Real and virtual worlds in harmony? Production processes are coming up against their virtual limits

The vision of Industry 4.0 is taking on ever-more-tangible shape. But before it becomes reality, the task is to bring the real world of production equipment into harmony with its virtual representatives. For this purpose, virtual control of the machine tools and process simulation have to reflect everyday shopfloor reality. The obstacles still to be overcome are analysed by Dr.-Ing. Werner Herfs MBA from the Machine Tool Laboratory at RWTH University in Aachen.

Cutting-edge calculations: diamond fever or hard-metal reality?

Diamonds are among the best friends of innovative machiners of lightweight materials. They are running head-to-head with hard-metals, which are likewise numbered among the friends of lightweight material machiners.

TRUMPF APAC open house:A conversation with Hans-Peter laubscher

The family-owned Germany company, Trumpf, was founded in 1923 as a mechanical workshop. Today, the company has a presence in over 60 countries, with almost 10,000 employees world-wide. The company has established itself as a force to be reckoned with in a myriad of differing industries: laser technology, electronics, medical technology, and sheet metal and material processing.

3D printing: The shape of things to come

As laser melting with metals conquers ever more industrial applications, additive manufacturing technologies are changing the production methods of the future.

Acrow Machinery’s tooling vision

Established in 1980, Acrow Machinery MFG. Co. Ltd manufactures CNC tooling systems at its 4,000 square-meter plant in Taichung Hsien, Taiwan. The factory is equipped with CNC lathes, CNC machining centres and CNC grinding machines to produce and inspect electronic air gauges, numerical control machines, and other high precision inspection instruments.

Prospects for new cooling strategies

The boom in giant aircraft is driving a radical transformation in the materials of choice. Suddenly, titanium, nickel-based alloys, ultra-high-strength steels and carbon-fibre composites have to be machined on a large scale and at high levels of productivity. Conventional cooling lubricant concepts often come up against their physical limits here. The potential of cryogenic cooling compared to conventional processes has been rigorously examined by Hendrik Abrahams, a scientist on the staff of th

Small to Medium Enterprises ... Driving Vietnam’s Economy

While visiting the Metalex 2013 exhibition in HCMC, ANTHONY EVANS came across a Hanoi-based company that’s a good example of how the SME sector is powering Vietnam's economy

India automotive component exports grow 4.4%

BMW opens training centre in India

Tata Steel Kalinganagar to start production in Q4 FY’15

Pearl River Delta still facing labour shortage

Armco Metals, Midland Resources form steel scrap supply deal