The interplay of automation technology, platforms and machine learning takes Industry 4.0 to the next level," says Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Board of Management of Deutsche Messe. And this will also be on display at the trade fair: "Under the guiding theme 'Integrated Industry - Connect & Collaborate', visitors from all over the world will experience how networking in industry is creating completely new forms of business, work and collaboration. The result: more productivity, sustainable jobs and new business models," he explains.

Messe Hannover CEO Dr. Jochen Köckler: "The leading manufacturers of automation technology, the world's most important robotics companies and global IT and software groups are making Hannover the global hotspot for Industry 4.0."

© German Trade Fair

According to the organizers, the trade fair motto is primarily intended to fill the 'Digital Factory' trade fair, which covers Halls 6 and 7 as well as parts of Hall 8, with life.

"We are currently experiencing a radical change," says Rainer Glatz, Managing Director of the VDMA's Electrical Automation and Software and Digitalization associations. "For several years, digitalization technologies such as PLM, MES or CRM had to contend with the prejudice that they were primarily costly. That's different now. Digitalization is increasingly seen as an enabler for new business models and additional sales." And cloud computing is also being used more and more in the IT of manufacturing companies: Companies such as Microsoft (Hall 7, Stand C40), Amazon Web Services (Hall 6, Stand D46) and Google (Hall 6, Stand J54) will be demonstrating this in the 'Digital Factory'.

New exhibition area

However, digitalization does not just bring companies advantages. It is also important to keep an eye on the risks and challenges, which is why IT security is set to play an even greater role - with the new 'Industrial Security' exhibition area in Hall 6. It comprises individual exhibitors, a joint stand and the forum of the same name. Further presentations on the challenges arising from networking in production await visitors in Hall 8 in the 'Industry 4.0 meets the Industrial Internet' forum - organized by VDMA, ZVEI, Plattform Industrie 4.0 and the Industrial Internet Consortium IIC.

Two premieres

Production and logistics processes are also becoming increasingly interconnected. 'Cemat', which is integrated into Hannover Messe for the first time, aims to bring this fusion to life with the central theme of 'Connected Supply Chain Solutions'. The special 'Logistics Experience Hub' area in Hall 24 will show how the two trade fairs work together. More than 30 exhibitors from Cemat and Hannover Messe will present the latest technologies in various areas of the supply chain and use very specific examples to show where Logistics 4.0 concepts are already in use today.

Cemat will be accompanied by two forums: The 'Logistics 4.0 Forum' in Hall 19 will focus on future-oriented topics such as blockchain, IT security, human-robot communication, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, augmented reality, drones and platforms in intralogistics. Best-practice examples from various sectors will be presented in the 'Logistics Solutions' forum in Hall 21.

The leading trade fair 'Integrated Automation, Motion & Drives' (IAMD) - a merger of the annual 'Industrial Automation' (IA) and the biennial 'Motion, Drives & Automation' (MDA) - will be celebrating another premiere. It is intended to cover the entire spectrum of industrial automation, IT, drive and fluid technology.

Flexible in plant construction

The modular certification is the prerequisite for a quick and smooth system conversion in terms of plug & play, demonstrated on the SmartFactory-KL Industry 4.0 system.

© SmartFactory-KL / A. Sell

How can production plants be converted flexibly and safely at the same time in the sense of Plug & Produce? This is demonstrated by the partner consortium of the SmartFactory-KL Industry 4.0 production plant.

Every plant manufacturer must submit a declaration of conformity and thus confirm that all hazard scenarios of their plant have been mastered and that the minimum safety requirements have been met. In a modular system of the future, conformity can only be confirmed quickly after each conversion process if a modular certification concept has the various system variants tested in advance. If a system configuration that has already been certified in advance in the sense of Plug & Produce is selected, long downtimes can be avoided. This is demonstrated by the SmartFactory initiative at the Hannover Messe.

