ACI Bureau
The 19th edition of IMTEX and the 21st Tooltech, organised by the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) that concluded recently at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) brought technologies, innovations and new products under one roof to cater to the growing needs of various industrial sectors. IMTEX is the flagship event of the Indian metal cutting industry. It is South and South East Asia’s apex exhibition showcasing the latest trends as well as technological refinements from India and other global players. IMTEX has crossed a major milestone of 50 years. In its five decades’ journey, IMTEX has supplemented the growth of Indian machine tool industry and also aided the development of the manufacturing industry by bringing technology advancements to its doorsteps.
Tooltech presented machine tool accessories, metrology and CAD/CAM cutting tools, tooling systems and current trends in the tooling industry. This attracted visitors from different spectrum of manufacturing and ancillary industries.
IMTEX 2019, the largest so far, was inaugurated by the Karnataka Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy, RV Deshpande, Minister for Revenue, government of Karnataka, KJ George, Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, government of Karnataka, Vikram Kirloskar, Vice-President, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Ram Venkataramani, President, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, Exhibitions, IMTMA, P Ramadas, President, IMTMA, Indradev Babu, Vice-President, IMTMA, and V Anbu, Director-General and CEO, IMTMA, were also present at the inauguration.
The Chief Minister said the event has been a gateway for attracting investments to Karnataka since the it was first held in Bengaluru 12 years ago. To give impetus to aerospace vertical Karnataka has announced an aerospace policy that has identified investment potential of around 10 billion dollars in the sector during 2013-2023 which is expected to give a boost to the manufacturing industry in Karnataka, he said.
R V Deshpande said, Karnataka has always laid out a red carpet to investors wanting to do business in the State. “It has a pro-industry policy, which has helped industries to thrive,” he said. Adding to his points, K J George said, the State has been in the forefront of many ventures such as setting up the world’s largest solar park, launching booster kit for start-ups, setting up an exclusive machine tool park, etc.
Kirloskar said, “exhibitions will never become obsolete as machines will always be required in the manufacturing industry. Technologies are needed to enhance productivity. Large-scale exhibitions such as IMTEX will provide all this in one place.” Venkataramani said, “ACMA and IMTMA will continue to work to understand and provide solutions to the ever-growing demands of the auto component industry.”
“The current edition of IMTEX showcased advanced technologies like 3D printing, internet of things, automation, robotics, and Industry 4.0. India is witnessing a significant growth in the manufacturing space. Industries, however, need to invest more in R&D and innovations as well as explore these technologies for improved profitability and sustainability. IMTEX provided an apt platform to witness these technologies closely and adopt them,” Ramadas said,
For the new technologies IMTMA introduced 2 pavilions for additive manufacturing and Industry 4.0. The pavilion on Additive Manufacturing familiarised the manufacturing fraternity with the techno-commercial advantages of additive manufacturing. The pavilion on Industry 4.0 was a platform to see and experience all facets of its implementation. Seminars on `Factory of the Future: Industry 4.0’ and on Additive Manufacturing were held during the 7-day event. IMTEX and Tootech 2019 had 122 exhibitors and 91, 446 visitors from 26 countries. There were also 7 country pavilions. More than 150 trade delegations attended the exhibition. Some of the exhibitors are featured below.
CERATIZIT Group
CERATIZIT Group presented its new cutting tool competence and unified brand structure for the first time at IMTEX 2019. Under the umbrella of the Group, the four competence brands of cutting solutions, CERATIZIT, KOMET, WNT and KLENK exhibited machining applications andtailor-made solution packages for industries such as automotive, aerospace and heavy metal cutting. “We took advantage of KOMET’s takeover, and completely restructured our cutting tool division to serve our customers even better by providing comprehensive solutions for all fields of application in cutting,” Board Member, Thierry Wolter, said.
CERATIZIT attaches great importance to the local production of its cutting tools in India. With a production site in Kolkata and two plants in Bengaluru and more than 630 employees throughout India, the group is now able to produce the entire range of cutting tool solutions in India, from indexable inserts and tool holders to solid carbide and PCD tools.
“For the current business year, we expect a sales growth of 20% compared to the previous year,” Ashwani Sareen, Managing Director of CERATIZIT India, said. The Indian subsidiaries of the group are continuing the successful course of recent years. Turnover has increased more than five-fold over the last decade due to organic and strategic growth. “The goal, however, is quite clear: to continue to grow over the next few years,” he added.
The foundation for this growth has been laid during the recent years. The new location in Kolkata was inaugurated in 2013 and a modern CVD coating plant was added last year. CERATIZIT also continues to invest in Bengaluru. Once the expansion at KOMET India has been completed, more than twice as much space will be available. This will also see an addition of new machines and new employment opportunities.
Sandvik Coromant
Sandvik Coromant showcased how customers could achieve significantly higher productivity levels, more flexible machining processes and more sustainable production under the theme ‘Shaping the future together’. The company presented Innovative digital machining solutions designed to reduce waste and increase efficiency for customers. These included CoroPlus, Process Control which helps avoid premature failure of tools, ensure consistent quality of components and a reduce damage due to collisions.
CoroPlus ToolGuide, provides fast and precise tool recommendations for the specific operation and material type, as well as CoroPlus ToolLibrary, which enables users to integrate tool assemblies directly into their digital machining environment. Along with the software that helps improve design and production planning, the company showcased networked tool and process-control solutions.
Another tool, the CoroPlus MachiningInsights will not just monitor system but will also gather data, calls attention to issues and provides the insights required to take action. It is an easily attainable step for manufacturers that are looking to reduce waste in production and make a smooth transition into a digital way of working.
