The VDE Institute at the Hannover Messe 2018 – our retrospective

With more than 200,000 international visitors, the Hannover Messe is the most important industrial fair in the world. From the 23rd to the 27th of April 2018, it was all about the topics of Industry 4.0, automation and digitalization. The VDE Institute was on-site with numerous experts and provided information on testing and certification in these areas, among other things.

Smart factory at the VDE booth

Work between man and machine is one of the special topics when we talk about Industry 4.0 these days. At the VDE booth, human-robot collaboration (HRC) was explained and demonstrated together with our topic partners Mitsubishi Electric, Elabo, Weiss Technik and M + H Elektro-Steuerungstechnik. To experience the process of a smart factory up close, visitors at the VDE stand were able to participate in a small “tour”. After the check-in at the terminal, where the visitor received a barcode, a personal caricature was digitally created by quick-sketch artist Marcel Bender. Having the barcode, we then continued to our smart factory, where the caricature was printed and inserted in a digital alarm clock with a date and weather indicator. From here, the journey through the smart factory began. A robot arm set the time and the date of the alarm clock, and it was subsequently checked for accuracy using special technology. Afterwards, it was off to our temperature testing tunnel. Heat and cold were simulated here, and the alarm clock was tested for temperature resistance.

VDE campus with specialist lectures

Numerous free specialist presentations were offered at the VDE campus

VDE / Hannibal

In addition to the smart factory, the VDE campus was a popular walk-up destination for many visitors at the Hannover Messe. You could entertain yourself while waiting for your caricature or simply enjoy a break from the trade fair’s hustle and bustle in many short and pithy presentations on current industry-related topics and information about the VDE.

Topics of the presentation included the winning projects of the INVENT a CHIP school competition, news related to standardization, testing and certification along with the e-dialistic challenge for a future worth living. Participate as well and submit your ideas and projects by August 31, 2018. You could win trips to one of the five most important international VDE tech hotspots in Boston, Singapore, Shanghai, Silicon Valley or Tel Aviv.

Certificate issued to Elabo

Sven Öhrke issues the CB certificate to Thomas Hösle

Sven Öhrke (left) issues the CB certificate to Thomas Hösle (right)

| VDE

Sven Öhrke (member of the management board at the VDE Institute) issues the CB certificate for a successfully tested insulation tester to Thomas Hösle (General Manager of Elabo GmbH) on April 24, 2018. In so doing, we as an independent and accredited testing and certification institute certified the safety of the product, and this certification can now be promptly used. With the CB certificate, Elabo GmbH is now able to obtain additional national marks in other countries as well without having to repeat the tests.

The certification of the insulation tester is the start of a new partnership between the VDE Institute and Elabo, a partnership that will continue in additional projects.