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METAV 2016: Medical technology gathers momentum
Medical Area showcases medical and production technology in
tandem
Frankfurt am Main, 25 June 2015. – Manufacturers of medical
technology and production technology for medical products are
equally called upon to put a continual series of innovations on the
market, for the benefit of the patients. Orthopaedic technology, for
example: “Leg prostheses are tasked with giving the wearers their
mobility back,” says Markus Rehm, a master mechanic for
orthopaedics, a top athlete, and wearer of a lower-thigh prosthesis. “In
terms of functionality and safety, however, the optimum is still a very
long way off,” adds Markus Rehm. Jumping, dancing, jogging,
swimming, climbing or simply just walking – to enable all these
movements to be optimally performed, this nowadays still requires
several prostheses. Improving the wearing comfort even further,
matching the prostheses more responsively to the movement
sequences involved, rendering them more sensitive in regard to feeling
heat or cold: “Here I would like to see quite a lot more improvements
for the very near future,” says Paralympics winner and long-jump world
champion Markus Rehm.
Page 2 / 6  METAV 2016
Individuality is the trump card here. Companies like the Rahm Zentrum
für Gesundheit (Rahm Health Centre) in Troisdorf, Markus Rehm’s own
employer, purchase prefabricated prostheses from industrial suppliers,
produce customised shafts as the link between the prosthetic and the
human body, and modify them individually to the situation of their
future wearers.
The materials used are lightweight ones like aluminium, carbon-fibre
materials, titanium, silicone, etc. or material combinations. They are in
many cases machined using conventional processes like milling, drilling
or grinding. Also required are a goodly portion of skill and a steady
hand. Furthermore, additive manufacturing is becoming progressively
more important for customised medical technology.
New technologies, miniaturisation, a paradigm shift away from an
exclusively product-focused approach and towards complete-system
and process solutions, the integration of ultra-modern information and
communication technologies, personalisation, and individualisation are
trends determining everyday reality in the field of medical technology.
Every innovation in medical technology demands appropriate
production technology for manufacturing it.
Medical technology increasingly in demand at the METAV
The interrelationship between medical and production technologies is
the thematic focus of the Medical Area at the METAV 2016 in Düsseldorf
from 23 to 27 February.
Medical technology is progressively evolving into a high-growth
customer segment with ultra-rigorous stipulations in terms of quality,
safety and dependability. This demands machining technologies that
supply precision and perfection in every phase of the manufacturing
Page 3 / 6  METAV 2016
process, irrespective of whether customised or standard products are
involved.
Starting life as a special show called “Metal meets Medical” at the
METAV 2010, the subject has meanwhile gathered so much momentum
that it has been anchored in the Medical Area as a fixed constituent of
the METAV 2016. It will be spotlighting the entire spectrum available for
production processes in the field of medical technology. New materials
will be on show, as will surface treatment technology, product
dimensioning and medical engineering, or the subjects of certification
and production systems. For the premiere of the Medical Area at the
METAV 2016, the existing exhibitor listing has been expanded to include
a separate nomenclature with more than 30 entries for medical
technology.
Four METAV areas invigorate the fair’s core section
With this profile, the Medical Area fits admirably into the METAV’s overall
concept, which focuses on the entire value creation chain for
metalworking applications. As from 2016, four areas will be appended,
themed around Additive Manufacturing, Moulding, Quality and
Medical, substantively conceived for mutual fructification.
Manufacturers of medical technology, and of tools and moulds, are all
exacting purchasers of machine tools. Medical technology
manufacturers use moulds and tools for their production operations.
Both sectors have ultra-rigorous stipulations for quality in their
manufacturing processes. Solutions to this are offered by the Quality
Area. Finally, visitors to the Medical Area can additionally familiarise
themselves with the new options for additive manufacturing in the
eponymous area. Inside an area, vendors showcase their corporate
capabilities either as individual exhibitors or on shared stands. Each
area features an integrated forum for presenting topical issues.
Page 4 / 6  METAV 2016
Ulrich Krenzer, Managing Director of Mapal Kompetenzzentrum VHM,
Miller in Altenstadt, is fully persuaded of the new concept’s
advantages. “Medical technology offers an enormous amount of
potential, but also necessitates the development of concomitantly
distinctive solutions. The requirements encountered in dental
technology, for instance, are met by means of responsively adapted
geometries and special cutting materials. We are delighted that the
sector will be represented with an area of its own at the METAV 2016,”
he says.
