Digitalisation the focus at Arburg’s Technology Days 2019
March 18, 2019
More than 6,000 invited guests from fifty-four nations visited Lossburg for Arburg’s Technology Days (Courtesy Arburg GmbH + Co. KG)
Arburg GmbH + Co. KG, Lossburg, Germany, hosted its Technology Days 2019 from March 13–16, 2019. This year’s event marks twenty years of Arburg Technology Days, with the first having been held in 1999, and this, the latest event in the series, saw more than 6,000 visitors from fifty-four countries in attendance.
Arburg stated that the share of visitors from abroad has increased steadily over the years since the first Technology Days event in 1999. This year’s event saw 44% of visitors attending from abroad, with the largest foreign groups coming from North America and China. The majority of European guests came via subsidiaries in France, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Austria.
The main focus in 2019 was the ‘Road to Digitalisation’, with the company offering guests a comprehensive guide to Arburg’s digital production solutions. More than fifty of its machines and turnkey systems were showcased during the event, and expert presentations were given on current trends in manufacturing, as well as a guided tour of the operating factory.
The company presented its current offerings in terms of smart machines, smart production and smart services to aid in workflow digitalisation. A particular focus was the ‘arburgXworld’ customer portal, which can be used by customers in Germany free of charge with Arburg’s Machine Center, Service Center, Shop and Calendar apps. The company’s digital services are bundled via this service marketplace in the cloud, and the apps are said to be able to provide a quick overview of the machine fleet, enable easy ordering of spare parts with interactive navigation, and allow the creation of service tickets at any time.
Visitors were provided with an overview of Arburg’s digital solutions (Courtesy Arburg GmbH + Co. KG)
Arburg’s digital solutions for its Allrounder injection moulding machines were also presented. The machines on display were equipped with an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) gateway, said to offer flexibility for the implementation of features such as Arburg Remote Services, the Arburg Turnkey Control Module, arburgXworld and the Arburg host computer system, through which all of the exhibits were networked.
Each Allrounder displayed in the Customer Center contained Arburg’s six assistance packages as digital components, which are said to actively support the operator, making it easier to work on the machine in line with the production requirements at hand, from start-up, set-up and optimisation to production and monitoring, up to and including servicing.
In its Efficiency Arena, Arburg demonstrated the virtual maintenance of an injection unit using Augmented Reality (AR) data goggles and video calls. This is expected to allow complex maintenance work to be carried out safely and for faults to be identified and rectified quickly. Real-time monitoring of the condition of wearing components and predictive maintenance were also presented as useful tools to prevent malfunctions and unplanned downtime.
As well as the ‘Road to Digitalisation’, presentations given during the Technology Days included talks on Automotive Engineering, the Freeformer, and Packaging. The programme was attended by more than 1,400 participants. Over 1,900 guests also took part in guided Arburg factory tours.
