The 25th Taipei International Machine Tool Show was held in March 2015 in Taiwan. It attracted over 47,000 attendees and featured over 1,000 exhibitors showcasing the latest advances in automation, smart manufacturing, and machine tool technologies. Key trends on display included increased robotics and automation solutions, data analytics and digital manufacturing technologies, and an emphasis on customized solutions. Representatives from Taiwan's machine tool industry discussed how technologies like Industry 4.0 and smart machining processes will be important for the industry's competitiveness going forward.

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Today, Taiwan is recognised as a major machine tool
manufacturer across the globe. The 25th
Taipei International
Machine Tool Show, held on March 3-8, 2015 at the Taipei
World Trade Centre (TWTC) Exhibition Hall, EXPO Dome
and Nangang Exhibition Hall, demonstrated the increase in
demand in the domestic and foreign markets in the Taiwan
machine tool industry. Organised by the Taiwan External
Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taiwan Association
of Machinery Industry (TAMI), the biennial exhibition
witnessed a total of 7,130 foreign buyers, marking an increase
of 8.3% on the previous show held in 2013. “The exhibition
hosted 1,015 exhibitors spread across 5,411 booths, including
260 foreign manufacturers from 18 countries. Marking the
debut of a host of automated products, the show highlighted
the underlying automation of Industry 4.0,” said John Hsu,
Chairman, TAMI.
66
Moving towards specialised machines
Focussing on smart machining solutions to enable greater
productivity in the manufacturing industry, TIMTOS 2015
displayed a host of automated products and high-precision
machine tools that served as an interactive platform for global
manufacturers in the machine tool industry. A post event report…
» HIGHLIGHTS
• With 47,033 attendees, 7,130 overseas and
294 from India
• Under the theme of “Smart Automation
Practices”, a total of 5,411 booths at the
exhibition
• Around 1,015 exhibitors, 298 foreign, 717 from
Taiwan
• Participation from 16 schools with 40 groups for
empowering future industry dynamics
• Thirty feature seminars, including Smart Factory
Technology Forum, High efficiency machining technique
for aerospace industry
• The 12th
Taiwan Machine Tools Industry Awards for
excellence in research and innovation
• Participation from countries like China, Japan,
Korea, India, Thailand, USA, Turkey, Singapore,
Argentina, Vietnam, Germany Switzerland
• The exhibition witnessed trends like robot
development, unlocking big data, digital
manufacturing, smart manufacturing and
laser electric technology
Megha Roy
Features Writer
megha.roy@publish-industry.net
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Highlights
The six-day event attracted a total footfall of 47,033 visitors,
widely catered to the future of the Taiwan machine tool
development. The seminars conferences during the
exhibition included the Mitsubishi new generation CNC
product presentation; new vision for manufacture-smart
factory technology forum, trends in machine tools and
resulting challenges for linear drive systems, 3D fibre laser
tube cutting technology, high effiecncy machining technique
for the aerospace industry, fibre laser apllications trends and
5-axis machine focus on aircraft automotive industry.
The exhibitors, on the other hand, focussed on the latest
advances and technologies and industry trends, such as
industry market development and machine tool intelligence.
Currently, the machine tool industry in Taiwan faces
competition from Japan and Germany in the high‑end market,
and China in the low-end market. For a greater market share,
Taiwanese producers have been quickly adjusting to changing
demands and have identified niche markets through intensive
investigation and diversified product strategy. According to
Yih Jyh Kang, Executive Director, TAITRA, one of the major
highlights of the exhibition was the Taiwan Controller
Appliance Pavillion. “The pavilion features three Taiwan-based
controller makers - Syntech Technology, Delta and Advantech-
LNC with six local machine tool manufacturers to showcase
the advanced applications of CNC machine tools, such as cell
phone case processing and dental implant processing.”
Trends dominating TIMTOS
Robot development: China together with the ASEAN,
currently looks for automation solutions. In anticipating this,
many Taiwan machine tool suppliers have already set up a
robot division of theirs or even transformed themselves into
robotics suppliers. Companies like HIWIN and Fanuc displayed
some of their robots at TIMTOS. Also, Delta Industrial
Automation’s new SCARA robot DRS40L with high speed and
precision has been applied to the company’s plant for enhancing
productivity and lowering manpower costs.
