Assembly and Handling Technology at AUTOMATICA 2012

Assembly and Handling Technology at AUTOMATICA 2012

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Munich. VDMA Robotik + Automation already predicted at the end of last year that turnover of assembly and handling technology was going to surpass six billion euros in Germany in 2011. This signifies an enormous increase of 42 percent compared to the previous year. The increase ensured it the pole position within the overall robotic + automation industry, which grew by 37 percent. The increases are the rewards in the end for the practical solutions, which companies have developed over the past years. Visitors to AUTOMATICA 2012, which will take place on the grounds of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre from 22 to 25 May, will obtain a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art assembly and handling technology.

VDMA Robotik + Automation expects another record turnover of 10.3 billion euros for the past year 2011 in the industry that it represents. Companies in assembly and handling technology contributed the major share to this of six billion euros. The growth engine is the automobile industry as is often the case, which is investing increasingly in new technology and materials. Daniela Dietz, spokesperson for assembly and handling technology in the trade association VDMA Robotik + Automation, provided one example: "Lightweight construction materials such as reinforced carbon composite materials are being used increasingly in series production. This can only be accomplished using automated processes. Automobile manufacturers and their component supplies have to convert and optimise their production processes for this, which fits in well with offers from suppliers of assembly and handling technology. In addition, it promotes global competition among large manufacturing companies to use innovative automation technology."

AUTOMATICA 2012 provides useful information about dealing with reinforced carbon composite materials. It has declared "Automated Composite Production" as one of its main topics and is going to present a special exhibition on it. The International Trade Fair for Automation and Mechatronics is going to contribute to mastering the challenge of automated production of lightweight construction components made of reinforced carbon composite materials.

Numerous growth drivers

In addition to the automobile industry, there are numerous other fields driving the growth of assembly and handling technology. The electronics industry, metal industry and mechanical engineering, flat-screen display production, medical engineering and all industries dealing with renewable energy sources are betting increasingly on automated assembly. In turn, these contribute to rationalisation with a high degree of quality, increasing productivity, shortening throughput times and increasing cycle times. People in modern industrial countries also increasingly need more medicine, processed foods and packaging. This growing need provides manufacturers of assembly and handling technology with the chance to increase their turnover further over the coming years.

A new and especially interesting application field is battery production. This is less a matter of conventional household batteries for laptops and mobile phones, but instead high-energy storage devices for electric cars or renewable energy sources. These batteries are advancing to other dimensions with their performance and size, but above all thanks to their reliability and operating life. They also ensure that there is less dissipation power as well as more handling reliability and safety – exposed to heat and cold equally. Higher volumic energy and crash-resistance are additional features for mobile use.

And – they are taking a key role when it is a matter of the cost-effectiveness and acceptance of electric mobility and alternative generation of energy. These already much-praised technologies will only actually become accepted on a widespread scale when such high-energy storage devices can be produced in large series and at moderate costs.

Focal Topic at AUTOMATICA: Automated Battery Production and Special Exhibition

This requires enormous progress in the production of high-performance batteries, which can only be achieved with close collaboration between manufacturers, component suppliers, mechanical engineers and researchers. The automation of assembly processes is especially needed in assembling individual cells, battery back assembly and final assembly in ground modules, a new market segment that numerous automation specialists are dealing with.

AUTOMATICA is promoting progress in battery production with its special exhibition "Battery Production and Automation Technology". The new special exhibition (in Hall A2) is being held in close collaboration with the special Productronic Division in the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), WZL of Rhineland-Westphalia Technical University (RWTH) Aachen and leading companies from battery mechanical engineering. It will show the complete production environment of batteries: from coating electrode materials all the way to complete modules. Machines, systems, tools and intermediate products show the most important progress steps, which you can "experience firsthand". The "virtual factory" of RWTH Aachen, where visitors can forge their own model factory as well as interactive 3-D models of the production structure round out the comprehensive overview of battery production.

Dr. Eric Maiser, Deputy Managing Direction of VDMA Productronic and head of the battery production industry group in the VDMA E-Motive forum, expects a lot of stimuli from the special exhibition for automated battery production: "The production of high-performance batteries is essentially piecework today. Automated large series production helps not only to cut costs, but it is also necessary to ensure overall precision in production and consequently improve the reliability and long life of the products. Battery production urgently needs specific innovations, for example, in measurement technology, sensitive grippers for pliable parts, precise robots and all the way to safe man-machine interaction in the high voltage sector. AUTOMATICA is an ideal platform for exhibitors and visitors to the special exhibition to learn a lot from each other and consequently provide new impulses to the industry."

You can find additional information about AUTOMATICA 2012 at www.automatica-muenchen.com.

Photos from the last AUTOMATICA are online at http://media.messe-muenchen.de/Automatica/Standard/SelectCatalog_Presse.jsp.

About AUTOMATICA
International Trade Fair for Automation and Mechatronics
AUTOMATICA is the first and only international trade fair, which covers all areas of robotics + automation every two years. It has taken place on the grounds of the New Munich Trade Fair Centre every two years since 2004. The aim of the fair is to present the entire value-added chain in robotics and automation. Messe München GmbH and VDMA Robotik + Automation, trade fair industry advisor, are behind the industry-driven concept of AUTOMATICA. Exhibitor and visitor statistics for AUTOMATICA are audited by an independent auditor for the order of the Gesellschaft zur Freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe- und Ausstellungszahlen (Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics) and internationally by UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry).

About Messe München International (MMI)
Messe München International is one of the world´s leading trade show companies. In Munich alone it organizes around 40 trade shows for capital and consumer goods, and key high tech industries. Each year more than 30,000 exhibitors and around two million visitors take part in the events held in the New Munich Trade Fair Center, the ICM – International Congress Center Munich, and in the MOC Event and Order Center. The leading international trade fairs of Messe München International are all FKM-certified, i.e. exhibitor and visitor numbers and the figures for exhibition space are collected in line with agreed standards and independently audited on behalf of the FKM (Gesellschaft zur Freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe- und Ausstellungszahlen), a society for the voluntary monitoring of fair and exhibition statistics.

In addition, Messe München International organizes trade shows in Asia, Russia, the Middle East and South America. With six subsidiaries in Europe and Asia and more than 60 foreign representatives actively serving over 90 countries, Messe München International has a worldwide business network. The Group also takes a pioneering role as regards sustainability: It is the first trade show company to be awarded energy efficiency certification from the technical inspection authorities TÜV SÜD.

Additional information is available at www.messe-muenchen.de.