Composites Engineering, part of Advanced Engineering 2018 held at the NEC Birmingham, has firmly established itself as the UK composites industry’s biggest annual get-together. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Ed Hill hears from organisers Easyfairs about what visitors can expect to see this year.
The Composites Engineering zone at Advanced Engineering, held this year on October 31st and November 1st, has grown in tandem with the increasing number of applications found for these materials in modern design and manufacturing. Its has become the UK industry’s shop window for the promotion of composite manufacturing and materials and a celebration of the innovative engineering.
Supported by Composites UK, the zone features exhibitors promoting raw and semi-finished materials, design and processing advances, training, academic research, and the latest products and applications of composites in sectors.
In total more than 650 exhibitors are expected to be present at Advanced Engineering this year. As well as the Composites Engineering Zone, halls 2,3 and 3a of the NEC will include Aero Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Performance Metals, Connected Manufacturing and, new for this year, the UK Contract Manufacturing, and Nuclear Engineering zones.
“Our 10th anniversary not only helps increase the profile and exposure of the show, it also coincides with the Government’s ‘Year of Engineering’, which is intended to attract young people into the sector,” states Jeremy Whittingham, head of marketing for the show, which is run by Easyfairs. “Some of our content will highlight the changes that have happened in engineering over the last ten years. We will also have some on site networking that will have more of a celebratory feel to it. One of the reasons the show has successfully grown over the last ten years is because there really is something to celebrate about modern engineering and manufacturing in this country.”
Industry insight
One of the main features of the show is its Open Conference programme. Dotted around the show halls are six dedicated presentation areas (forums) linked to each manufacturing zone that offer high level insights and information from leading industry experts and organisations. These free to attend, Continuing Professional Development accredited talks are open to any visitor who registers for the show.
In the Composites Engineering Forum, a small selection of some of the topics being discussed include: offshore wind supply chain opportunities; automated dry fibre placement; 3D printed sacrificial tooling for complex composite part fabrication; and further opportunities for composites in railway structures.
In fact, the use of composites for railway applications will be a growing feature of the exhibition this year.
Whittingham says: “There will be a focus on how composite materials are used in the rail sector. Most notably for trackside structures like platforms and bridges. This is one of the areas where composites used in construction are developing fastest. There is a lot happening in the rail industry with projects like HS2 and Crossrail in development. And many opportunities where composite materials could be used for these applications.”
Of course, composites are also making inroads into rail vehicle applications where their lightweight, strength and corrosion characteristics offer many advantages.
Reflecting this in the Composite Forum will be a presentation from TRB Lightweight Structures about its development of a bio-composite train door leaf and another presentation discussing the advantages of sheet moulded compound (SMC) components for rail rolling stock, from Creative Composites.
“The Open Conference programme has always been a strong element of the show. Most presentations are around 15-30 minutes long and the ethos has always been to give attendees case studies that they can relate to and find useful.”
One of the biggest pluses about the Advanced Engineering show format is the interaction between the various zones. Composites are also likely to be seen being used in the aerospace and automotive zones for various applications.
And composite materials will feature prominently in some of the feature exhibitions at the show, for example, an exhibit featuring the 3.5m wingspan Juno drone, the first Graphene skinned aircraft, developed by the UCLAN and the Prion Mk3 drone, a civilian market UAV capable of 12 hours flight before refuelling which makes extensive use of lightweight composites in its structure. The Prion Mk3 is designed for a wide range of applications, such as aerial surveys of windfarms, border security or humanitarian aid air drops in disaster areas.
Finally, the show will feature the compact BARO level 3 autonomous vehicle, designed for environments such as airports, golf courses, business parks or university campuses, which also makes use of lightweight composite materials.
One of the popular features in the show halls last year was the Connected Manufacturing Zone which focuses on some of the latest digital manufacturing developments in production technology. This year as well as the many exhibitors, the presentations include topics such as: Leveraging big data to develop new revenue streams from Omron Electronics, Digital manufacturing and bringing connected enterprises to life by Rockwell Automation and creating the factory of the future from IBM.
“Terms like Industry 4.0 and The Internet of Things (IoT) are used a lot but many in the sector may feel it’s just applicable to the OEMs and Tier 1s. These presentations are a way to introduce SMEs to these concepts and how they can also benefit them.”
The latest engineering developments may be one of the biggest draws for Advanced Engineering 2018, but equally important are the business opportunities it offers. This year, Easyfairs has introduced a new system that will help attendees and exhibitors get the most value from their time spent at the show.
Matchmaking meetings
AE Connect is a free to use online matchmaking tool that allows visitors and exhibitors to book meetings. It means those registered with the show can search its database to arrange appointments with key contacts prior to and during the show. Requests can be filtered by factors such as sector, job title or product interests.
Whittingham explains: “We believe it will help OEMs, Tier 1 and the rest of the supply chain meet the people or companies they really want to, based on their profiles. There is great value in being able to see some of the people and companies who will be attending and reach out to them with the prospect of a meeting.”
AE Connect works as an intermediary between show attendees allowing them to make contact confidentially, schedule, and then confirm a meeting on the stands, meeting lounges or networking areas.
“We will also have dedicated AE Connect staff at the show who can help people get to their appointment whether it is on a stand or meeting.”
An indication of how important the Advanced Engineering show has become for the composite industry is the decision of Composites UK to hold its annual awards dinner on the evening of day one of the show.
Categories for the awards this year include: Innovation in Manufacture, Design and Materials; an award for the best trainee or apprentice; Employer and Employee of the year; and Environmental Sustainability.
So why has Advanced Engineering established itself as one of the biggest annual get togethers for the UK’s innovative manufacturing sector?
“After the financial crash in 2008 there was a feeling that we needed to realign the UK economy and put more emphasis on engineering to compete in the world,” Whittingham concludes. “The show has grown organically out of that environment as various zones have been added and become much more than the sum of its parts. We are immensely proud of how it has developed over the years and feel it has still not reached its full potential.”
