FABTECH Canada: Managing today’s disruptive trends

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once made a statement that feels apt for today’s manufacturing environment: “…there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know.”

On the face of it, that quote and what followed in Rumsfeld’s statement seemed absurd, and yet “known unknowns” are quite common in manufacturing these days. While most fabricators have heard of the industrial internet of things and Industry 4.0, NAFTA, the cloud, 3-D printing, robotics, and myriad other buzzwords and technologies that will affect their business, understanding how to harness the value of these ideas and technologies remains a big “unknown” for many.

FABTECH® Canada, taking place June 12-14 at the Toronto Congress Centre, will give you the opportunity to get a better grasp of how these disruptive forces are affecting the market and how best you might adapt them in your own shop.

On Wednesday, June 13, keynote speaker Jim Carroll will offer an outlook for 2018 called “Disruptive Trends in the Era of Acceleration.” The reality of manufacturing today is that there is a big opportunity that comes from aligning to fast-paced trends. Carroll sees it as an ideal time for innovation and growth opportunities. He will review several of the biggest trends that are likely to affect your business this year and offer insight that puts all of these trends into perspective.

Carroll is a global futurist, trends, and innovation expert. Over the last 20 years, more than 2 million people have shared his insight with his events on stage. His global client list gives him a front-row seat to the high-velocity change that is occurring as disruption comes to take hold of every industry and every organization.

Flavio Volpe, meanwhile, will consider the effect that trade has on manufacturing in an advanced economy like Canada’s. Volpe is president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA), and his address on Tuesday, June 12, is titled “Manufacture and Trade: Can Canada Do Both?”

According to Volpe, a medium-sized but advanced nation must pursue new markets to feed the growth of its most advanced sectors. However, those newly industrialized developing markets grow by undercutting Canada’s 125-year value proposition in manufacturing. Volpe asks, Can we secure new foreign customers faster than we lose domestic ones to foreign entrants? We must ask ourselves what we want from new partners beyond “expanded markets” before we risk too much.

The June 12 luncheon panel, meanwhile, will look at “Automation & Beyond – A Closer Look at the Collaboration of Robotics and Additive Manufacturing Technologies for the Factory of the Future.”

This expert panel will discuss how innovative software tools, cutting-edge digital designs, additive manufacturing, and robotics all work together in making the factory of the future a reality.

Panelists are representatives from Anubis 3D, Autodesk, FANUC Canada, and Met-L-Flo.

Global futurist Jim Carroll

Deep-dive Learning

The keynotes and panel discussion will add to the detailed learning that will be available to attendees during the education sessions, which offer them a variety of opportunities to either learn the basics required for certain challenges or to go deep to better understand certain technologies.

For instance, the Resistance Welding Manufacturing Alliance (RWMA), a network of industry professionals and corporate leaders that fosters advances in resistance welding technologies, will offer an intensive two-day course on the basics of resistance welding. The course is designed to give operators, production supervisors, engineers, and others the opportunity to study, better understand, and further their knowledge in the theory, applications, and equipment used in the resistance welding process. This intense learning atmosphere will better prepare the novice and further educate the experienced.

Half-day workshops will be dedicated to the following topics: introducing robotics to your shop floor; North American welding codes and standards; lean management systems; additive business and design considerations for fabricators; accelerating worker performance; welding metallurgy 101; and fundamentals of radiography and penetrant testing.

Shorter hour-and-a-half sessions will include best practices for coil processing; updates on optimal powder coating processes; a machine safeguarding overview; the latest in laser cutting and welding; welding for profitability; updates on press brake bending and technology; finishing troubleshooting tips; an introduction to compact in-die transfer technologies for the stamping industry; and an examination of the basics of stainless steel welding.

Expanded Tradeshow Opportunities

The 2018 expo includes an expanded welding section; both Lincoln Electric Canada and ESAB Canada will have a large presence on the show floor, anchoring the welding area alongside the likes of Fronius Canada, FANUC Canada, Yaskawa Motoman Canada, ABB, and KUKA Robotics.

This expanded welding section complements a strong finishing area on the show floor. Therefore, whether you are looking for the latest welding machines; the most innovative nozzles or welding wire; the latest robotics applications; or grinding, polishing, and finishing discs, FABTECH Canada will have the professionals you can talk to to solve any challenge.

And, of course, fabricating technology such as fibre lasers, advanced press brakes, press brake tooling, panel benders, and ironworkers will be highlighted throughout the show. To learn more about the education sessions, the exhibitors, or the special lunch and breakfast keynotes, visit http://fabtechcanada.com.

FABTECH Canada is co-sponsored by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl., SME, American Welding Society, Precision Metalforming Association, and the Chemical Coaters Association Intl.

APMA President Flavio Volpe