The record numbers of participants at the marketplace for digital machining – DiMaP 2.0 – shows:

the topic of digitalization is making its way into the machining world.

The virtual trade fair format DiMaP entered its second round from March 16 to 19. 16 companies and institutes from the entire machining value chain, from research institutes to machine builders, were present at the marketplace for digital machining in record numbers.

Seminar registrations have nearly tripled.

Compared to the DiMaP Opening Session in July 2020, online seminar registrations for this year’s DiMaP 2.0 have almost tripled. In total, exactly 1,000 participants registered, with a total of 4,484 times registering for the individual web seminars in German, English and Chinese. “A complete success for all involved,” DiMaP initiator and pro-micron CEO Hubertus von Zastrow said happily in his closing speech. “This shows that digital machining is an important topic and is becoming increasingly important.”

The highlight of the format was the online seminars with live demonstrations from the machine. Of these, the most successful seminars were those that were conducted cooperatively by two companies, e.g. a machine manufacturer and a tool manufacturer. The idea was to present digital solutions in a coordinated and real way from the point of view of the machining operation and to answer the participants’ questions live. The response and feedback, both from exhibitors and visitors, was consistently positive and was reflected in stimulating discussions after the seminars.

Prominent Director´s Exchange via Youtube-Livestream.

With a total of 191 YouTube Livestream views, the Director’s Exchange was also a complete success: “How digital will machining production really be in 5 years?” This question was discussed by members of the management of various global market leaders in the machining industry in a public panel discussion on March 18 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in Kaufbeuren, in the new building of the company pro-micron GmbH, which is also home to the newly founded Technology Transfer Center (TTZ) of the Kempten University of Applied Sciences, as a competence center for digital machining.

The event was presented by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bergs MBA, Member of the Board of Directors of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT and Managing Director of the Machine Tool Laboratory WZL at RWTH Aachen University. In a keynote speech, Prof. Bergs presented theses on digital machining, which were taken up and discussed by the distinguished guests. Among them were Robin Berger, Plant Manager Wertach Alois Berger Group, Alfred Geißler, Managing Director Deckel Maho Pfronten GmbH, Rudolf Meyer, Managing Director Liquid Tools, Wolfgang Sochor, COO and Member of the Board Hawe Hydraulik SE, Thierry Wolter, Member of the Board Ceratizit Group and Hubertus von Zastrow, Managing Partner pro-micron GmbH.

What’s next? Hybrid- not only in the engine, but also in the trade fairs.

“The format of the digital trade show is catching on and people are getting used to communicating digitally” – said Mr. von Zastrow in his conclusion on DiMaP 2.0. “There were good questions and methods to stimulate discussions, including via various chat formats. In some cases, facts can even be presented better on a machine in the background than on a booth without the possibility of a live demonstration.” Nevertheless, Mr. v. Zastrow notes that personal exchange is lacking and hopes that this can be supplemented by smart solutions in the future. What the DiMaP initiator can imagine would be some form of mixed event – if, for example, a DiMaP were held in parallel with a traditional trade fair. For example, trade fair presentations with live connections to the machine could be made accessible to people who cannot physically be there at the time. Hybrid trade shows can be an interesting approach not only for the engine but also for the trade shows. Mr. v. Zastrow can very well imagine a partnership cooperation with the physical trade fair organizers.

More information about DiMaP 2.0 can be found here: www.digital-machining.de