“Arena of Integration” at Motek/Bondexpo 2021

In a few days, the automation industry will meet live in Stuttgart for the 39th Motek – International Trade Fair for Production and Assembly Automation – and 14th Bondexpo – International Trade Fair for Adhesive Bonding Technology. For the first time, digitization in manufacturing and assembly will have its own platform with the “Arena of Integration” in Hall 1; it is intended to be the “living heart” of Motek/Bondexpo from 05. until 08 October 2021.

Digitization is in the spotlight on all sides. Using examples in the sales process for customer-specific assembly technology, small batch and spare parts production with 3D printing, variant-flexible series assembly and intralogistics, the exhibits in the Arena of Integration make digitized, networked production processes visible and understandable. These are well-known companies that will be participating in the Arena of Integration as part of Motek/Bondexpo 2021 and will illustrate the digitalization of various business processes in assembly operations.

For example, ThyssenKrupp Automation Engineering is coming with an exhibit that provides an overview of the functionality of a Manufacturing Execution System (MES): the MES live controlling the production of an assembly plant and a digital twin of a battery assembly plant controlled live by the MES. Customized MES demonstrations are planned for the “touch and feel” of MES functionality.

Otto Bihler Maschinenfabrik, together with CMC Engineers, will be demonstrating process steps and the operation of a machine for hairpin production. Here, at one station, the quotation configuration of a Hairpin machine takes place live, and at another station, the trade show visitor experiences a 3D real-time animation of the configured Hairpin machine.

At the joint exhibit of the Black Forest Campus, GPS Stuttgart, PrimeKey Labs Aachen and the Glatten-based company J. Schmalz, the use case of software management and secure software updates will be covered at one station and encryption, authentication and data integrity through digital machine identities at another. Other stations demonstrate edge gateways as a secure interface to the cloud and finally the use case of secure feedback of status data to the manufacturer.

The companies Cinteg, Autodesk, Stratasys and KLIB Knut Lehmann Ingenieurbüro will be dealing with 3D printing for the digitization of small series and spare parts production at their joint exhibit: It will lead from 3D geometry acquisition by a fast and dimensionally accurate hand scanner to the generation of a 3D model by processing the scan data, further design and supplementation in the 3D CAD system, and finally to the control of the 3D printers and visualization of the print.

Another exhibit from the Rafi company illustrates digitalization in intralogistics: It deals with the production control of manual workstations using the example of a service call system. All these solutions can be experienced live at the Arena of Integration.

The “Special 3D Printing Area” will also be a trade show highlight. Here, suppliers of 3D printers for industrial use, material suppliers for 3D printing, and contract manufacturers of 3D printed parts and assemblies will be taking to the stage to showcase the wide range of new possibilities opened up by 3D printing. The start-up area in Hall 1 also invites committed and forward-looking visitors.

Motek/Bondexpo will be one of the first major trade events after the trade fair-free period and is accordingly awaited with great anticipation. The comprehensive hygiene concept of Messe Stuttgart, which has been completely coordinated by the authorities and implemented on the basis of the current, generally valid Corona Ordinance of the State of Baden-Württemberg, will provide a suitable and safe framework for this.