Engineers, companies, and associations in China can now explore Umati (universal machine technology interface) more fully and ‘experience the benefits of open, standardised OPC UA-based interfaces live and in person’. The umati.org/dcs ‘Smart IoT in Production’ showroom — a joint connectivity initiative of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) and VDMA (German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association) — opened late last year in Pudong, near Shanghai.

Alexander Broos, the VDW’s head of research and technology, and Umati project manager, said: “The future of connectivity is digital, but sometimes a physical platform is needed, a place where people can share ideas and products can be presented. The showroom highlights, in tangible form, the benefits of Umati in China, one of the most important and largest markets for the industry.”

The showroom is a joint facility of the VDW and the operator of the IMT (International Machine Tool Centre) in the ‘Pilot Free Trade Zone’, where the VDW already has its local office. In future, companies will be able to present their smart production technology to the public and meet potential customers and partners at these premises, which cover a total of about 500m².

Smart manufacturing
Permanent exhibition stands are available, with the first exhibitors including the Chinese subsidiaries of Liebherr-Verzahntechnik from Kempten (Germany) and the United Grinding Group from Bern (Switzerland). David Feng, head of the gear-cutting machines and automation division at Liebherr-Verzahntechnik in China, said: “The ‘Smart IoT in Production’ showroom offers Chinese industry an application scene with real-time capability. This will help local industrial users to experience first-hand how Umati can help them meet the future challenges of smart manufacturing trends.”

Umati has a permanent exhibition stand which it uses to present the possibilities of open data networking based on OPC UA. It also serves as a basis for cooperation with Chinese companies and the local connectivity initiative NC Link. An ‘intelligent caliper’ from Mahr (Göttingen, Germany) and a marking laser from Trumpf (Ditzingen, Germany) are being integrated into the ‘Umati dashboard in order to provide a live demonstration of networking from China’. Georg Fischer Machining Solutions (Schaffhausen, Switzerland) also connected a machine in a live demonstration.

Emphasising the importance of Umati, Lukas Meyer — Germany’s Deputy Consul General — said: “There is currently a lot of buzz surrounding Industry 4.0, making it now more important to ensure full transparency. With its powerful network of partners and its international approach, Umati is laying important groundwork here. The ‘Smart IoT in Production’ showroom represents a further important way for the network to raise its profile.”