At Fakuma 2024 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, scheduled for October 15 to October 19, Arburg (hall A3, stand 3101) will once again be offering an interactive exhibition area: the striking arburgSOLUTIONworld brings together Arburg's comprehensive consulting and solution expertise in all aspects of plastics processing, and is a space where trade visitors can obtain individual answers to their questions on key topics of the future. Arburg experts will be on hand to offer advice at six stations around the four-meter-high LED column. There will also be an interesting new exhibition wall with an integrated "transparent" machine, where the company's digital products and services will be brought to life.

Many plastics processors are currently working on making their injection molding plants fit for the future and competitive. arburgSOLUTIONworld is home to a wealth of knowledge in this area.

"More than a machine" — expert solution provider

The focus of arburgSOLUTIONworld is on productivity increases, efficiency, sustainability, the shortage ofSource: Arburg skilled labor and subsidies. Trade visitors will receive valuable suggestions and specific tips on finding the right levers and optimization potential. For intelligent production solutions that increase efficiency and reduce costs — customized to individual requirements. The company's "Action Plan: Energy," which includes energy advice, machine updates and consumption measurements, as well as the Gestica control system with its intelligent assistance and pilot functions, are useful components for saving valuable resources and energy.

Digital products and services brought to life

Arburg is not only an innovative manufacturer of machines and associated control systems, but also the industry's number one when it comes to digital transformation. The new exhibition wall will show trade visitors how digitalization can specifically increase the energy and production efficiency of machines and systems.

The centerpiece is a "transparent" Allrounder 270 A injection molding machine, which provides insights into interesting details — such as the electric drive components of Arburg subsidiary AMKmotion and the industrial internet of things (IIoT) gateway for information technology cross-linking. In addition, four monitor stations will be used to demonstrate the benefits and added value of the ALS host computer system, the arburgXworld customer portal that can be cross-linked with this, the Arburg Remote Service ARS, and Arburg's after-sales services.

Digital tools: Increase efficiency and find smart solutions

IT-networked injection molding production requires machines to be connected to a manufacturing execution system (MES). Arburg's own ALS host computer system, version 8.0 of which has been available since spring 2024, offers transparency, improves data quality and reduces machine standstills. As a representative survey has shown, this allows OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) to be increased by more than 26% on average.

A very useful artificial intelligence (AI)-supported feature of the arburgXworld customer portal is its new "Ask ARBURG" premium app, which is based on the well-known large language model ChatGTP — but with the advantage of a secure, self-contained environment. "Ask ARBURG" contains very easy-to-access, comprehensive injection molding knowledge from Arburg and can answer specific questions about machines and processes while also identifying and eliminating the causes of faults.