EuroMold 2013: More Visitors and Increasing Internationality

On its 20-year anniversary, the Euromold presented a comprehensive model of the entire industrial product development process chain early last December. With 58,673 visitors from 83 countries, the number of people visiting the trade fair this year exceeded the values of the previous five years. A total of 38,593 (66%) of the visitors came from Germany and 20,080 (34%) from abroad. Most of the foreign guests were from Italy (7.4%), France (6.4%), Turkey (6.3%) and Switzerland (5.9%). The trade fair was pleased to welcome visitors from Japan and Finland for the first time.
 
Overall the visitors to the trade fair were comprised of department and development managers (24%), owners/managers (21%), skilled workers (18%), foremen (11%), production managers (9%), sales managers (5.5%) and plant managers (4%).
 
Most of the attendeees came from the automotive industry (34 %) followed by mechanical engineering (26%), the electrical and electronics industry (11%) and medical technology (10%). Visitors also came from the sectors of household appliances (8%), consumer goods (7%), aviation and aerospace (6%), plant engineering and construction (5%) and packaging (5%).
 
The number of exhibitors at 1,056 from 37 different countries was kept at a high level compared to the previousyear, and the proportion of international exhibitors increased from 36.2 to 40.8% compared to last year. Segmented by industry sectors, companies presented their innovations in the fields of tool and moldmaking (28%), rapid prototyping and tooling / generative manufacturing (11%), model and prototype construction (11%), machine tools (7%) and software (6%).
 
Forums on a wide variety of topics offered more than 120 speakers. The international Terry Wohlers Conference on the topic of “Business and Investment Opportunities in Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing”, a one-day event, was once again highly successful this year with more than 100 participants.

Generative manufacturing in relation to various materials and production methods was explored at the two-day Material Forum. Attendance reached 120-140 people and gave scientists and developers as well as producers and designers of additive techniques the opportunity to present innovations and developments.

The Fabmaker Expert Forum examined the impact and opportunities of additive manufacturing processes, and ended with a podium discussion with lively participation. The forum with a total of around 12 presentations on both days had 15-60 visitors per day.

With more than 50 participants, the Lightweight Construction Forum presented the latest trends in tool and moldmaking for fiber composite applications.

The design+engineering Forum, which dealt with the topics of virtual reality and simulation, rapid prototyping and industrial design, was held on 4 days and encompassed 40 presentations that attracted up to 65 listeners each.
 
The “Design 3.0 – Opportunities for Customization through 3D Printing” challenge participants ranged from jewellery to lamps to a customizable urn. The 12 finalists on display were highly varied. During the event, the jury consisting of professionals in the fields of design, economics, teaching, industry and the press decided on the design, conceptual quality, originality, innovativeness and design tailored to the manufacturing technique. First places were awarded respectively in the categories of Best Product, Best Concept and Best Interface.
 
The Career Exchange, which simultaneously serves as a networking platform and information center was a great success as well. More than 100 job descriptions are currently online, and it continues to be actively used by numerous companies and professionals.
 
A selection of award-winning exhibits from the past 15 years of the EuroMold Award – the Oscar of product development presented for outstanding technical innovation – was on display as well.
 
Additional highlights included the guest country of Italy, the e-mobility test course and the joint “DigiFabb” exhibition stand presenting 3D printing for anyone, the special topics of lightweight construction and hybrid technology, and the topics of thermoforming and turning and milling technology. Theme areas were presented for the jewellery industry and dental technology as well as development and simulation processes. There were also special exhibitions on rotational molds and VDI/NCG guidelines for evaluating the production quality of machine tools.
 
EuroMold 2014 is being held from November25-28, 2014 at the Frankfurt am Main Exhibition Center.
 
More information at: www.euromold.com