Italian Exhibition Highlights Large, Modular, Interconnected Machinery

An HMC from MCM, which also offers pallet changers and other automation while maintaining a dedicated software division, goes to work in one of many demonstrations of large, highly customizable machinery on the floor of the 30^th edition of Bi-Mu.   

By the time the doors closed on the 30th edition of Bi-Mu/SFORTEC, the biennial Italian machine tool exhibition, nearly 60,000 attendees had passed through the halls of the 90,000-square-meter Fieromilano Rho exhibition center in Milan. Although 41 percent of the 1,072 exhibitors hailed from abroad, Italian machine tool builders were naturally prevalent. And North America remains a prime target for their equipment, which trends large and is characterized by a high degree of sophistication and customization. 

According to figures highlighted by show promoter and Italian machine tool association UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre, North America remains the third-most popular destination for machine tools and related products from Italy, which is the world’s fourth largest producer and third largest exporter of this equipment. Of the total 4.1 percent increase in Italian machinery exports, North America saw its share rise 10.7 to 15.8 percent compared to last year. 

This slideshow offers a look at some of the specific technologies spotted at the show. Italian builders are also pushing technology related to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), although their approach is a markedly cautious, realistic one.