Fakuma 2021: Industry and Technology Barometer in Preparation

Preparation for the 27th Fakuma international trade fair for plastics processing from 12 to 16 October 2021 is currently running at full bore. The trade fair, regarded internationally as the first port of call for injection moulding, extrusion technology, thermoforming and 3D printing, is being awaited by the industry as an indispensable live platform.

At the moment, Fakuma-Virtual is proving itself a valuable and useful instrument for presenting trade visitors with innovations covering all aspects of materials, machines, peripherals, processes, simulation, technologies and tools, as well as plastics processing. Many exhibitors are taking advantage of the opportunity to present their trade fair highlights and new developments here, and to get in touch with an expert audience. However, the virtual marketplace is neither capable of replacing the personal professional exchange between suppliers and users, nor does it have any intention of doing so. The Fakuma 2021 on-site event is and will remain indispensable, for which planning and preparation are currently running at full bore.

New Products and Systems in Preparation

For example, HNP Microsystems will make their debut at the industry highlight in 2021: the company will present a new system for dosing liquid colours in the plastic injection moulding process. “Our pump technology, which has proven itself in other industry sectors, has been integrated into a system to this end, and has been adapted to the special requirements of liquid colour dosing. Now that we’ve completed successful testing of the system in actual practice, we want to unveil it,” says CEO Dr. Thomas Weisener. “We look forward to meeting users at Fakuma 2021.”

Austrian machinery manufacturer Fill will also be represented at Fakuma 2021 and will be using the Fakuma-Virtual platform to present new products prior to the on-site event. Fill develops complete production lines for composite components in mass production. For example, rotary table systems are ideally suited for the mass production of moulded parts made of polyurethane. In order to avoid downtime during tooling changes, the company has developed a fully automated mould-carrier/tool-changer which makes changeovers possible within the production cycle. The tools are prepared, changed and cleaned externally. Rotary tables are thus transformed into highly flexible production systems.

Protective Systems and Recycling

As an industry and technology barometer in the field of plastics processing, Fakuma will attract special attention, in particular in the wake of this pandemic year. Large numbers of projects and products have been developed in recent months in order to contain the spread of the virus – for example protective and shielding systems, as well as glasses and masks – which will be presented as polished concepts in 2021. In addition to products and solutions for preventing the spread of infection, above all issues including environmental compatibility, sustainability, efficient use of resources, circular economy and bioplastics are at the top of the list. Special emphasis will be placed on the recycling sector – the recyclates market was under considerable pressure in 2020 due to cheap new materials resulting the drop in raw material prices. As a result, recyclates have been driven out of applications which had been built up over numerous years, and the demand for PET flakes has collapsed. Not least of all within this context, the issue of PET bottle concepts and reusable packaging systems will be discussed at Fakuma 2021.

In the meantime, many companies have honed their production concepts with regard to automation, digitalisation, networking and efficiency, and have been able to implement up-to-date applications. And thus Fakuma 2021 is being especially eagerly awaited as a unique trade fair which, as a working platform for seasoned practitioners, is consistently aligned to the plastics processing sequence.