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The Southern Manufacturing & Electronics show and its co-located AutoAero specialised theme are firm favourites in the industry calendar. With the 2024 edition almost upon us, Aerospace Manufacturing hears more.

From 6-8 February at the Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre, Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2024 will co-locate with AutoAero, a specialised theme that runs through the event focusing on suppliers to the aerospace industry in the UK as well as to the automotive sector.

Civil aerospace’s importance to the economy cannot be overstated and this will be underlined on numerous stands at the exhibition occupied by firms in the supply chains. It provides the ideal opportunity for aerospace professionals to source suppliers with skills and experience across a range of engineering disciplines, including precision mechanics, electronics, electrical equipment, metrology, testing and certification. There is likewise an opportunity to meet companies supplying advanced materials, such as composites.

The exhibition, which this year is more international than ever following an upturn in the number of overseas exhibitors, is split roughly 50:50 between firms operating in the mechanical engineering sector and others in electronics. There is no demarcation between the two areas, however, allowing visitors to walk freely between stands and perhaps discover things that they were not expecting. With so many exhibitors operating at the forefront of technology under one roof, it is an ideal venue for addressing multiple sourcing issues quickly and efficiently.

The show attracts large, often international manufacturers, but they are not allowed to dominate the space as the organisers operate an open access policy that gives SMEs and smaller vendors an equal opportunity to exhibit. A rich mixture of products and services is presented to visitors and long-term business relationships are often fostered. So successful is the formula that many of the stands are taken by companies that exhibit regularly, some having attended every year since the show started in 1997. Back then it was a small gathering of regional engineering enterprises visited by people local to the venue, whereas today it is truly international, attracting interest from around the globe.

Great expectations

Expect to see all the latest in machine tools, tooling, workholding and other production hardware, test, measurement, inspection and metrology, and additive manufacturing platforms and consumables. There will be mechanical, electrical, electronic, electromechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic components and assemblies of all kinds, surface mount technology, PCB manufacture, box build, cables, connectors, mechatronics assembly, plastic injection and rubber moulding services, sensors, drives, encoders, fasteners, pressings, wireforms, springs, gaskets, and more.

Other diverse products and services on offer will encompass business and manufacturing software, production and planning aids, oil and coolant supply, workshop equipment, dust and fume extraction, humidity control, workplace storage systems, bespoke case and foam manufacture, plastic packaging, injection moulding, hand tools, adhesives, industrial flooring, waste removal and recycling, training, freight services and financial consultancy.

Automation on both the mechanical engineering and electronics sides will feature strongly, driven by a skills shortage in Britain and across Europe. Manufacturing industry is also facing a battle to recover from the impacts of Brexit and soaring energy costs. Mitigation of these challenges is emerging strongly among the exhibitors at the show. For example, there is growth in the area of autonomous handling technology such as robot and cobot machine tool tending, and in Industry 4.0 solutions with the cost efficiencies that its end-to-end digitalisation brings. There is renewed interest in the reshoring of production, as well as in technologies like green energy and the latest power-saving machinery.

Alongside the exhibition and demonstration areas, over the three days there will be free technical seminar programmes, one covering mechanical engineering and the other electrical and electronic engineering. They will give visitors and exhibitors valuable learning opportunities, with a particular focus on the technical, managerial and environmental issues facing manufacturers today. Presentations will include advice for small manufacturers looking to improve their relationship with customers, how to enhance a sales team's performance, CE and UKCA marking compliance, sustainable practices in manufacturing, and management skills coaching including how to address the challenges of hybrid working.

Wide diversity on offer

A snapshot of three companies exhibiting at the show gives a flavour of the wide diversity of what’s on offer, starting with CGTech (stand C215) who will use the event to showcase the latest version of its VERICUT 9.4 CNC simulation software.

VERICUT 9.4, focuses on increased connectivity between the actual machine and the virtual simulation. The new CNC Machine Monitoring module connects VERICUT directly to CNC machines and streams data to allow users to monitor what their machines are doing on the shopfloor, live in real-time. Users can see which NC program or subroutine is running, monitor machine motions and spindle activity, see if overrides have been applied to spindle or feedrates, identify when machining has been interrupted by emergency stops or taken out of productive cycle mode, and much more, all within VERICUT.

Elsewhere, XYZ Machine Tools will be exhibiting a selection of machines on stands G260 and H260. The company’s recently introduced TMC toolroom machines that use the same platform and linear rails as its well proven LR VMC range combined with the ease of use of the ProtoTRAK control, ideal for the rapid programming and setup of one-off and small to medium quantity parts.

For flexible manufacture, the XYZ RMX 2-OP forms part of a machining cell offering a quick and cost-effective solution for second operations to finish a part. XYZ is also bringing the XYZ 800 HD vertical machining centre to the show, whilst for turning, XYZ PROTURN RLX 355 is a solution for low to medium volumes. For more parts, the XYZ CT 52 LR turning centre gives 52mm bar capacity and has linear rail technology and Siemens 828D.

Finally, Matsuura’s MX-420 PC10 5-axis vertical machining centre is making its debut appearance at Southern Manufacturing on stand E260 – machining live throughout the show and demonstrating just how flexible the 10-pallet changer can be during unmanned operation.

Matsuura will also have a separate stand (E270) entirely dedicated to 3D printers, AM software and raw parts post-processing, conveniently located opposite its CNC stand. As an award-winning reseller of HP 3D printers, Matsuura will be demonstrating a wide range of actual customer parts from all industry sectors, including high-quality white parts printed in PA12W on the new industrial mass production MJF 3D printer - the HP 5420W.

www.industrysouth.co.uk