The biggest booth in Hall 27 and the second biggest booth in the entire show.

The EMO Hannover 2005 show is one of the three biggest machine tool trade fairs in the world, and was held at Hannover’s Messe Convention Center in Germany for eight days from September 14 to 21. This was the 16th time the show had been held, and over 2,000 companies from 38 countries participated, including 69 companies from Japan. Reflecting the current situation of the manufacturing industry in Germany, where the show was held, there were fewer exhibitors and visitors than in previous years. However, there were still more than 160,000 people from all over the world, making it clear once again that EMO is one of the biggest machine tool trade fairs in the world.

Mori Seiki’s presence was unmistakable, with a total of 32 machines on display in the 2,162 m² (23,271.8 ft²) booth–the second largest of all exhibiting companies. Our goal was to create a booth space that would give visitors plenty of room to get a good look at the machines. Visitors told us that our booth layout, with the machines placed facing the aisles (a first at EMO) gave the booth a simple, open, welcoming atmosphere. This year, we placed Mori Seiki ads in in-flight maga-zines, on the floors and pedestrian bridges of Hannover Airport, as well as in the taxis from the airport, in an effort to raise Mori Seiki’s name recognition. We received lots of positive comments about the ads after the show.

The eight NT Series machines were always surrounded by a crowd of curious spectators.

The machines we exhibited at the show were all next-generation N Series machines–the NT Series of high-precision, high-efficiency integrated mill turn centers, the NL Series of high-rigidity, high-precision CNC lathes, the NV Series of high-precision vertical machining centers and the NH Series of high-precision horizontal machining centers. We also had a mock-up of the NM5000 DCG, which is currently under development - a 5-axis machine that uses our unique “Driven at the Center of Gravity” technology.

We are proud that we were able to give visitors an idea of our company’s future path. Aside from these Mori Seiki machines, we also exhibited a line-up of machines from other companies for all needs: grinding machines from Taiyo Koki, which boasts an overwhelming share in the vertical grinding machine market, compact lathes and machining centers for micro-machining from TSUGAMI-MORI and ROKU-ROKU, two companies with which Mori Seiki has entered into sales alliances in the European market, and many more.

As more and more work goes to China and other Asian and Middle Eastern countries due to their cheap labor, Germany and other Western European countries are facing an urgent need to switch to higher added-value machining. Reflecting this, the EMO hall was filled with high value-added machines designed for integrated and multi-axis machining. Mori Seiki’s NT Series of integrated mill turn centers has as its prime concept providing greater basic turning and milling performance than two individual machines, making them the ultimate in integrated mill turn centers which can be used as front-line machines in any production environment. These machines have received very high praise, and the eight we exhibited at EMO in different sizes and specs were always surrounded by curious visitors.

The huge MAPPS III board was placed on the walkway wall for maximum exposure. The spacious catering area where visitors could take a break.

We heard comments of surprise from people seeing the clearly different operation and the machining power beyond anything a conventional machining center could do, particularly during the machining demos of high-speed milling using an aluminum plate, such as, “The speed of the ATC magazine and the speed of tool switching are simply amazing” and “With an NT machine, we will no longer need any other five-axis machine.” One visitor even went so far as deciding to buy one of the NT machines right then and there, commenting that he had been considering purchasing a horizontal machining center and a lathe in order to perform machining that would require two processes, but why do that if a single NT machine could handle all the workpieces?

The third-generation MAPPS III operating panel, which comes with the NT Series, also got its world premiere at the show. The biggest feature is the fact that this integrated mill turn center comes equipped with a 3-D interference check function, which contributes to preventing collisions between parts of the machine or the workpiece.

Around 3,000 visitors came by our booth during the show, and we had a chance to engage in some serious discussions with many of them. Many of the visitors were interested in discussing actual purchases, which translated into many serious inquiries and actual orders. We will make sure that the opinions and suggestions we received from visitors will be reflected in future products and services. We would like to thank everyone who came by.

The Iga Campus showroom, packed with visitors. The seminar room presentation was praised as being very clear.

NT Series Product Releases were held at the Iga and Chiba Campuses over the three days from September 15 to 17. While they overlapped with the EMO show, the level of excitement surrounding the series was just as high as in Germany.
The crowds were particularly large on the first day during the opening ceremony, and the last day, when the hall was filled to the brim with visitors. The success of the show is a reflection of the increasing need for integrated mill turn centers in Japan, one of the world’s leading industrial nations.

We had four NT machines at the Chiba Campus, and three at the Iga Campus. Many people praised the smooth movement of the tool spindle and the large machining space, and there were more questions than ever about the machines and the operating panel.
Demonstrations were performed showing off the performance of the NT Series, including a full-stroke demo highlighting the machines’ large machining area and high-precision positioning, a multi-tool demo which cut cycle time using a balance cut and multi-tool, a MAPPS III interference check demo, high-speed machining of an impeller, and more. The visitors were treated to a display of performance above and beyond anything they had seen before.
There were many visitors who saw new possibilities in machining methods after seeing the NT Series. For example, a visitor in the die and mold industry pointed out that machining could be done using the C and B axes by holding a plate with both spindles.

So many people came to the NT Series Product Releases that we were convinced that integrated mill turn centers have become a standard machine for the industry, and are no longer as specialized as before. We will continue to put our line-ups on display in the showrooms at both campuses, so we hope visitors who were unable to come this time will be able to come in the future.