One of the Medical Area’s partners is the VDMA’s Medical Technology
Working Group. Since being founded in March 2014, it has successfully
positioned itself as a platform themed around issues of production
equipment for medical technology. To quote Jürgen Lindenberg,
Managing Director of Citizen Machinery Europe GmbH in Esslingen, a
member of this Medical Technology Working Group and one of the
METAV’s long-standing exhibitors: “The new areas at the METAV are a
fine opportunity to purposefully target customers from the sectors
concerned. We want to familiarise ourselves still more thoroughly with
the requirements entailed by medical technology, and to further
upgrade our high levels of competence in terms of micro-machining for
this customer grouping. The METAV provides an ideal opportunity for
this.”
Medical Technology Cluster North Rhine-Westphalia is one of the
METAV’s partners
In regional terms, the Medical Area is supported by the Medical
Technology Cluster North Rhine-Westphalia, headquartered in
Düsseldorf. To quote its Executive Director Dr. Oliver Lehmkühler: “With
the new Medical Area, the METAV is bringing together two vital sectors
Page 5 / 6  METAV 2016
in North Rhine-Westphalia: metalworking and medical technology. This
underlines the high quality of the technologies and products from North
Rhine-Westphalia for the medical sector. As a partner of the Medical
Area, we are delighted to be able to offer enhanced visibility for the
highly innovative companies from North Rhine-Westphalia operating at
this interface."
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Background to the METAV 2016 in Düsseldorf
The METAV 2016 – the 19th International Exhibition for Metalworking Technologies – will
be held in Düsseldorf from 23 to 27 February. It showcases the entire spectrum of
production technology. The principal focuses are machine tools, production systems,
high-precision tools, automated material flows, computer technology, industrial
electronics, and accessories, complemented by the new themes of Moulding, Medical,
Additive Manufacturing and Quality, which are now permanently anchored in what
are called “areas” with their own nomenclature in the METAV’s exhibition programme.
The METAV’s target group for visitors includes all branches of industry that work metal,
particularly machinery and plant manufacturers, the automotive industry and its
component suppliers, aerospace, the electrical engineering industry, energy and
medical technologies, tool and mould-making, plus metalworking and the craft sector.
Portrait of the VDMA’s Medical Technology Working Group, Frankfurt
Within the VDMA, the Medical Technology Working Group constitutes a platform
themed around questions of production equipment for medical technology. The
network is targeting the entire value creation chain, from the material supplier, the
machinery manufacturer and the medical technology producer all the way through to
actual utilisation in the clinics. Besides producers of medical technology and research
institutes, the working group’s members also include companies from the entire
specialism spectrum of the mechanical engineering sector.
Portrait of the Medical Technology Cluster North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf
In 2011, the Medical Technology Cluster North Rhine-Westphalia began its work on
behalf of the state’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research. The defined remit for
the cluster’s activities is to reinforce North Rhine-Westphalia’s already-strong position in
in the field of medical technology and to upgrade it still further by means of intelligent
strategic networking. The Medical Technology Cluster North Rhine-Westphalia aims to
synergise the capabilities of all parties involved, from the business community,
academic/research institutions and the health care sector, so as to support the
ongoing process of innovation. In line with the “Progress for North Rhine-Westphalia”
research strategy being pursued by the Ministry of Science, social aspects and patients’
interests are also to be accorded more attention than hitherto, as are demographic
change and the other major challenges of our era.
Picture captions
Picture: Markus Rehm, Paralympics winner in long jump in 2012, and a qualified
orthopaedics mechanic, Rahm Zentrum für Gesundheit, Troisdorf,
Source: Rehm
Page 6 / 6  METAV 2016
Picture: Jürgen Lindenberg, Managing Director of Citizen Machinery Europe GmbH,
Esslingen, Source: Citizen Machinery Europe GmbH
Picture: Ulrich Krenzer, Managing Director of Mapal Kompetenzzentrum VHM, Miller in
Altenstadt, Source: Mapal Kompetenzzentrum VHM
Picture: Dr. Oliver Lehmkühler, Executive Director, Cluster MedizinTechnik.NRW,
Düsseldorf, Source: Cluster MedizinTechnik.NRW, Düsseldorf
Picture Otto Bock 1: High-precision craftsmanship is essential for rendering high-tech
usable. The shaft of the prosthesis is matched meticulously to the user concerned
Source: Otto Bock Health Care Deutschland GmbH, Duderstadt
Picture Otto Bock 2: Liners made of silicone, polyurethane and other plastics enhance
wearing comfort between the human body and the shaft of the prosthesis,
Source: Otto Bock Health Care Deutschland GmbH, Duderstadt
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