“Digitalisation has arrived in the foundry industry. While still standing in the shadow of their sibling sector, the steel industry, foundries have now also realised the potential of digital transformation, driven by the wish to improve the margins of existing business and increasingly by the challenges of decarbonisation. It is first and foremost improved earnings and extension of the service portfolio rather than disruptive new business models that feature on the agenda of foundries,” said Gerd Krause, Mediakonzept Düsseldorf.
New digitalisation solutions – from the transformation of the blast furnace to the vision of an autonomous steel mill, from digital melting operations to foundry 4.0 – will be a focal theme at the upcoming metallurgy trade fairs GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST to be held in Düsseldorf, Germany from 12 to 16 June 2023.
“The foundry industry here faces the same challenges that steel production is also confronted with. Connected digitalisation is a very important topic for foundries. The entry barriers, however, are comparatively high so that penetration levels vary widely,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfram Volk, Executive Director of Fraunhofer IGCV.
“There are more than enough applications for digitalisation in the foundry industry. Alongside the topics of energy, raw materials and traceability of components as a result of the transformation processes now affecting essential markets (e.g. automotive industry) connected digitalisation is tomorrow’s central challenge for our industry.”
There is huge potential to tap into. As one example Volk mentions digital quality assurance. “Digitalisation allows us to systematically infer quality-critical cause-effect relations and, hence, to quickly eradicate and/or prevent quality issues,” explains the professor.
In this context he also mentions data-assisted preventive maintenance with suitable methods. Furthermore, process-integrated (soft) sensors could also systematically track the condition of the manufacturing lines. Additionally, digital boundary patterns could significantly reduce customer-specific complaints. According to Volk, connected digitalisation also holds great potential for increasing output volumes by data-assisted optimisation methods or by load management in the energy field.
“The preparatory work has been completed successfully, many companies have already registered, and the allocation of exhibition space is in full swing. Now the time for finetuning has come and, of course, for launching visitor canvassing measures. Our exhibitors are eager to inspire the trade fair audience with their technologies and innovations. All renowned companies will be represented in Düsseldorf again plus many new exhibitors taking part for the first time. GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST are the most relevant events for their respective industries. They thrive on personal encounters and the exchange of ideas in this special setting. Everyone is especially looking forward to this, even more so after such a long time apart,” said Friedrich-Georg Kehrer, Global Portfolio Director of Messe Düsseldorf.
For further details visit www.gifa.com