Bharat Fritz Werner
In order to empower MSME segment for further growth, Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd (BFW), a leading machine tool manufacturer in India, in association with Universal Robots, pioneers and leaders of Collaborative Robots (Cobots), presented new and affordable automation solutions.
The partnership between the Danish robot manufacturer and BFW will leverage the productivity in the MSME segment by the integration of collaborative robots in manufacturing processes. This aims to disrupt the traditional production set-up of the MSME segment with top-notch automation solutions and will dramatically impact productivity, quality and working conditions.
BFW and Universal Robots aims to redefine the production processes by deploying the robotic arms through modular, flexible and user-friendly integration solution platform – Arjun. Advanced user-friendly and light industrial robotic arms will dramatically impact productivity, quality and working conditions in MSME segment as it will automate and streamline repetitive industrial processes efficiently thus empowering the shop floor for higher value creative activities.
The contract between Universal Robots and BFW regarding this collaboration was signed at Odense, Denmark in the presence of Ravi Raghavan, MD, Bharat Fritz Werner (BFW), Praful Shende, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, BFW, Jurgen von Hollen, President, Universal Robots A/S, Klaus Vestergaard, CFO, Universal Robots A/S, Esben Østergaard, CTO, Universal Robots A/S and Pradeep David, GM, Universal Robots South Asia.
Ravi Raghavan, said, “Universal Robots and BFW strategic partnership will bring collaborative robot technology on a modular flexible platform to MSME shop floors to enhance their manufacturing competitiveness significantly.”
Praful Shende, said Deployment of collaborative robot technology will help Indian organisations to realise the creative potential of their teams by engaging them in higher value creation activities. BFW and Universal Robots alliance will act as a major catalyst for these initiatives.
“We are pleased to be working closely with BFW as their CNC machines and Automation Services are well respected throughout the country, along with a solid sales & support network of over 40 offices. It will surely help evangelize this “Top 50 disruptive technology of 2018” called cobots, among the “Job Shops” in India similar to what Universal Robots has succeeded to do in the rest of the world as the largest global cobot manufacturer, by far,” Pradeep David, said,
BFW also announced its partnership with WIN Automation Solutions to jointly offer to customers modular scalable and comprehensive factory automation solutions with most comprehensive range of offerings in Milling, Turning and Special Purpose Machines. These solutions consist of smart machines, intelligent material handling/automation systems synchronizing the material flow to manufacturing/assembly needs, providing data analytics to maximize OEE, productivity, quality, inventories etc.
Announcing the partnership, Raghavan said, “In sync with our purpose to “Enable Progress” through solutions, we aim to comprehensively address the future of our clients by deploying digitization. For this purpose, we will pursue collaborative approach and partnership with WIN Automation which is an important step in this journey.”
Pratik Kumar, CEO, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN), said, “Industrial automation for manufacturing is US $ 150 Billion opportunity globally and India is a nascent market. It is expected to grow rapidly and exponentially. With WIN Automation Solutions, we are in the right place at the right time to capture this market opportunity.”
VL Series from EMAG
EMAG showcased its modular standard machines this year at IMTEX. VL machines are part of EMAG’s modular standard series. As the term suggests, these machines are built on a common machine base but allow the use of an extremely wide range of technologies, similar to the modular platform systems seen in the automotive industry. There are now modular machines available for turning, gear hobbing, and chamfering processes; for grinding (chucked parts and shaft parts); for induction hardening; and also in special designs for laser welding or PECM technology. Essentially, they are available for virtually all the technologies offered by the EMAG Group.
The vertical pick-up turning centers of the VL series were developed particularly for the production of precise chucked parts. There are now five versions of the VL machine to cover the widest possible range of parts. The smallest machine is the VL 2, designed for chucked parts with a diameter of up to 100 mm. It is followed by the VL 4, VL 6, and VL 8 machines which allow for an increase of 100 mm in diameter with each model increase.
Precision Technologies Group
The UK-based Precision Technologies Group (PTG) presented the capabilities of its Powerstir range of friction stir welding (FSW) machines. “Our Powerstir friction stir welding technologies have long been recognised as providing an innovative way of creating superior high-strength joints, with proven weld quality, excellent mechanical properties, virtually no porosity and the opportunity for reduced wall thickness in many applications,” Steven Benn, Regional Sales Director, PTG Holroyd, said.
He added, “The recent, rapid growth in the development of BEV (battery electric vehicle) and PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) technologies has seen us receive increasing number of enquiries from organisations involved in the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs). As such, we have developed FSW techniques specifically for the fabrication of lightweight, robust and highly aesthetic battery trays and housings, coolant units and vehicle body panels.”
Klingelnberg India
Klingelnberg India Pvt Ltd showcased its extensive line of products and services including the company’s Höfler Speed Viper2 180 cylindrical gear grinding machine with dual-spindle concept and Koenig Automation at IMTEX 2019. The Speed Viper cylindrical gear generating grinding machine was developed by Klingelnberg with a special focus on high-production generating grinding. The innovative machine concept was unveiled for the first time at the EMO 2017 exhibition in Hanover, Germany, and was presented to a large international audience the following year. Klingelnberg introduced additional new developments in the Speed Viper series at IMTEX 2019.
Klingelnberg also showcased a measuring machine made for just this type of Closed Loop process: the P 40 precision measuring center stands for future-proof quality management of gears and features a compact footprint suited to a workpiece diameter range of up to 400 mm. The machine and software concept is optimised for the measurement of complex drive components using a technology that replaces up to six conventional measuring methods: gear measurement, general coordinate measurement, form and position measurement, roughness measurement, contour measurement and optical measuring technology. This guarantees maximum measuring accuracy and reproducibility. ACI
