MTA Singapore 2013: Serving the global markets

The MTA Singapore 2013 exhibition was held recently from 9 to 12 April 2013.  The show attracted 12,500 visitors. There were 500 exhibiting companies. Eight group pavilions represented by Germany, Korea (3), Singapore (2), Taiwan and United Kingdom were present.

The show is one of the most anticipated events for the manufacturing industry in Asia. Exhibitors showcased the latest precision engineering and machine tool technologies.

Mr. Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade & Industry and Ministry of National Development, is the Guest of Honour. He says that the manufacturing sector continues to be a key pillar of Singapore’s economy.  It accounted for 20% of the GDP or S$60.2 billion (US$47.6 billion) in value added.  Manufacturing employs over 400,000 workers.

“The precision engineering (PE) industry accounts for about 15% or S$8.8 billion (US$6.95 billion) of Singapore’s manufacturing value added and employs close to a quarter of Singapore’s manufacturing workforce,” Mr. Lee says.

Exhibitors speaks

Blum-NovoTeST
Mr Gunther Blum is the Founder of Blum-Novotest.  Mr Blum says that his company provides a wide range of solutions and the technology is developed 100% in-house. In TC64-DIGILOG, Blum is introducing the world’s first touch probe with a face-geared shark360 measuring mechanism which on the one hand operates wireless, on the other, combines all the advantages of a digital-analogue probe. 

During the scanning process, the integrated face gear produces a defined deflection direction at constant deflection forces. Any torsional force that may occur is absorbed by the face gear and thus has no effect on the measuring result. The switch and analogue signal is generated without wear by shadowing a miniature light barrier, thus guaranteeing the long service life of the TC64-DIGILOG.

makiNo
Mr George Lim, Vice President of Marketing, gives an introduction to the U6 wire electrical discharge machine. He says that this is the first time that the machine is launched in MTA Singapore. Emphasising on the intuitiveness of the U6, Mr Lim says that it has a state-of-the-art in-house developed controller that is based on touch screen technology.  It has features like pinch, spread and swipe.

The software is highly interactive and intelligent, and that it reduces the operator’s learning curve, thus maximising the usage to achieve higher productivity. Mr Lim says that the interface is known as Hyper i. Hyper refers to high speed and i refers to intuitive.

ReNiShaw
Mr Steve Bell, General Manager of  ASEAN,  believes  that there is a huge potential for additive manufacturing. He says that currently about 90% of uses are in educational institutions and R&D. However this is set to change. He sees increasing usage in the aerospace industry where it is important to retain strength while cutting down weight. He also says there are growth in usage in design houses and manufacturing factories.

He says that sooner or later the ratio of 90% will change drastically, especially in Asia where there is a huge manufacturing base. Renishaw’s laser  melting is a  pioneering additive manufacturing process capable of producing fully dense metal parts direct from 3D CAD, using a high-powered fibre laser. 

opTical GaGiNG (S)/vici viSioN
M r Erick Fantini, Sales Manager, says that for the first time in South East Asia, VICI Vision is paAir Maxs