The MACH 2008 Exhibition, held at the NEC Birmingham between 21st – 25th April 2008, was the premier event in the Machinery world and saw many new ideas and equipment shown to the public. The bi-annual event, attended by over 25, 000 visitors was also the climax of months of planning by TPS-Fronius Ltd.
The TPS-Fronius Ltd. Stand in the Automation section of Hall 4, was designed by Margaret Palmer, Financial Director, ‘we wanted to highlight the range of Fronius equipment available and, in conjunction with ABB, Fanuc and Keyplant, who provided us with robotic and manipulative
equipment respectively, demonstrate this in a working environment.’
TPS-Fronius Ltd. selected one of the larger Stands (see right) at the exhibition, 63 square metres, which facilitated the movement of spectators and allowed easy access to all the equipment on display.
The ETR, operated by Automation Manager, Ross McCrorie, was particularly popular and the level of future interest was pleasing. Ross advised, ‘we have to thank TPS customers for providing the components on display with the ETR; visitors were vocal of the versatility of the machine and the quality of the finished work shown.’ Adjacent, the ETR, on the Column & Boom, was the largest piece of equipment on the Stand. Directly opposite, within a purpose- built safety screen, manufactured by TPS customers- in- Education, Kilmarnock College, housed an ABB robot used in conjunction with a TPS 5000 CMT. ‘This illustrated a recent customer installation and pleasingly demonstrated the very successful use of the CMT machine with the robot. The
customer was delighted with the finished product and speed of installation’ advised Keith Palmer.
For ease of demonstration, the other robotic application, the Fanuc, sited on another corner
was shown inactive. ‘This allowed customers to get close to the components and understand the welding process, without the Health & Safety worries to the adjacent spectators,’ said Margaret Palmer, ‘although the machines were powered up, and the ease of adjustment amply demonstable.’ Probably the main source of visitor attraction on Stand 4889 was the welding demonstrations. Adjacent spectators,were satisfactorily shielded by welding curtains, cosmetically improved by a Fronius ‘nomadic display’ shown adjacent. Martin Willenger of Fronius provided excellent live demos of testpieces using equipment located nearby, including, TPS3200CrNi, TPS 2700 CMT, MW2200 and Transcut 300. Typically, customers would ask Martin to weld using specific material and wire, watch as he adjusted the welding equipment accordingly, quickly producing excellent results. TPS also used two large Plasma TV’s, providing background to the Stand – featured here were various Fronius Digital Welding dvd’s and TPS-Fronius Ltd. own company and career information.
Also attending the event from Fronius, and meeting many of the visitors to the Stand, were Anton Leithenmair, Roland Brunmaier, Thomas Hermann, Jank Vinzenz and Stefan Silberbauer.
Stand co-ordinator, Brian Divers of TPS finished with, ‘Mach08 was the culmination of many hours of planning and liaison within TPS, ably assisted by Fronius. This work was rewarded by the fantastic reactions from Stand visitors and their requests for demonstrations, explanations and further information.
We had a great team on the Stand, suitably supported by Tom & Margaret Palmer, and collected many leads for our Sales Teams. Now the hard work really begins!’