China Market Insider Trade Fair Showcases the Latest High-Tech Trends in China's Manufacturing Industry

Related Vendors

Asia Waypoint

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

SIMTOS (Seoul International Machine Tool Show)

At the end of September, the 25th "China International Industry Fair (CIIF)" took place in Shanghai, one of the largest industrial fairs in China. Here's what was on display.

Robots, adaptive machine tools, and AI agents for high-precision metal processing are examples of technologies currently transforming the Chinese manufacturing industry. The most important new trends were clearly visible at one of the country's largest industrial fairs, the 25th "China International Industry Fair (CIIF)," which recently took place in Shanghai.

On an exhibition area of more than 300,000 square meters – larger than the thematically competing Hannover Messe – around 3,000 companies from 28 countries showcased "more than 1,000 new technologies or products," also "a new record," as reported by Chinese media.

With such an overwhelming amount of innovations, it is not easy to select highlights for reporting, but three high-tech trends in the manufacturing industry were particularly prominent this time: first, the new union between artificial intelligence and machine tools, second, the trend towards extreme precision, and third, the rapid advances in industrial robotics.

Trend 1: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Tools

The first trend was given its own dedicated special zone at the CIIF for the first time this year, the "AI + Machine Tools" zone in Hall 4.1 H, surrounded by exhibitors focused on metal cutting. The software company Shanghai Smartstate Technology, founded in 2017 as a spin-off from Tongji University, showcased its AI agent here, which functions like "a brain for machine tools."

If this "agent" is given a new task, it can "independently develop plans, make decisions, and optimize processing paths," a company spokesperson told a journalist from China Daily at the fair.

Thanks to this ability to independently continue learning, machine tools can operate up to "40 percent more efficiently" compared to conventional industrial software. Additionally, control accuracy in the micrometer range can be used to flexibly program processing paths that no engineer could predetermine in advance, it was stated.

"The old approach was based on humans operating the software. What we are now developing is something like autonomous driving at the micrometer level in the industrial world," the news portal Zhongguo Xinwen Wang quoted Smartstate's chief scientist, Shen Bin.

The Swiss company ABB, present with a large booth in Hall 8.1, showcased the new version 2.0 of their "Integrated Vision" solution. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, this vision-guided robotic application can adapt to most cameras on the market and connect to the entire system within 30 minutes. This allows for effective cost reduction in automation, said ABB representatives.

International and Chinese companies exhibited side by side, including some from the US. China's Minister for Industry and Information Technology, Li Lecheng, emphasized at the opening ceremony that China aims to "deepen global cooperation," adhere to "international standards," and "promote the development of global industrial and supply chains."

The German company Trumpf showcased their latest equipment for intelligent sheet metal processing at their large booth in Hall 3H. A major attraction was the "TruBend Center 7000," featuring its high-precision electrohydraulic servo system and adaptive bending technology, which was presented in China for the first time. A "new era of flexible and intelligent manufacturing" had begun, said employees from Ditzingen in Shanghai.

Trend 2: Extreme Precision

As for the second noticeable trend toward extreme precision in manufacturing, both in measurement technology and processing, this is also a global phenomenon, as indicated by the many new solutions at the CIIF. The Chinese company Controlway from Suzhou showcased sensors with a measurement accuracy of less than 1 micrometer, which can be used, among other things, in the production of silicon wafers. The company produces "smart eyes for smart manufacturing," said company spokespeople.

The Chinese company Inovance showcased several exhibits in the field of extreme precision, including the "IR-U8" series, a collaborative robot with a repeat accuracy of 0.02 millimeters and, according to the manufacturer, an "absolute positioning accuracy" of 0.5 millimeters. It was described as "industrial high precision," a manager from Inovance was quoted as saying. However, most headlines were generated by a wireless labeling machine with motion control, which the Shenzhen-based company presented as a world first.

Trend 3: Rapid Advances in Robotics

As for the third noticeable trend – the rapid advances in robotics – there were too many interesting innovations to list here. Worth mentioning is the heavy-duty industrial robot from Chaifu Robot with a rated payload of more than five tons at the wrist. It is strong enough to lift a car. It is useful for transporting very large tools or for extreme applications in mining, logistics, or construction.

Flexiv Robotics, with offices in Shanghai and San Jose, California, showcased a 7-axis robotic arm capable of holding and engraving a raw egg, demonstrating extraordinary precision and dexterity. Mech-Mind Robotics presented its "Embodied-Intelligence Eye-Brain-Hand Robot," which can respond to spoken commands, grasp objects, and sort them.

The "quality of demonstrations" at this year's CIIF has "significantly improved" in this area, said German robotics expert Georg Stieler. China has not only become a "significant force" in terms of the volume of industrial robot production but also in intelligent robotics. German and other Western companies must prepare for a future in which China becomes the "world's largest exporter of machinery," Stieler stated.