Unlocking big data: To meet the challenges of the
fluctuating market landscape, Taiwan-based manufacturers
are aligning data analysis initiatives with the business
performance goals. According to reports, cloud and big data
technologies help aggregate data set across disparate functions
to overcome data silos. TIMTOS saw companies diverting their
IT spent towards setting up specialised data optimisation
laboratories, and traditional factory floor data analysing tools
making way for faster smarter product lifecycle management
applications.
Digital manufacturing: With the latest technology
advancements, integrating PLM with shop floor applications
enables the exchange of information between design
manufacturing groups. As such, digital tools enable the local
makers to take on the increasingly challenging global market.
To assist local manufacturers to go upmarket to fend off cut-
throat competition, the Industrial Development Bureau under
Ministry of Economic Affairs proposed a three-year project to
boost growth and development of traditional Taiwanese
industries. The exhibition saw many local companies
concentrating on PLM to ensure informative-driven decisions
at every stage in the product lifecycle.
Solution-based products: TIMTOS focussed on solution-
based products. In this regard, Wele Mechatronic focussed on
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manufacturing time saving machines with unique technology.
The vertical multi-tasking turning centre’s (which claims to be
50% more efficient than Japan machines) USP is zero breakage
with special control in ASS. SEYI, an application solution
provider company integrates machines with different
automation, thus enabling solution-based products for
customers. On the other hand, PMI Linear Motion Systems
has products like cooling nut system that shortens the warm-
up time of machines and maintains the performance of
lubrication grease and ground ballscrews with rotary nuts that
can be used in gantry type machining centre.
According to Brian Chen, Project Manager—Industrial
Motion System, Delta Electronics, the company provides
machine tool solution with industrial robot solution and
peripheral solution. “Machine business has become quite
competitive. So, the products need to offer customised
solutions for customers. In this context, high performance
spindle motors is important,” he said.
Smart manufacturing: As per Alan Lu, Chairman—
Machine Tool Committee, TAMI, the depreciation of Japanese
Yen has greatly left an impact on the Taiwanese manufacturers.
“Taiwan’s investment in the machinery equipment is made by
the sectors that require advanced technology, such as energy,
aerospace and automobiles. Using smart machining processes
and developing Industry 4.0 through collaborating with RD
is taking the centre stage for local manufacturing.”
TIMTOS witnessed a host of companies displaying smart
manufacturing practices. Bryan Chen, Chairman CEO, YCM,
believes that the company adopts integrated manufacturing
model to practice best machine tools, from casting, assembly,
inspection and shipment. The company has established “Smart
Automation Development Dept” to integrate smart control
interfaces into machine tools. In addition, Delta Industrial
Automation displayed 10 high-end integrated machine tool
solutions, including a high-speed tapping machine, dental
milling machine, vertical machining centre and tool turrets
solution.
Laser electric technology: TIMTOS saw many Taiwanese
suppliers putting their RD emphasis on key components,
including servo motors and controllers, which is expected to
enhance the RD capabilities. Many Taiwan-based controller
manufacturers have launched all electric control systems and
have been using laser technology that accounts for 30% better
efficiency than traditional presses, thus, boosting the demand
for newer machines.
Inviting students: To cultivate future knowledge on the
industry dynamics, TIMTOS invited several student groups to
understand the major machinery verticals of the industry.
Around 16 schools participated in the show. The exhibition
saw industry stalwarts explaining the required items catering
to the different markets in the world. This helped the students
to get an insight of the machine tool industry.
Overviewing the industry
Considering the global market uncertainty, Taiwanese
manufacturers have upgraded themselves with blooming
trends such as Industry 4.0, intelligent smart manufacturing
systems, along with adequately equipping their plants to keep
abreast of the latest technologies. Taiwan has also developed
significant strength in the production of machine tool
components. As far as technological innovations are concerned,
the country is heading towards technological independence
manufacturing intelligence. The industry has already made
great progress in the development of controllers and other key
components, such as AB shafts and C shafts for direct drive
motors and has, thus, freed itself from depending on foreign
suppliers. Recent technological innovations have given rise to
manypotentialend‑usermarkets,andwithit,newopportunities
and challenges for the industry.
