‘Balance of speed, efficiency, cost and quality must to maintain right productivity’

Returning after a gap of four years, the 12th Die Mould India International Exhibition will give the OEMs as well as service providers a networking platform to interact with each other. It will also help them discuss about the advancements in the sector, implement the same to increase productivity and revenue. To be held at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai from April 27, 2022, the exhibition is the first to bring the industry players under one roof physically after the Covid-19 pandemic.

CNCTimes (www.cnctimes.com), the gateway to the machine tool industry interacts with the exhibitors and their channel partners who will be showcasing their products at the exhibition.

Mr. Kiran Devaraj, Business Development Manager, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, in a tete-a-tete with Bhalchandra Chorghade, Editor, CNCTimes.com, shares his views on the expo. Below are the excerpts:

Q. Tell us about yourself and your company

A. I am working as a Business Development Manager in Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. Hexagon provides technologies that enable manufacturers to improve quality and productivity. Its solutions for design and engineering, production and metrology allow customers to work with speed and confidence, shaping smart change in manufacturing to create agile, data-driven processes and enable factories smarter.

As a global leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions, our focus has been on putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, and quality across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, safety, and mobility applications. Our technologies are shaping urban and production ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.

Q. What is your product line?

A. Hexagon’s line of products are very well curated at every stage of tool design and manufacturing right from project enquiry till dispatch. Our Design for Manufacturing (CAD) solution helps toolmakers to response quickly for RFQs & tool designers to design tooling for critical big parts with stringent quality requirements. For rapid digitalisation of physical part, Scanner & Reverse Engineering suite from Hexagon will be boon to tool designers.

Our Simulation for Manufacturing (CAE) solution ensures increased life of dies & moulds with material cost estimation followed by right material selection including high tensile strength materials, alternate composite material & engineered plastics. It will also optimize number of stages along with tooling cost & perform forming simulation.

Toolmakers would be beneficial with our Machine Programming Solution (CAM), as it ensures effective machining time with quality finish with unique machining strategies right from 2 axis to multi axis.

Our process certification enables the best output by digital twinning your CNC machines thereby simulating, verifying & optimizing G codes. Our solution helps in reducing unnecessary trial cuts, tool preparation time, rationalizing tool inventory & turnaround time. 

Project Management solution from Hexagon helps in better material management, effective planning & scheduling. Project management tools ensures well synchronous process with OEM & tier 1 suppliers to avoid communication errors.

Our quality measuring devices along with Inspection software ensures parts are manufactured first time right time with feed forward loop in system.

Our connected workers system enables even medium sized tool rooms executing large tooling orders effectively with Digitization of shop floors, interconnecting all machines, getting all data captured in digital format, analyzing those data to improve productivity & quality, which is the first step to be ready for Industry 4.0.

Hexagon machine shop solution tailored for tooling industry helps toolmakers adhering to tool delivery timelines with first time right at T0 stage, ensuring shorter lead time from tool planning process to tool deliveries which significantly affects time to market.

Q. What are your expectations from this exhibition?

A. The manufacturing industry is undergoing a rapid technological transformation with the adoption of technology for smart connected manufacturing. Exhibitions and events provide an opportunity to exchange ideas with industry peers and customers. Given that the Die and Mould exhibition has great participation from key industry players, we look forward to engaging closely with participants through insightful discussions on the current industry challenges and the role of technology in transforming manufacturing segment.

Q. Going forward, how do you see the future of the industry?

A. Market size of tooling Industry in India is estimated about ?18000 Cr, out of which nearly 70% is driven domestically and thanks to certain schemes like Vocal for local, Atmanirbhar Bharat & PLI in electronic sector which are aiding toolmakers to grab such opportunities. Automotive sector being the major customer of tooling industry, close to 70% of the total demand comes from the same. Some of the disruptive changes being witnessed in recent times such as EVs, hybrid vehicles, shared mobility & electrification in automobility, are pushing OEMs towards autonomous mobility solution. Lot of developments are happening in restructuring vehicle design which includes building cool interiors with connectivity through sophisticated electronic architecture. Sensors embedded exteriors with sustainable unique design is catching consumer pulse. Post-COVID, OEMs are likely to include local suppliers in their supply chains list. EV portion of automotive has unfolded many opportunities for mold makers to produce light weight aesthetic plastic parts, thin-walled Aluminum / Magnesium / Mixed metal alloys for structural die parts, housings for electric motor, stator, batteries etc. Many startups for two-wheeler EVs are looking for local tooling suppliers as alternative to China. Additive manufacturing is gaining popularity in tooling industry. Despite all this, close to 30% of the market size is still dependent on imports. few critical design & manufacturing including lamp tooling, air vent tooling, precision tooling, 2K, 3K moulds, reflector tools, bumper tools, IP dashboard tools, multi cavity tools, engine casting tools like frequency casting, ball bearings, parts with specific texture & finishing are mostly imported from overseas toolrooms. Hence, our neighbouring countries are setting up toolrooms in India. Meanwhile, OEMs expect high quality, low cost & timely deliveries with least time to response to design changes which determines time to market of the new product.  

In addition, other industry verticals including medical devices, white goods & defence sectors are also seeking major contribution from tooling industry, adding further boost to GDP growth.

This is the area of focus & opportunities where toolmakers can look for by adopting technological solutions in their toolroom infrastructure. Tool Manufacturers must find the right balance of speed, efficiency, cost, and quality to ensure they maintain the right level of productivity. As manufacturing becomes increasingly competitive and evolved, there will be greater emphasis on optimizing raw materials, building an integrated workflow, and minimizing errors. Manufacturers seek greater control over product quality and cost.

This is where smart manufacturing technologies come in. The focus of smart manufacturing technologies is to optimize factory productivity. The end goal is to achieve enhanced productivity, a reduction in breakdowns, and reproducibility of the developed solutions. We see a future where the adoption of smart connected technologies will be increasingly mainstream.