This year's SPS IPC Drives Exhibition will focus on the opportunities and challenges of Industry 4.0
The SPS IPC Drives Exhibition in Nuremburg, Germany, has carved out a niche as the premier event covering all aspects of industrial automation and control systems, with the entire spectrum of products and services in the field of electrical automation represented. It allows visitors to get a comprehensive overview of the industry, from individual components to complete systems. With the increasing influence of the Industry 4.0 concept, the show has generated lots of headlines and drawn large attendances in recent years.
Offering scalable solutions
For 2015, Pilz will show its scalable solutions from sensors through to control and drive technology, complemented by appropriate operator and visualisation systems. Its new, web-based visualisation software will be exhibited in Hall 9 and the company will also participate in the SmartFactory KL stand in Hall 3a, where it will deal with the challenges of Industry 4.0.
Rockwell Automation is another company with a focus on the challenges of Industry 4.0 – a fundamental shift in production thinking, where intelligent objects communicate with each other, helping manufacturers to reach new levels of quality, efficiency, security and safety.
Rockwell says its Connected Enterprise Platform, provides a smart manufacturing approach using standardised, secure networks, connected, efficient and safe equipment, and visible, actionable information. The company hopes to convince visitors to Nuremburg that Connected Enterprise brings together systems, information and people to improve productivity and reduce costs.
Creating seamless processes
Siemens has given its presentation the theme ‘On the way to Industry 4.0 – Driving the Digital Enterprise’. At Nuremberg, the company promises to show visitors how they can derive long-term competitive advantages when hardware, software, and services work together seamlessly throughout the entire industrial value chain. Located in Hall 11, Siemens will emphasise that, in a highly dynamic market environment with ever-shorter innovation cycles and faster times to market, new challenges and opportunities are arising from increasing resource efficiency, flexible manufacturing and customised mass-production techniques.
DIS Sensors will be another company returning to SPS IPC Drives this year, showing its range of sophisticated sensors and advising customers about their particular applications and needs.
Elsewhere, a team of experts from Belden will be on hand to demonstrate how its leading brands – Belden, Hirschman, and Lumberg Automation – offer a range of fully integrated products.
Preventing weak links
Specialist cable system supplier Nexans is an example of the many specialist component suppliers which ensure that the SPS IPC Drives event has such a prominent place in the diary of industry professionals. One weak link can interrupt the production chain and delay the delivery of product resulting in financial loss, so Nexans manufactures a full range of dynamic cables to ensure the interconnection, control and process efficiency of robots and flowlines.
Nexans offers a range of cable products for automation under its Motionline brand, conforming to major international safety standards, ie Germany's VDE, Canada's CSA, America's ANSI, China's CCC, and UL worldwide.
Among the products on display will be the Motionline CAT7 Ethernet cable which handle the industry’s highest data transmission demands by making the performance of 10 gigabit Ethernet available for demanding drag-chain operations. The company will also show a portfolio of industrial Ethernet and Profinet cables for installation, patch and trailing-chain applications, as well as hybrid cables which combine different cable elements, such as power and data, in one cable to save on installation costs.
Enduring harsh environments
Open Source Automation Development Lab, in Hall 8, will welcome visitors who wish to learn about the new ways in which Open Source can be used in the automation industry.
Another company with a new stand concept and fresh look, Beijer Electronics, will present itself as a full-service provider of automation solutions. The Swedish technology group will give a presentation under the slogan ‘Rugged to the core’. While its subsidiary, Westermo Data Communications, has moved to Hall 10, Beijer Electronics will welcome visitors at booth 490 in Hall 7. With its newly introduced, seven-inch rugged panel, iX T7BR, Beijer Electronics has expanded its human-machine interface (HMI) product range, offering a fully certified panel which works reliably even under extreme environmental conditions.
In addition to classic HMI panels for industrial, rugged and marine applications, Beijer Electronics offers a high-performance softcontrol series. These products link innovative HMI technology with the industry-standard CoDeSys and offer one compact device for machine control and visualisation. The user interface can be adapted to the needs of different users and to the machine in a few simple steps. Another focus for 2015 is likely to be Beijer’s intelligent software solution that claims intuitive usability, smart features and superior visualisation. The group’s portfolio includes drives, remote I/O modules and products for data communication.
Promoting machine vision technologies
SPS Drives will feature a number of exhibitors offering products involving machine vision technologies; this year, the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) has collaborated with the organisers to create a Machine Vision Pavilion which concentrates this expertise for visitors and facilitates the participation of new or fast-growing, smaller companies that might hesitate to commit precious resources to a self-contained display booth.
With almost 40 years of experience in machine control, ICT Automatisering delivers reliable, innovative solutions to many of its customers in the machine and systems industry. Visitors will be interested in its Machine Control Platform demonstrated on the joint CoDeSys booth.
Servotronix Motion Control will introduce a complete motion system, comprising motion controllers, servo drives, servo motors and encoders. According to the company, the versatility of each motion product line, combined with
Servotronix’s motion expertise, offers machine builders application-specific motion solutions in a cost-effective package. Local application teams around the world ensure that customers experience smooth integration and commissioning, as well as ongoing support.
The safety technology of the future and solutions for vision and identification tasks are the focus of Sick’s presentation. The company will be using this event to gather information about current trends and as an opportunity to present its products and technical innovations. It will also demonstrate a wide range of solutions for the many industrial applications.
Connecting smart sensors
In the future, Sick safety sensors will be even more closely connected to one another. In the context of Industry 4.0, the company’s smart sensors will not only be used to ensure the safety of people but the implementation of ever-increasing production specifications.
Sick will also present a wide range of solutions which do more than just 'see'. These solutions are already prepared for the requirements of Industry 4.0 and can visualise process data and use it to create continuous process optimisation using global data transparency, which facilitates industry-wide networked communication. Benefits include flexibility for custom batch sizes, seamless transparency for traceability, and increased performance for shorter processing times.
Although this year there will be no conference accompanying the event, the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association in Hall 2 and the VDMA in Hall 3 will offer expert presentations and podium discussions on key industry issues at the exhibition forums.
SPS IPC Drives will be held in Nuremburg from November 24-26. For more details click here.