Hannover. Manufacturers of power transmission and fluid power technologies are drivers of efficiency, intelligence and quality in industry. They supply systems that are critical to the overall quality and performance of the machines in which they are installed. What's more, their mechatronic and CPS (cyber-physical systems) modules are key enablers of efficient, intelligent Industry 4.0 production processes. By incorporating digital connectivity, these modules facilitate integration across the control and production layers, thereby helping to pave the way for a new era in manufacturing characterized by intelligent, self-optimizing and autonomous processes.

Innovative, efficiency-enabling mechatronic and CPS systems will feature prominently among the solutions presented by the world's leading power transmission and fluid power manufacturers at MDA (Motion, Drive & Automation) 2017 in Hannover, Germany. MDA is the No. 1 trade show for the power transmission and control industry. Staged as part of HANNOVER MESSE in alternate years, it will next be held from 24 to 28 April this year. It is one of the strongest shows in the HANNOVER MESSE stable, attracting some 1,200 exhibitors and more than 80,000 visitors from around the globe. The strength of the show's international reach can be seen from the fact that it draws about two thirds of its exhibitors from abroad. The big-name exhibitors at this year's MDA include Aventics , Bosch Rexroth , Camozzi , Hansa-Flex , Hydac , KTR , Metal Work , NTN-SNR , Parker Hannifin , Schaeffler , Trelleborg , ZF Friedrichshafen , Desch and Argo-Hytos .

"MDA is the most important trade fair for the power transmission and control industry. Exhibitors from this industry benefit enormously from MDA's synergies with other trade shows at HANNOVER MESSE. They also benefit from dialogue with the high-level business and political leaders who are naturally drawn to HANNOVER MESSE as the world's leading trade fair for industrial technology. Moreover, this year's Partner Country is Poland, a nation that is investing heavily in innovation and reindustrialization and is therefore an attractive market for manufactures of power transmission and fluid power systems," commented Dr. Jochen Köckler, a member of the Managing Board of HANNOVER MESSE organizer Deutsche Messe.

These sentiments are echoed by Hartmut Rauen, who is Deputy Executive Director of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and Managing director of the VDMA Power Transmission Association. "Our members are innovation leaders when it comes to performance, energy efficiency, total cost of ownership and tailored solutions," he said. "One consequence of Industry 4.0 is that power transmission and fluid power products are now sources of big data," he added. "Our members harness this big data for optimal maintenance. They use ‘big thinking' to analyze big data and determine correlations and causal links. That is why we developed a Predictive Maintenance Conference for our members and are staging a special Predictive Maintenance display at HANNOVER MESSE."

Predictive maintenance as a core MDA theme

Industry 4.0 is about interconnectedness – the digital integration of machines, products, components and up- and downstream systems. With predictive maintenance, sensors tap into this interconnectedness to continuously capture in-service machinery condition data, combine it with data from other systems, such as ERP and CRM software, and analyze it. In this way, predictive maintenance detects the early warning signs of outages and triggers the necessary preventive measures. This year's MDA show will feature a special "Predictive Maintenance" display and adjoining forum in Hall 19, where visitors will be able learn about the latest technologies for pinpointing impending outages before they occur, speeding up overhaul processes and avoiding production outages. According to the latest studies by global professional services and consulting firm Accenture, predictive maintenance can cut maintenance costs by almost 30 percent and reduce unscheduled downtime by 70 percent.

Predictive maintenance offers three main benefits: improved production planning, greater machine availability and a reduction in unscheduled plant shutdowns. The methodology builds on conventional condition monitoring approaches by predicting future machine operating states. Schaeffler, one of the exhibitors at MDA 2017, is a case in point. The company will be showcasing two new digitally-driven services: the calculation of rolling bearings' remaining useful life and automated rolling bearing diagnostics. These services are a first in that they enable users to determine maintenance intervals based on real load spectra.

Experts anticipate a highly dynamic market for predictive maintenance solutions. The market is already worth billions – and not just for providers of automation solutions. IT providers – including big names like SAP, IBM and Bosch Software Innovations – are also moving fast to meet the steadily growing demand for predictive maintenance solutions. For example, at HANNOVER MESSE 2016, SAP presented a live demonstration of its new SAP IoT solution "Predictive Maintenance & Services" (PdMS). PdMS can be deployed both in the cloud – using SAP's HANA Cloud Platform (HCP) – and on premise.

In addition to MDA in Hannover, Germany, Deutsche Messe organizes MDA events overseas in key growth markets. These include PTC ASIA in Shanghai, MDA INDIA in Mumbai, MDA North America in Chicago, and WIN (World of Industry) in Istanbul.