that will be gathered in the future.

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A fun way to learn - even for robots!
The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD is at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to exhibit DUPLOcator, a robot with excellent powers of observation that ensure it knows what it has to do next.

"Fundamentally, it's about a machine understanding how a person has assembled a component and then reproducing the same steps independently" - that's how Professor André Stork from Fraunhofer IGD sums up the DUPLOcator project that is being unveiled at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. By combining identification algorithms with high-precision, self-learning robot controls, DUPLOcator can use a camera to identify a structure made of toy bricks and understand how it must have been built.

Visitors to HANNOVER MESSE 2016 can see for themselves how DUPLOcator then uses a state-of-the-art robotic arm and its own toy bricks to build a perfect copy. The only requirement for this outstanding achievement is that the DUPLOcator's camera has a clear view of the structure and that all the same components are available to it. When it comes to Industry 4.0, DUPLOcator is an interesting prospect in particular for cost-effective special constructions and small production runs, as it can cope with constantly changing configurations. Professor Stork can see a wide range of potential applications for his team’s latest development: "The DUPLOcator concept offers important support for assembly workers, particularly when it comes to complex small-series manufacture."

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Away from ones and zeros'
Aventics GmbH is at HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to celebrate the world premiere of its new Essential Valve System ES05 series and thus set a new standard in pneumatics.

Even though HANNOVER MESSE 2016 may seem to be centered on networking, automation and digitalization, the manufacturing industry would be nothing without the actual hands-on technology itself. And of course technical innovations play a big part in this segment, too, helping to drive progress in manufacturing independently of all the ones and zeros. A good example for this is the new ES05 valve series from Laatzen-based Aventics GmbH - classic analog engineering that is being unveiled in Hannover.

"Our customers wanted a simple, flexible and efficient standard valve tailored precisely to their application, comprising a small number of components and without fancy extras," explains Paul Cleaver, Chief Executive Officer at Aventics. The new ES05 Essential Valve System delivers exactly what customers want - a modular assembly system that gives them complete building kits to fit their needs precisely. It is almost impossible to assemble the components incorrectly, as they are all extremely easy to identify and, what's more, a single tool is all that is needed for assembly purposes. All screw connections are of the same type and are tightened with the same torque. The portfolio also includes the Essential Test Box, which can be used to test that the valves are fully functional and leak-tight.

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The transformer that is breaking down barriers
At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, Multikon is exhibiting an ingenious device that combines several functions and gives disabled people the opportunity to work outdoors, too.

Whether cutting grass or clearing snow, there’s a whole lot of specialized equipment for working outdoors. However, it tends to be very expensive and takes up a lot of space, too. But a solution is at hand thanks to Multikon GmbH, which is based in Grossenhain near Dresden and is taking part in the futureSAX innovation forum at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, where visitors can explore the best talent the German state of Saxony has to offer. The company is exhibiting a unique cost-cutting solution with an extremely powerful wheel drive that combines numerous functions and can also be fitted with a wheelchair adapter for disabled users.

This innovation is based on a gasoline-powered lawnmower that can be configured with a range of attachments. For example, it can be converted from a lawnmower to a sweeper, generator, sickle bar mower or snow clearer, in just a few seconds and without any need for tools. Attachments such as a dump body or snowplow are simply pushed into position and fixed in place via star knob screws. Thanks to a powerful SUBARU gasoline engine with five HP and outstanding "Made in Germany" quality, the equipment is virtually guaranteed to deliver a long service life and optimum results. What's more, this brand new transformer from Saxony saves on storage space and all the accessories can be stored away neatly on a mobile tool rack when not in use.

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An April shower of solutions!
KUKA has chosen HANNOVER MESSE 2016 to present the world premiere of its conceptual study of a new generation of robots that are custom-designed for the electronics industry - one of the largest growth markets for automation.

"Hello Industrie 4.0 - We go Digital" is the motto that German company KUKA AG has chosen for Hannover this year - and it certainly ties in with the event's "Integrated Industry - Discover Solutions" headline. Following smoothly on from last year's "Hello Industrie 4.0", the world leader in automation is exhibiting real solutions that demonstrate the influence of digitization on various fields of application and sectors. Besides highlighting the vitality of groundbreaking robotics applications and the traditionally close business ties with this year’s partner country the United States, Augsburg-based KUKA AG is celebrating a world premiere this year at its stand in Hall 17.

Not only can visitors explore turnkey industrial automation solutions and applications for Industry 4.0 that merge classic industrial high-tech with cutting-edge IT services, but they will also witness the global unveiling of a conceptual study of a new generation of robots that are custom-designed for a major growth market in automation -the electronics industry.

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May the FORCE be with you!
With the global launch of FORCAM FORCE at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, FORCAM GmbH is revealing how a new generation of IT for Industry 4.0 can help businesses boost their factory productivity by up to one third.

It's 15 or so years since former SAP manager Franz Eduard Gruber joined forces with two colleagues to found FORCAM GmbH with the aim of helping companies to boost productivity. The idea behind FORCAM was to create transparent factories by interlinking production and planning and by generating incorruptible performance data that could be displayed in graphical form. The team quickly secured IBM as its global sales partner and attracted big customers operating complex systems such as Audi, BMW, Daimler, EADS and MTU Aero Engines. In 2010, at the height of the financial crisis, FORCAM beefed up its investment in the new FORCAM FORCE solution. After five years of intense development, the product is now ready for market and the company is celebrating its world premiere at HANNOVER MESSE 2016.

