In Autumn every year the Italian machinery manufacturer and mechanical engineering company Biesse opens its doors at the company’s German registered office to welcome customers and interested parties to Inside.
This year the event was to be held on the 28th and 29th September: visitors and guests flocked to Nersingen to take advantage of the comprehensive advice provided by the Biesse personnel in the fully-equipped showroom on the Ulm campus and to draw inspiration for their own factory and production facilities.
“I’m just overwhelmed” – the extremely positive feedback from the visitors to Inside left a powerful impression on Cornelius Oheimb. His first in-house trade fair as the new Managing Director of Biesse in Germany provided him and his company with an ideal platform for the lively interchange with customers, interested parties and partners. “The intensive discussions and consultations gave us the opportunity to provide detailed answers to the many questions put by the guests and provide them with a range of new ideas for their own production process. This was extremely fruitful for all sides.”
The knowledgeable audience seized the opportunity to gain detailed, extensive information about intelligent machine solutions as well as innovative software for the wood and plastics processing sector. The subject of automation played a key role in this respect and is the future of mechanical engineering and plant manufacture - as such, it formed one of the focal points of the trade fair. The user-friendly and laser-guided positioning tool of the Rover A FT, combined with the return for easier loading and unloading of the Brema Eko provided a clear illustration of the current state and the opportunities available in this area Obviously, it wasn’t just these two nesting and drilling machines that were subject to inspection and testing but also the thirteen other CNC machining and panel cutting centres, edge banding, calibration, sanding and drilling machines that operated continually at full speed on the activity and display site covering an area of 1,600 m2.
The visitors worked together with Biesse’s experts to create a key utensil on the Rover A FT nesting machining centre and the S2 wide-belt sander: Barbecue tongs made from ash. The practicality of the tongs was put to the test during the lunchtime outdoors in beautiful weather. A food truck also provided additional support.
Master class: Special design challenge
For Oheimb, the six partner companies in precision tools, abrasives, adhesives and software who were represented at the event, made a key contribution towards the success of the even with their solutions created in coordination on the Biesse machines. “This year, there was one very special item on the agenda: for the very first time, working together with our CAD-CAM software partner Moldtech and the specialists in vacuum presses from Atmos, we organised a master class on the theme of “Special design challenge | From concept to reality”. The inquisitive participants were provided with extensive new input on the typical requirements for special designs and are now able to readily convert their newly acquired knowledge of convex, concave, relief milled and deep-drawn elements into practice.” A video review of the master class can be found on the Biesse YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/GjNylK3eTVU
In the German-speaking region, Katharina Schaf is responsible for Biesse’s marketing and is familiar with the current developments in and needs of the market – good reason to include her as one of the total of 60 participants in one of the fully-booked workshops on the challenges in the manufacturing process. Even sector experts like her are still amazed by the way in which the knowledge is implemented in practice: “It was very exciting to personally experience and be involved in the creation process from design to the finished product, including the programming as well as the preparation and mounting of the counter moulds. We designed a deep-drawn wash basin on the PC using the software from our partner Moldtech, incidentally, a prime example of the typical requirements in special design, then sawn on one of our Selco saws and machined using the Rover. Our partner for vacuum presses then came into the action and our workpiece was deep drawn using the pre-heater and mould station from Atmos. The final step was to create the relief structure on one of our CNCs.”
As an experienced Marketing Manager she did of course also use the opportunity of the master class for a detailed exchange of views with the participants and was pleased with the many new ideas and background information she learned. “Our in-house trade fair has always attracted a good number of visitors but this workshop has also motivated many interested parties to attend – and based on what I’ve learned here it’s been a worthwhile exercise. So that will definitely not be the last of its kind” says Katharina Schaf, with an optimistic look to the future.
For Managing Director Oheimb, highlights such as these are also a key element for a successful event and, in the final analysis, also for the long-term success of Biesse. “We are delighted with the outcome of Inside. The feedback from the 170 visitors was extremely good and the in-house trade fair enabled us to deepen the connection to and contact with our customers and partners".