September 2007 will see two world-class trade fairs in Germany opening their doors in quick succession, the IAA and the EMO, linked in particular by the topic of lightweight construction. While at the IAA in Frankfurt the automotive industry will be spotlighting its latest, sophisticated vehicles, the EMO Hannover is a more dispassionate affair. All the major equipment producers for the manufacturing sector will be presenting machine tools and components used not least for applications like modern-day vehicle concepts in lightweight construction.

The IAA 2007 in Frankfurt is focused on fuel-efficiency, as has already been emphasised at press and trade visitor days from 11 to 14 September. "At the IAA, there will be numerous new models on show whose low fuel consumption will set new standards on a sectoral comparison", affirms VDA President Matthias Wissmann. "However, the focus will be not only on the manufacturers' world premieres, but equally on the abundant highly interesting contributions from the component suppliers."

Lightweight construction concepts on the advance

Besides new drive systems, all automakers are progressively opting for lightweight construction concepts, in which the individual strengths of particular materials can be fruitfully exploited. Non-load-bearing elements like front modules or many parts of the interior are being made of carbon-fibre composites or plastics. Even more important, however, are light metals - chief among them aluminium. This material, available in a huge range of different alloys, meanwhile enjoys a high reputation among development and production specialists, and can be used in many areas of automotive construction.

On an industrial scale, aluminium is available in all semi-finished forms - as sheets, cast parts, profiles and for the automotive sector even as a forged component. It possesses outstanding physical properties, and with a present-day recycling rate of already more than 90 per cent scores in terms of exemplary ecological efficiency.

Aluminium v. steel bodywork: 43 per cent weight savings

One example will illustrate the kind of results that can thus be achieved: by using aluminium instead of a traditional steel construction, around 43 per cent of weight can be saved. This percentage is based on empirical feedback from Audi's series projects, for instance, and is referenced to functionally identical aluminium bodywork. It is important in this context, of course, to ensure optimum bodywork design in terms of the potentials offered by aluminium as a material, the structural concept involved, and the production and jointing techniques employed.

Moving less weight means less energy used, reduced consumption, lower fuel costs and downsized CO₂ emissions. In figures: 200 kilograms of weight saving in functionally identical vehicles will correspond to about one litre of fuel less per 100 kilometres, assuming the same driving style.

At the IAA 2007, automakers will be presenting their latest lightweight construction results to a wide public - concealed behind sophisticated design and under gleaming paintwork. At most, the component suppliers will permit a look at the details involved. What can only be guessed at are the complex processes and production operations that are needed to manufacture results of this kind.

Concepts for aluminium manufacture at the EMO Hannover 2007

If you're interested in production technologies which make sure that state-of-the-art engine and lightweight construction concepts are efficiently implemented, then from 17 to 22 September the EMO Hannover 2007 is the right place for you. Carl Martin Welcker, Chairman of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), explains: "The EMO shows the entire international technology available for industrial manufacturing, and is acknowledged as the premier international innovation platform for the metalworking sector."

It also addresses the issue of materials - specifically in lightweight construction.
Components made of aluminium are meanwhile no more expensive than comparable steel parts. Though the basic price of steel is still significantly lower than that of aluminium, that's only part of the cost truth. Ultimately, it's the price for a functionally identical finished assembly that matters. And this will, for instance, reflect different production processes - from material forming with casting machines or presses to cutting operations on milling, turning and grinding machines. Aluminium exhibits definite advantages here, since it's significantly faster to machine than steel.

For cutting light-metal workpieces, machining centres featuring what is called direct-drive technology are assuming major importance. These motors drive round and linear axes without mechanical transmission elements and reach higher acceleration and speed values than conventional drives.

For some years now, many manufacturers have been offering their machines with different drive concepts. Tests have repeatedly been run to see when which concept is the most appropriate. The results are in most cases similar: machining centres designed for direct-drive technology will cut light-metal workpieces 20 to 30 per cent faster on average, and with accuracy values of three to five µm are significantly more precise into the bargain than their conventionally driven counterparts.

5-axis simultaneous machining and highly automated production concepts

Further highlights in the field of machinery development include machining centres for 5-axis simultaneous machining. There will be several examples of this, too, on show at the EMO Hannover 2007, as Carl Martin Welcker confirms: "Today's leading machine tool manufacturers are capable of traversing five axes simultaneously. This enables complex components to be machined in a single clamping operation, which saves the users both time and money." Besides innovative machinery concepts, state-of-the-art control and drive systems are required here, for giving and executing appropriately precise commands.

At the EMO, the very latest solutions from internationally front-ranking companies will be on show - in actual use and as separately presented solutions with detailed explanations and professional customer consultants. Similar advances can be anticipated from highly automated production concepts. Here, too, visitors to the EMO will be able to view a wide spectrum of solutions. From relatively simple, automated workpiece feed to a complex production line in which a robot handles all process-concurrent tasks. It inserts workpieces, removes them after the production process, takes them to be deburred, cleans them, and so on. And the robot does all this with maximised precision, reproducible accuracy and with minimised interruptions for maintenance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. On the topic of "automation", numerous creative solutions will be presented, designed to help cut unit labour costs and thus safeguard jobs in Germany itself.

Visions and stimuli for leading-edge technologies

Besides the reality-driven production solutions already implemented, the EMO will also be showcasing approaches and stimuli for new leading-edge technologies. VDW Chairman Carl Martin Welcker cites keywords like the convertible machine tool, micro-machining, lifecycle monitoring and simulation systems. And he adds: "Many scientists and companies in our sector are working intensively on these topics. Practical results will indubitably be presented at the upcoming EMO events."

EMO Hannover 2007 will be taking place from 17 to 22 September. It is the largest and most international meeting point for the world's production technologies. More than 2 100 exhibitors from 42 countries will present their industrial manufacturing innovations in a net exhibition space of 180 000 m². EMO shows all technologies used in metalworking, e.g. cutting and forming machine tools as the heart of industrial production; precision tools; surface treatment; software and controllers for the entire production technology range; automation systems and components; measuring, testing, and quality management systems; machines and systems for tool and mould building; etc. The target group of EMO visitors include the major industrial sectors like machine and plant construction; the automotive industry and its parts suppliers; aerospace technologies; precision mechanics and optics; shipbuilding; medical engineering; tool and mould building; steel and lightweight engineering; etc. The last EMO Hannover in 2005 was attracting more than 160,000 trade visitors from over 80 countries.