The technology used in the FORCAM FORCE solution differs markedly from its Factory Framework predecessor and other products on the market. The "first-of-its-kind" technology carves a direct inroad into the smart factory by creating in-memory and complex event processing transparency in real time. The FORCAM FORCE manufacturing software has the potential to boost plant and machinery productivity (OEE) by up to 33 percent. Thanks to the clear graphical display of everything from fine planning through to factory comparisons, errors can be identified virtually and eliminated for real. A company’s entire machine base - whatever the range of manufacturers - can be connected to flexible FORCAM FORCE, and it’s easy to add new IT systems, whether created in-house or sourced from a new supplier. Its interoperability means other top-floor systems (e.g. SAP/ERP, PLM, CAQ, CMMS and TDM) can be seamlessly integrated to form a single IT platform for all production.

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Top performance under high pressure
Extended measurement ranges, a large data logger, wireless operation and simplified menus - the CPG1500 that WIKA is showcasing in Hannover is a fully improved precision digital manometer that offers a good deal all round.

The WIKA group of companies, a family-run global business headquartered in Klingenberg, Germany, with more than 8,500 highly qualified employees, is a worldwide leader in pressure and temperature measurement. It constantly sets new standards in the measurement of fill levels and flow, too, not to mention calibration technology. Its latest calibration brainchild - the new CPG1500 precision digital pressure gage – is just one of the company’s many highlights at HANNOVER MESSE 2016.

The innovative concept behind the CPG1500 precision digital manometer combines the accuracy of digital calibration technology with the simplicity of an analog gage. Parameters can be entered quickly and intuitively using its improved menu navigation, and a 5½-figure display with integral bar graph and large text aids the effective on-site analysis of measuring points. What’s more, WIKA has protected the CPG1500 in an ultra-robust housing that makes it intrinsically safe (IECEx, ATEX and CSA certified), thus ensuring reliable IP65-level protection and durability even under the toughest process conditions.

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What does Watson dream of?
…Certainly not electric sheep! At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, IBM is highlighting the feats that its AI genius Watson pulls off in production. Hall 7 is host to the company’s new concepts and solution scenarios for the learning factory - the next evolutionary step forward for smart factories.

Companies on the lookout for new competitive advantages almost inevitably eye up the vast potential of the Internet of Things (IoT). It opens up new business models and valuable scope for development and success in virtually all sectors. For example, the IoT's flexibility enables any size of company to profitably offer even custom solutions in small production runs and thus get one step ahead of the competition. The further this networking progresses, the more we will need new technology to understand gigantic data volumes, interpret them and identify the patterns and relationships therein. It is precisely for this kind of cognitive task that IBM Watson was conceived. It learns in the same manner as a human brain so as to derive recommendations for future action.

A wide range of potential applications already exists for cognitive systems in production processes. They could function as intelligent assistants for workers, or Watson could prove incredibly adept at controlling smart machines in cyber-physical systems (CPS) and predictive maintenance and quality assurance (PMQ). IBM is revealing its initial experiences with cognitive solutions at HANNOVER MESSE 2016. In a trial with John Deere, for instance, key support, decision-making advice and automation potential was offered to on-the-job workers as well as in the field of production planning and optimization.

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New solutions for cable management
At HANNOVER MESSE 2016, HellermannTyton is opening entirely new cable management avenues for more closely networked and integrated industry. Visitors even get a chance to try their own hand under the motto "Experts know best".

The headline at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, "Integrated Industry - Discover Solutions", targets the very heart of integrated, networked industry. In sometimes very grueling industrial conditions, this ambitious vision is unlikely to become a reality without cables and wires to transport energy and data reliably. Against the background of the challenges posed by Industry 4.0, HellermannTyton - one of the leading suppliers of products for bundling, fastening, protecting, marking and processing cables and wires - is exhibiting a wide range of innovative products and system solutions for the optimal management of cables in industrial plants.

Its highlights in Hannover include the trade fair debut of its easy-dose, two-component RELICON Religel that’s ideal for encapsulating electronic components or junction boxes in low- and medium-voltage applications. Then there are the new, high-quality-finish HelaDuct wiring ducts complete with fully coordinated accessories, which have been optimized for use in enclosures and switchgear. Visitors to the HellermannTyton stand can perform an "expert check" by trying out the HelaDuct system on the spot. This hands-on experience helps visitors understand its advantages during the assembly process and offers practical tips from the cable management experts. Also available for testing is HellermannTyton's brand-new EVO9 manual tensioning tool for cable ties, which is designed for high load, heavy duty applications and significantly reduces the "kickback" to minimize the strain on the operator.

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Gateway to the fourth industrial revolution
Just six weeks after CeBIT, Microsoft is back in Hannover at a stand packed with topics, events, showcases and above all solutions that grab the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution by the horns.

Businesses large and small are facing the greatest challenge since trades unions and works councils came into being - the need to develop IoT strategies for the 21st century industrial revolution. So it's little surprise to see Microsoft back in Hannover just six weeks after CeBIT representing the partner country of HANNOVER MESSE 2016 at a stand packed with topics, events, showcases and above all smart solutions. Together with its technology and service partners, Microsoft is providing customers from all sectors with the necessary support to strategically plan and successfully implement the digital revolution using existing resources.

The company's stand is divided into four key areas. Visitors can watch exciting live showcases from Microsoft’s partners in production operations and industrial services, marketing, sales and customer experience, and research, development and engineering that demonstrate how MS technology is carving a clear path toward sustainable business in the digitally networked economy. In 1:1 executive briefings, experts from industry and Microsoft executives are offering decision-makers smart advice on how to manage the digital revolution. At Speakers' Corner there’s a demonstration of how companies can use cloud-based solutions to secure future success - and last but not least, the Microsoft IoT Lab is opening its doors four times a day for a live show of the Internet of Things. For an even clearer overview, visitors can download the official Microsoft HANNOVER MESSE app that will work with virtually any popular mobile format at www.microsoft.com/de-de/aktionen/hannovermesse/default.aspx.

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