The economic success of machine builders is increasingly determined by their ability to differentiate themselves through additional digital offerings and new business models. But how can SMEs in particular benefit from the digital transformation at machine and plant level despite high costs, pressure to innovate and three major 'construction sites' – demographics, digitalisation and decarbonisation?

The answer lies in sustainable connection of IT and OT as well as in tools that make IT easily manageable for the mechanical engineering industry.

Key elements that this session will cover include:

1. The cost and innovation pressure on machine builders is high. They need to create new revenue streams and offer digital services, become more efficient and sustainable.

2. Responding to increasing cost and innovation pressure with intelligent automation: with smart data, the digital twin and open automation is one key element.

3. Tools that make digitalisation controllable: with the open automation platform, machine builders can bring innovations to their machines even if they don't have in-house IT knowledge so that they can exploit the potential of digitalisation for themselves. 

4. SMEs need more than a conventional App store. They need both public (commodity) apps and, more importantly, apps that are especially designed for machines and individual companies.

5. Open standards, simple handling of IT and maximum security to protect the machine builder's know-how are indispensable.

Presented by:  Annekatrin Konermann, Product Manager of Lenze's open automation platform NUPANO

The machinery safety landscape is ever evolving bringing with it a raft of changes to current legislation to cope with issues such as increasing digitisation and flexibility requirements.

Pilz safety specialist Jason Reed will summarise the changes – covering the migration of the Machinery Directive to the Machinery Regulation plus standards such as ISO 13849, IEC 62061 and ISO 14119 - and will explain what these mean in practical terms to machine builders and end-users alike.

In this session, you will learn:

– Which changes have been implemented

– Which changes are upcoming

– Which changes are relevant to your business

– Which actions need to be taken right now

– Which actions need to be planned for future changes

Presented by: Jason Reed, Machinery Safety Specialist

RBTX is a new platform to configure and cost a full automation system or robot using parts from many industrial companies. Guaranteed compatibility and fixed cost, all production and factory engineers should know about this latest technology.

In this session you will learn:

– The main different types of robots used in UK manufacturing

– How to configure a robot using RBTX.com

– Access to a library containing hundreds of real working examples

– A glimpse into the future; starting with the application not the product

– “Test before invest”; access to the UK based robot test area

Presented by: Matthew Aldridge, Managing Director, igus UK


Machine builders are shifting their focus from machine sales to service sales. This requires them to think beyond the traditional product offering and get into the customer's shoes.

This workshop will explore how IIoT enables machine builders to provide best-in-class service and upsell 3 additional service models to boost customer satisfaction and create highly profitable, recurring revenue streams, long after the warranty period is over.

By attending this session, you will learn:

1. Trends within the OEM market and the importance of machine service to profitability.

2. How a standardised, IIoT-enabled machine fleet opens up an opportunity for upselling.

3. Why machine data is important and how to use it in the context of proactive service.

4. An exploration of SLA options and three examples of IoT powered business models.

5. Real life examples and results of servitization models from some of Europe’s largest machine manufacturers.

Presented by: Nathany Tavares, Channel Account Manager

With manufacturers producing an ever-increasing number of SKUs, the demand for faster, more efficient changeover processes has never been greater.

In this talk we will explain what machine builders can do to optimise their machines to ensure a smooth transition between products in their complex manufacturing processes.

By attending this session you will learn:

– How just-in-time delivery of line consumables increases productivity

– Reducing the amount of time operators spend moving goods is critical in a scarce labour climate

– Automate the verification of packaging materials prior to start up

– Achieving zero idle machine time, pallets on the floor, unsafe conditions, mistakes made and repetitive tasks for operators

– Use of recipes to optimise robots for frequent form changes

Presented by: Stuart Coulton, Marketing Manager UK&I