Light-weight construction as cross-sectional topic affects almost all areas of industrial production from machine tool construction and material engineering through to automotive parts suppliers. That is why this topic will be addressed in detail at the special exhibit with an integrated symposium entitled “Intelligent Light-weight Construction”, which will take place during the course of the entire trade fair.

Intelligent light-weight construction has many facets

The specialised symposium will include a variety of lectures and presentations that will cover key topics such as Textile, Smart Structures, Industrialization – Successful serial production, Processing of composite materials, Multi-material design and Light-weight metallic construction, to name just a few. Companies like MAPAL, Volkswagen and Sandvik Coromant as well as scientific institutions like Institute of Machine Tools of the University of Stuttgart will be on hand to present both their practical experiences and the latest research results. Keynote speakers include Dr Jochen Kopp, Head of Planning, Technology Development and Purchasing CFRP at the BMW Group, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Büter, Head of Operating Windows and Lightweight Design with Integrated Functions Division at Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt and Spokesperson of Fraunhofer Lightweight Design Alliance.

Taking place in a specially designated area at the heart of the trade fair, the special exhibit concentrates on the current state of development for industrial applications in an interesting and informative manner. Companies and institutions such as Nordmetall, MKT Metall- und Kunststoffverarbeitung and KVB Institut für Konstruktion und Verbundbauweisen will present exhibits, demonstration objects and sample applications. Almost 20 exhibitors are expected to participate in the special exhibit. In addition to that, the BMW 7-Series Carbon Core Chassis will attract the attention of trade visitors.

Additive manufacturing has become a permanent fixture in industrial production

Additive manufacturing enables the production of geometries, which cannot be realised using abrasive or cutting technologies. As a new production technology, it is of great interest for the industry. The specialised program of the Intec and Z 2017 with its “Additive Manufacturing” Technology Forum, which is prepared and organised by the Dresden-based Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research IFAM in cooperation with the Leipziger Messe, takes this development into account. Based on the theme “From idea to application,” the designated exhibition area will provide information about technologies, applications and potential offered by innovative processes, materials and areas of application. The following companies have already signed up: LASERVORM, 3D-Metall Theobald, bkl-lasertechnik, TRUMPF Laser- und Systemtechnik and citim.

In addition to that, speakers representing industry and research will be on hand to provide insight into the topic at a user-oriented symposium that will be held on March 8 and 9. By doing so, the possible range of materials is highlighted for the current application-relevant technologies and illustrated on the basis of select case studies. Presentations will also cover, for instance, the state and trends occurring in system development and in additive manufacturing for tool construction and design and for medical technology. Selected processes like beam melting, laser beam melting, and electron beam melting technologies, laser surface cladding and 3D screen printing will also be presented in detail. The production of ceramic components by means of additive manufacturing is also addressed in an overview. Expert presentations for other processes such as binder jetting, fused deposition modelling and lithography-based ceramic manufacturing shall show visitors the wide variety of possibilities posed by additive manufacturing.

Specialised program with a wide variety of supporting topical events at Z and Intec

“With the specialized program of supporting events, we aim to provide both visitors and exhibitors with added value and an additional contact platform to supplement the trade fairs. As the organizer it is important to us that we highlight current information for the forward-looking topics that our target audience has to deal with in day-to-day business and provide solutions,” says Project Director Kersten Bunke.

Other events have been organised to round out the specialised program of the Intec and Z. The conference on “Resource-efficient Production”, which will convene for the fifth time within the framework of the Intec and Z, is another regular feature of the specialised program. Based on the theme “Value added digital factory” and under the guidance of the Fraunhofer Group for Production, industrial experts, scientists and political analysts will discuss the current developments evolving in production technology on March 8. The Kunststoff-Zentrum Leipzig (Plastics Center) organises together with partners on the first day of the trade fair the workshop “Joining Technologies for Plastic and Metal Components”. Interested parties are moreover invited to the 3rd. Saxony Automation Day (March 9) and Students Day (March 10).