2024 MachineBuilding.Live hailed as a tremendous success

Filling additional halls at the venue with more stands, introducing an innovative Live Arena, and with an expanded Workshops programme, the 2024 MachineBuilding.Live was hailed a tremendous success by visitors and exhibitors alike.

Sold out across three halls, representing a significant increase in size over the 2023 event, MachineBuilding.Live provided an unparalleled opportunity for machine builders, OEMs and systems integrators to get different viewpoints on specific issues, uncover new ideas for their business and evaluate a range of different products and services.

Exhibitors were thrilled with the response and levels of enquiries from visitors. Angelo Lafratta, business development manager at Lenze, said: "Predominantly we've got machine builders coming here, exactly who we want to speak to, so for us it's a very beneficial place to be." And Steve Roberts, product manager for factory automation at Siemens, added: "The customers who come are really engaged."

That point was echoed by Jeremy Wicks, product manager at SMC UK, who said: "We've had lots of really good engagement with customers; it's been a very busy event." And Tony Parrott, business development manager for machine building at Phoenix Contact, added: "It's been a fantastic show again this year. We've had great contact with customers, with a great mix of people to talk to."

An innovation for the 2024 was the Action Arena, with live demos of robotic solutions. Routeco spotlighted its Unified Robot Controller Demonstration Cell, showcasing seamless integration of a Comau SCARA robot with an independent cart technology track system, while igus highlighted its RBTX platform, making it simple to configure robotics solutions from multiple manufacturers with guaranteed compatibility and real-time pricing.

Schneider Electric brought its impressive cartesian robot golf ball demonstration to the event, with integrated cameras and advanced cantilever axes to precisely throw and catch golf balls. This versatile machine demonstrates cutting-edge technology like slides, motors, gearboxes and energy chains in action.

Bosch Rexroth invited visitors to experience the powerful combination of the 7-axis Kassow Robot and the VarioFlow Plus conveyor system. The demo showcased the seamless integration and flexibility of these components for various material handling applications. Talking visitors through the demo was Mark Fursland, managing director of CCS Technology, a Bosch Rexroth solution partner, who said: "We've had all sorts of enquiries, covering applications from equipment for sorting nuts and bolts, to systems for processing tablets for cows. It's been very varied and very interesting."

The 2024 event also featured a world-class Workshop programme, with presentations from acknowledged industry experts. From SICK UK, Charlie Walker, digital solutions consultant, and David Hannaby, market product manager, looked at how sensors provide the foundation for the next step in the digital journey, while Matthew Harris, business development manager at Lenze UK, unveiled a new motor driven roller technology that is could address key challenges in conveying and logistics. Tom Slater, readychain expert at igus UK highlighted the company's Module Connect solution - a modular plug-in connector for connecting different electric cables. From Festo, product marketing manager Josh Roberts, discussed selecting the optimal field-level machine control architecture.

The Workshop programme was expanded this year to include a series of Machinery Safety Masterclass talks. Jason Reed, account manager at Pilz, spoke on keeping machinery safe in a digital world, offering advice on protecting industrial automation and control systems against manipulation and keeping them secure from the outside world. And David Dearden, director at Euchner UK, explored a case study from a major retailer's distribution centre, highlighting improvements from electronic key exchange systems and networked safety hardware.

SICK UK machinery safety specialist Iain Keetley-Smith spoke about innovative light curtain muting, while Miklos Bakos, machine solutions offer manager at Schneider Electric, explored machinery safety with robotics. Rounding off the masterclasses, Derek Coulson, director of Hold Tech Files, looked at CE Marking and the need for an EU Authorised Representative.

Summing up the unanimous enthusiasm for the event, Rachael Duckworth, marketing manager at Beckhoff UK, said: "This was our second year at MachineBuilding.Live, and it's been another really great show for us. The quality of the visitors is fantastic, and we've already re-booked for next year."

For 2025, MachineBuilding.Live moves to a new home: the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire on 15 October. Conveniently located between the M1 and M6 near Coventry, it offers visitors even easier access to this unique event.