Metav, the Düsseldorf, Germany-based show that takes place biennially in February, faces the burden of occurring only a few months after the world's biggest metalworking show, EMO Hannover, and a few months before world events such as AMB, the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) and the Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF). As a result, exhibitors use the show to connect with customers from Northern Germany and don't necessarily present world-introduction solutions.
Therefore, for my coverage of the event, I focused on what is new in clamping technology, toolholding and workholding—areas in which customers are increasingly benefiting from solutions designed for the age of Industry 4.0. Exhibitors had a number of intelligent workholding and toolholding solutions for automation and networked manufacturing up their sleeves. Digital-workflow data collected from these “smart” devices can be used to manage process flows, and productivity can be increased by performing the appropriate analysis and data processing. Similarly, some new clamping technology generates data that can contribute to process-flow optimization. For example, tooling and maintenance times can be reduced in advance and the machine time can be used for production instead.
Source: Modern Machine Shop