Local machine tools suppliers together with their international principals will be showcasing the latest technology and innovation at Machine Tools Africa. Taking place at the Expo Centre in Johannesburg from 9-12 May, visitors will see machine tools in action with many daily demonstrations bringing the event alive. 

“Machine Tools Africa is bringing the quality of this industry sector to the forefront by showcasing the latest in innovative technology, machinery, equipment and accessories,” says Gary Corin, Managing Director at Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, organisers of the event.

“Live demonstrations, product displays, conversations with technical experts and free-to-attend seminars will be of great value to visitors. The show delivers opportunities for buyers of machine tools to remain relevant, competitive and ahead of their game.”

MJH Machine Tools will be launching the Akira Seiki cnc lathe with Mitsubishi control at Machine Tools Africa. “The Akira Seiki brand is very well known in SA and the Akira Seiki cnc lathe now completes our product offering to the SA market,” says Ricky Lazenby of MJH Machine Tools.

Several machines will be on display and the Ctek and Akira Seiki machining centers will be machining components during the expo.

Also being launched at Machine Tools Africa will be a new air / CTS driven spindle speeder on the Multitrade Distributors stand. Both variants are capable of reaching speeds of 60 000 Rpm depending on coolant/air pressure. Mr Yoshiyuki Fujibayashi and Mr Ricky Chua from MMC Hardmetal in Thailand will be in attendance at the exhibition.

Walker Machine Tools will showcase a wide display including machines such as Pressbrake, Sunrise punch and shear, 5GH milling machine, Davi plate rolls and Kesmak bandsaw. “We will be doing demonstrations of the Sunrise punch and shear to show customers how it can punch holes in steel as well as cut steel,” says Chris Walker of Walker Machine Tools. “We will also have power on the CNC machining centre to run the machine, although not cutting.”

At the RGC Engineering stand, visitors will be able to see various GOM Atos Core 3D scanners on the floor and they are also planning to display a Mitutoyo Crysta Apex Coordinate Measurement Machine. There will be live demonstrations on all their products. For GOM they will do live scanning and reporting of workpieces and will also look at covering industry specific demonstrations and small workshops.

For Mitutoyo they will demonstrate the Measurlink Statistical Process Control System (SPC) setup and will show how this incorporates all the machinery from Mitutoyo, including the CMM. For Marposs they will have a very interactive setup, showcasing the ease of use of these in line inspection tools, focusing on the simplicity of these types of setups.

Live cutting demonstrations will take place on the Retecon stand on most of the machines on display. They will be launching the latest technology in machining, turning, cutting and bending. Technical presentations will be given on each machine when cutting.

B&R Metrology will be showcasing an array of Metrology Solutions products ranging from CMM’s, portable scanning arms, shadow graphs and others, including Renishaw probing and inspection products. “One of our exciting new age products that will be on display is the Inspecvision Planar sheetmetal inspection equipment,” says B&R Metrology’s Bryn Labuschagne. “We are committed to bringing high end new age technology into South Africa,” he adds.

Elquip Solutions will be showcasing a variety of electrical components, tooling and machinery on their stand at Machine Tools Africa. One of Elquip Solutions’ key overseas principals is the Hoffman Group, which supplies 500 brands of tools, ancillaries and other manufacturing-related products from global leaders in their various fields of manufacture.

“By approaching the world’s best tool manufacturers to manufacture specifically for them, Hoffman accesses vast experience and expertise for the benefit of its customers,” explains Elquip Solutions Managing Director Mike Cronin. “We are proud to be able to pass this on to our South Africa customers”.

Elquip Solutions’ long-term relationship with overseas principal IMET brings the very latest cutting-edge sawing solutions to South African industry. Last year IMET introduced the XSmart3 DC12A-NC automatic double-column bandsaw, which is intended for high-volume production of a variety of materials. Other overseas principals and products that will be featured at Machine Tools Africa on the Elquip Solutions stand will be Kinkelder saw blades, Behringer sawing technology, and YLM bringing the latest in global tube bending technology to local industry.   

Skok Machine Tools will be exhibiting all the new innovations from their varied supply partners, from machine tools to tooling. “We will be exhibiting Johnford and Goodway CNC machinery and Mega band saws on the stand and displaying tooling and accessories form Kyocera, Allied, SYIC and SMICUT,” says Marcus Filer, Sales Manager-Tooling at Skok Machine Tools.

“We will have an extensive video demonstration of all our other machinery lines and the tooling will be available for customers to see and touch. There will be a lucky draw for a customer to win a prize that will include tooling from one or more of our ranges,” he adds.

SOMTA Tools will be exhibiting at Machine Tools Africa this year alongside a variety of highly sought after OSG products. These will include OSG’s High Performance Carbide Drills, HSS-Co Extra Long Drills, Micro-sized Carbide End Mills, Indexable Drills and their Powder Material A-Tap Series.

Machine Tools Africa is a Machine Tools Merchants’ Association of South Africa (MTMA) event, organised by Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, a member of the prestigious Montgomery Group.

The exhibition enjoys support from the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC), the Italian-South Africa Chamber of Trade and Industries (Italcham), and the Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Measurement and Control (SAIMC).

The seminar series at Machine Tools Africa will be hosted by the South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering (SAIMechE) and the seminar topics will provide valuable knowledge content. The seminar programme is available online at www.machinetoolsafrica.co.za. CPD points can be earned for attending the seminars.

For more information, email info@machinetoolsafrica.co.za and keep updated via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linked-In. #mta17.