Make Digital Transformation Tangible: Hannover Messe Recap

Every year, HANNOVER MESSE, the world’s leading trade fair for industrial technology, takes place in Hanover, Germany. This year’s event occurred from April 1 to 5, and was well attended, giving participating companies a great opportunity to showcase their technology. Dassault Systèmes was no exception, with a strong presence on the showroom floor.

The event was actually made up of six trade shows: Integrated Automation, Motion and Drives; Digital Factory; Integrated Energy; Industrial Supply; Research and Technology; and COMVAC. Dassault Systèmes participated in the Digital Factory show.

The new partnership between Dassault Systèmes and robotics manufacturer ABB was evident at our exhibition space by the presence of a large ABB robot performing a spot welding task. The booth itself was a large and open setup composed of 10 separate demo “pods” based on the ABB demonstrator.  These pods focused on the following: Robot Design and Validation; Cell Design and Validation; Advanced Simulation; Model-Based Manufacturing; Virtual Commissioning; Manufacturing Operations Management; Quality Management; Planning and Optimization; IIoT and Manufacturing Analytics; and Lean Manufacturing.

SIMULIA participated in the experiences taking place at Pod 1, Robot Design and Validation, and Pod 3, Advanced Simulation. At the Robot Design and Validation pod, SIMULIA representatives explained mechanical design improvement with non-parametric optimization techniques, demonstrating how to reduce the material and weight of a robot arm joint while maintaining all physical requirements such as strength and stability.

At the Advanced Simulation pod, SIMULIA focused on three topics: HVAC of the robot cell; thermal optimization/cooling of the power electronics system; and electromagnetic analysis of e-motors, motor control devices, and 5G devices for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The goal was to highlight the advantages of virtual prototyping and testing and to explain how a simulation expert can check the performance and functionality of new mechanical and electronic devices before prototyping and production. With respect to collaborative engineering, the SIMULIA representatives demonstrated how easy it is to inform colleagues from the mechanical design departments via the 3DEXPERIENCE platform if the test fails. This would trigger a redesign and an update of the corresponding structures that can then be tested and validated via simulation again.

Roughly, 220,000 visitors attended HANNOVER MESSE and Dassault Systèmes’ booth saw a steady stream of traffic as visitors stopped by for guided tours and asking questions. One thing was clearly evident – the public is fascinated by simulation and its multitudes of capabilities and applications. Visitors had questions about simulation’s place in additive manufacturing; electromagnetic compatibility and interference; 5G, BIM, and IIoT; structural mechanics; thermal and fluids analysis; and much more. SIMULIA’s simulation tools can handle them all.

SIMULIA’s electromagnetic solutions were also highlighted in a talk by Dr. Matthias Troescher at the CAE Forum as well as a presentation by Alexander Blickle at the T-Systems booth.

Trade fairs such as HANNOVER MESSE bring together people from all over the world with a shared interest – in this case, industrial technology. SIMULIA may already have a global reach, but large trade shows are vital in further expanding the world’s knowledge of the technology and opening more eyes to the possibilities that simulation – in particular SIMULIA simulation tools – can offer. Judging by the HANNOVER MESSE visitors’ level of interest and participation in SIMULIA’s presentations, there is a strong desire for a deeper knowledge of simulation and its role in a wide range of industries.


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Matthias Troscher

Matthias Tröscher is a SIMULIA Senior Business Development Executive, focusing on EM simulation in the automotive industry. He studied physics at the Technical University in Munich and received his doctorate in 2000 from the Johannes Kepler University Linz for his work on radar warning systems carried out for BMW. Matthias Tröscher has worked at CST since 2009 before he joined DS SIMULIA in 2019. He is Senior Member of the IEEE EMC Society, Vice Chairman of the IEEE German EMC Chapter and Chair of the IEEE Technical Committee TC-9 for Computational Electromagnetics.