The 2nd international grinding and surface finishing expo, Grindex International 2016, was a significant industry platform that helped to meet the growing need for excellence in all aspects of the manufacturing industry. The fourth edition of Iptex and second edition Grindex aimed to bring the focus on the gear engineering & grinding technology. The expo was held from March 3 to 5, 2016, at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. The exhibitions was organised by Virgo Communications & Exhibition (P) Ltd.
Grindex International 2016 was an exclusive event focusing on grinding & surface finishing technology and held along with Iptex. The expo was designed to meet the emerging demand for precision driven applications. In the world of manufacturing, most companies are scaling a new high in technology, solutions and applications with an increasing focus to improve efficiency and minimise manufacturing cost.
At the expo, vendors put on display some of the latest products and technologies from industry leaders across the globe like gear transmission products, gear processing equipment, cutting tools, gear inspection/testing/measuring instruments, chain/belt drives, grinding machines, tool grinding machines, abrasives, software, and other finishing products and processes.
Power transmission often includes a gear ratio or mechanical advantage. A gear ratio can increase the output torque or output speed of a mechanism, but not both. A classical example is the gears on a bicycle. One can use a low gear that allows one to pedal easily up hill, but with a lower bicycle speed. Conversely a high gear provides a higher bicycle speed, but more torque is required to turn the crank arm of the pedal. This trade-off is fundamentally due to the law of energy conservation and is the key concept of mechanical advantage. With a given power source you can either achieve high velocity output or high force/torque output but not both.
why innovation matters
There is a dire need for manufacturers to bring in innovative technologies in keeping with rapid changes in manufacturing and customer demand. In the last few years, gear boxes have become light weight while transmitting more torque with increased efficiencies. The Indian market that is said to be to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore offers manufacturers a chance to introduce new technologies and innovations. Increased collaboration between key players is essential for new technology development.
Pranav Dave, regional manager, North and West, Rossi Gearmotors India, says, “For the first time in India, we have launched a synchronised gearbox. While we only assemble here, our components are sourced from our headquarters. In the near future, we plan to use components from local vendors so as to localise components.” The company sees most of its customers from tooling machines, chemical and pharma sector. In terms of technical advancements, it has standardised parameters such as D3990 and offers the widest product range. One of its advantages is the use of MOC materials that is very high and it keeps changing manufacturing machineries thus ensuring that every machinery goes for rough finishing.
As manufacturing industry needs to adopt new high-end technology, solutions and applications, the prime focus is on increasing the cost effectiveness and process efficiency. In this respect, Grindex was specifically designed to meet the resultant demand for precision driven applications that serve these two prime objectives. The expo also focused on delivering enhanced productivity, achieving increased levels of precision, improved aesthetics and design, and sharing best practices and ideas by cutting-edge technologies adopted companies.
The two events were spread over an area of 7,000m2, and saw participation from over 150 globally brands like, Timken, Gleason, Klingelberg, Shanthi Gears, Bonfiglioli, Rossi, 3M, Hitachi, Nimble and Rexnord. Visitors comprised of corporate decision makers, managers and key members from the relevant industry segment. The latest products were displayed in all gears transmission products, gear processing equipment, cutting tools, gear inspection/testing/measuring instruments, chain/belt drives, grinding machines, tool grinding machines, abrasives, software and other finishing products and processes.
During the expo, a technical seminar “Modern Technology trends for gears, heat treatment, grinding” brought together speakers from well-known national and international companies to share their expertise and latest developments in gears, heat treatment and grinding technology.
Walter Graf, marketing manager, Reishauer, a company that prefers to import through its sister company, says that this exhibition holds importance for them as there are few players in the industry. However, he complains that while it will not Make in India for some time to come, it finds that ease of doing business in India is not as easy as it is made out to be. “We prefer to import from Switzerland and only have an agent here. I am often told that India is the biggest growth market in the world; but that is because no one else is seeing any growth,” he says with a laugh. Reishauer’s sister company in Germany makes automation products that it sells worldwide. “In terms of gear grinding machines, the high-end market is very small. There are only three to five players that matter. With the Euro very low now, this is a good time to enter new markets,” he adds.
With customers demanding better performance, lower cost and light weight, better efficiency and less noise, there is also a simultaneous demand to condition monitoring and want to predict failures in advance. These factors are driving product innovation, newer materials and heat treatment processes.
Both the events expected a shared participation from across the two industries, with a blend of the entire gears and grinding industry. Professionals like technical heads, purchase engineers, product managers, managing directors and entrepreneurs from various industries such as aerospace, aluminium plants, automotive, aeronautical, cement, chemical, coal plants, cooling tower, construction, defence equipment, earth moving, food processing, waste water treatment, grinding mills, heavy transportation, hot/cold rolling, machine tools, marine, material handling, medical/pharmaceutical, micro assembling, mining, off road vehicles, paper, packaging, petro-chemical, plastic, power generation, printing, railways, robotics, rubber plants, stamping presses, steel, sugar, surface mining, textile, thermal plants, wind turbine, machine/cutting, to name just a few, derived excessive business benefit from the expo.
As per the surveys conducted by various agencies across the world, India stands 16th in production, and 11th in the consumption of machine tools in India. India is set to become a key player in the global machine tools industry and is likely to see a substantial high-end machine tool manufacturing.