A green heart for Fakuma 2018
Fakuma is one of the most important meeting places for the plastics industry in Europe and beyond, and this year organiser Schall is making sure the event represents the core technologies of plastics processing and how these technologies can be powerful, accurate and trusted, while also being green.
Technology for lightweighting, systems that are energy-efficient and recycling innovation will play a large part in this year’s event, which arrives in the wake of the Blue Planet II effect.
“The plastics industry has been becoming more and more sustainable for a number of years”, stated Annemarie Schur, Fakuma Project Manager. “This not only applies to the recycling of materials, but rather to energy-saving and thus more economical manufacturing processes, energy-efficient machines and biodegradable plastics as well. And the sustainable alternatives are in no way inferior to their conventional predecessors with regard to durability, processability and weight.”
Economical production
Plastics processing is being automated to help limit wasted energy, parts and space on the factory floor, while Industry 4.0 technology for enhancing connectedness is further improving production systems – sometimes with a global footprint. This technology will be available across the whole exhibition space for Fakuma, permeating every section of the industry with a strong VDMA presence throughout the show, identifying the champions of Industry 4.0.
Effective recycling
Effective recycling technologies for plastics are in greater demand than ever before. Even high-tech materials like CFRP are being recycled more and more frequently and reused for new purposes. The prevention of so-called “downcycling” by means of modern processes and recycling of materials sorted according to type is important in this respect. Recycling coupled with energy-saving manufacturing processes, energy-efficient machines and biodegradable plastics are all contributing to improving the sustainability credential of plastics processors all over Europe.
Design for sustainability
More and more products are being manufactured today with the help of plastics and composites. Simultaneously rising demand for better and better performance, as well as top quality, necessitate an innovative spirit and new developments. In addition to new “green” products, Fakuma will also present all of the components and systems which are required for conventional as well as innovative processes. Whether injection moulding, extrusion, thermoforming, foaming or 3D printing is involved – raw materials producers, machine builders and manufacturers of precision parts will present all they have to offer in the way of innovation for the entire process sequence and value chain in Friedrichshafen. “For many exhibitors, Fakuma is a highly practical platform for unveiling their innovations to the public for the first time”, added Schur.