Against a backdrop of Industry 4.0, “LIGNA 2017 will go down as a milestone in the digitalization of the wood industry,” said Dr. Andreas Gruchow, managing board member of Deutsche Messe, organizer of the woodworking industry’s largest trade show in the world.
Held May 22-26 in Hannover, Germany, the biennial show drew 93,000 visitors, including an estimated 42,000 attendees from outside the host country, according to show figures. More than 1,500 exhibitors, including 900 from abroad, showcased a range of innovative machinery, tools and solutions, with displays spanning across almost 1.4 million square feet of net space at the fairgrounds.
LIGNA 2017 featured a revamped, thematic layout, including two new display categories: Surface Technology and Machine Components and Automation Technology, which highlighted the theme of Industry 4.0: the networking of machines and automation to improve efficiency in high-production as well as small-scale environments.
“Digitalization and integrated production are the new keys to success for our customers,” added Wolfgang Pöschl, chairman of the Woodworking Machinery division of Germany’s Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), a show sponsor, and also chairman of the management board of Michael Weinig AG. “There is huge demand across the board, resulting in full order books. The challenge now is to shorten delivery lead times as much as possible.”
Catering to the wide range and skill levels of the attendees, exhibits ranged from high-tech, sophisticated machinery to entry-level systems for use by those in the furniture, cabinet, architectural woodworking, casegoods and closets industries. Solutions shown included: service apps for machine monitoring, to the first professional table saw using SawStop technology, dual glue technology on a contour edgebander, sanding and finishing innovations, a moulder that produces lineal shapes and designs in a single step, robots, a “three-click” process for producing a complete item of furniture, and of course, Batch 1 systems incorporating CNC technology.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/events-contests/event-coverage/woodworking-innovations-highlight-ligna-2017?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news