Nearly 100 people attended Bystronic UK’s latest three-day Open House, held at its Coventry showroom.

The theme of the event was ‘innovation, automation and integration to support the smart factory of the future’, embodied by the company’s sheet metal-working machinery — notably its CNC laser cutters, press brakes and water-jet cutting machines.

Visitors were able to see many of the latest technological advances from the Swiss company, along with presentations and practical demonstrations.

The event also allowed engineers to catch up on advances announced at Bystronic’s Competence Days — held in June at its group headquarters in Niederönz.

They included: the MES manufacturing software, which is being developed in collaboration with the Spanish company Lantek; ByCockpit, an Industry 4.0-compatible app that monitors sheet-metal machining processes in real time; a new rotary axis for processing tube on a ByStar Fiber flat-bed laser cutting machine; and Xpert 80, a new press brake that can be moved around a factory by fork-lift truck, yet offers a bending capacity of 80 tonnes over 1.5m within a footprint of less than 3m².

David Larcombe, managing director of Bystronic UK, said: “There is a continued robust confidence in UK manufacturing, and there remains an appetite to invest in our recent technical innovations — and in the future.

“This was clearly demonstrated by the large number of visitors attending the event and the level of confidence that they showed.”