Considering the global market
uncertainty, Taiwanese manufacturers
have upgraded themselves with blooming
trends such as Industry 4.0, intelligent
smart manufacturing systems
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Export orders: The total export value of Taiwan machine
tool industry early this year went up to $3.75 billion, which is
5.8% growth on the same period last year. In terms of exports,
Mainland China ranked first with the value of $1.2 billion,
accounting to 32.4% on the total number, an increase of 7.3%
compared to the same period last year. The US came second
with an export value of $414 million, with 11.1% of the tool
and a 3% increase compared to the same period last year. This
is followed by Turkey with 15.8% surge, Germany with 8.9%
rise. The Netherland with 17.9% hike and Russia with 8.8%
increase.
Import value: As per reports of Jan-Dec 2014, in terms of
import for the Taiwan machine tool industry, Japan accounts
for 52.9% with a YOY of 18.8%. Germany comes next with
12.6%, followed by China with 8.2%, Switzerland with 5.4%,
USA with 3.7%, South Korea with 3.1%, Singapore with 2.4%,
Thailand with 2.3%, Italy with 1.8%, Czech Republic with 1.5%
and other countries accounting for a total of 6.2% import
value.
International participation
The exhibition witnessed 717 domestic exhibitors and 298
foreign exhibitors, with a total of 7,130 foreign visitors. A
major highlight was the German and Swiss Pavilion in the
show. The German pavilion featured eight German companies
exhibiting and promoting innovative products. It hosted
seminars on topics such as ETEL torque motor and TS 460
touch probe. On the other hand, the Swiss pavilion, comprising
105 booths displayed a wide spectrum of technologies in
grinding, milling, sharpening, turning, jig boring, electrical
discharge machining, gear cutting and forming. The main
focus of the pavilion was to demonstrate the Taiwan metal
manufacturing companies innovative and flexible solutions in
the product process.
Presence of India
According to CC Wang, President, TAMI, Taiwan’s machine
tool sales in India has improved to 12.6%, as compared to the
last year. “Our machine tool sale in India is around
$100 million. There are around 1,000 Indian buyers in Taiwan
and a few factories are located in India too. However, India had
a booming market in the past, but in the last few years, the
growth has slowed down,” he opined.
Indradev Babu, MD, UCAM, believes that the exhibition
witnessed more integration in machines. “This year, TIMTOS
had more 5-axis machines with higher technology finish,
which showcases the technology advancement.” Speaking on
the use of advanced technology in today’s world, T Venkatesan,
DGM—Projects, ST Engineers, suggests that since Germany
has a rigid market and Japan has an expensive market, the
Taiwanese market is well suited for India, mainly for cost-
cutting. “TIMTOS is about high-precision machines. Such
machine should be followed in the Indian market too. For
example, some machines have a magnetic base technology,
which minimises the wear-and-tear of the machines,” he said.
Given that with the ‘Make in India’ initiative in the milieu,
the Indian market is trying to meet the global standards.
Highlighting this, K G Advani, Chief Executive, Chmer EDM,
said, “Taiwan-based products are a value for money. These are
well-accepted in the Indian market. For the latest multi-axis
solution-based products and for adopting smart manufacturing
techniques, it adds value to the Indian market too.” With a total
number of 294 visitors from India, the exhibition had two
Indian exhibitors Pragati Automation and Fenwick and Ravi.
TIMTOS 2017, scheduled on March 7 to 12, 2017, is
expected to scale new peaks to deliver huge prospects across
the machine tool industry, thus, developing smart
manufcaturing practices. ☐
“Taiwan Controller Appliance Pavillion features three Taiwan-based
controller makers- Syntech Technology, Delta and advanced LNC with
six local machine tool manufacturers to showcase the advanced
applications of CNC machine tools.”
Yih Jyh Kang, Executive Director, TAITRA
““TIMTOS is about high-precision machines. Such machine should be
followed in the Indian market too.”
T Venkatesan, DGM—Projects, ST Engineers
“Using smart machining processes and developing Industry 4.0 through
collaborating with RD is taking the centre stage for local
manufacturing.”
Alan Lu, Chairman—Machine Tool Committee, TAMI
“TIMTOS had more 5-axis machines with higher technology finish,
which showcases the technology advancement.”
Indradev Babu, MD, UCAM
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