The flexible transport system (FTS) has been included in the modular safety concept of the SmartFactory-KL Industry 4.0 system for the first time. If the AGV moves into the zone area of a production line, it is automatically assigned to this part of the system and consequently also to this emergency stop loop. The use case clearly demonstrates the advantage of the extended safety concept for modular production systems in practice: instead of the transport system, for example, a modular component could be replaced just as flexibly and certified automatically; all that is required is that a safe profile is already available for this component.

The SmartFactory-KL system has an additional innovation: The extended safety concept is now controlled in real time in the cloud via the 5G wireless communication standard. This enables the deterministic communication required for certification. A digital image (digital twin) of all modules is available in the cloud, in which various safety parameters are defined. If a new module configuration is put together, the comparison with the stored scenarios is IT-supported. If the configuration created is already known to be safe, the conformity of the new configuration is confirmed.

5G live

Three Fraunhofer Institutes are working on the complete networking of machines and sensors, including with the 5G standard, in the 'Networked, Adaptive Production' High Performance Center. The results of this collaboration can be seen live at the trade fair.

Individual machining of components or optimization of manufacturing during the production process is often not possible today, or only possible to a very limited extent. However, this is exactly what researchers from three Fraunhofer Institutes in Aachen want to make possible. To this end, they are developing a fully networked production environment that is suitable for a wide range of industries - from biomedicine to mechanical engineering. In the 'Networked, Adaptive Production' High-Performance Center, they want to fully exploit the possibilities of Industry 4.0 for particularly demanding production tasks.

"With our approach, we are bringing digitalization and networking into the real manufacturing environment," says Thomas Bergs, Managing Director of the Fraunhofer Institute IPT in Aachen. "We equip the systems with numerous sensors that constantly send measurement data from the machines to a central database - wirelessly via the upcoming 5G mobile communications standard." The collected data is stored in a specially developed cloud, the 'Virtual Fort Knox', where it is processed and analyzed using specially designed algorithms and technology apps. This allows new, surprising correlations to be identified - for example, vibration patterns that indicate that the tool of a milling machine is worn. If the information is fed back to the machine control system, the circle is closed: for example, with a warning that the tool needs to be replaced.

The researchers will be presenting the various concepts for networked, adaptive production at the Hannover Messe: Among other things, a milling machine will be on display, which will be used to demonstrate aspects of digitalization and networking as well as sensor technology with 5G data transmission.

Tensioning cables on demand

A turnkey system produces elastic tensioning ropes according to customer requirements at the Hannover Messe 2018 - flexible from weft to weft.

© Arburg

At the Hannover Messe 2018,Arburg wants to demonstrate how the digital transformation is impacting the plastics industry - and will showcase the variant-rich injection molding of elastic tensioning ropes 'on demand'.

Specifically, Arburg wants to demonstrate how individual customer requirements can be integrated online into the ongoing injection molding process thanks to a clever product and tool design. The practical example of 'tensioning ropes' will serve this purpose.

A turnkey system built around an 'Allrounder 375 V' vertical injection molding machine produces the elastic tensioning ropes on demand in different variants - flexibly from shot to shot, without the need to retool the machine. According to Arburg, in industrial practice such an application is predestined for cable assembly in the automotive industry, for example.

At the trade fair application, visitors can choose between 40, 60 and 80 cm long tension cables in three colors and three end piece combinations and enter the desired variant directly at the terminal. The requirements are transmitted to the central Selogica control system via the OPC UA communication protocol. The rope is cut from the reel to the selected length and the ends are spliced using plasma treatment. A six-axis robot, which is positioned within the machine footprint to save space, handles the flexible inserts. The 4-cavity mold of the injection moulding machine has two cavities each for eyelets and hooks. The rope ends are placed in the cavities according to the order. During overmoulding, the two corresponding cavities are controlled via hot runner nozzles. In this way, hook/hook, hook/eye or eye/eye combinations can be produced in a cycle time of around 40 seconds. The finished tension rope is then removed by the robot and ejected from the system.