R&D, innovations, trends and best practices in manufacturing were the key highlights at the International Seminar of Forming Technology (ISFT 2020), organized by Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) on 22nd January 2020 at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru, coinciding with IMTEX Forming 2020 and Tooltech 2020 from January 23 to 28.

Over 300 delegates from various segments of manufacturing industry such as automotive, aerospace, defence, railway establishments, consumer durables, general engineering, and so on, participated in the seminar to explore the rapid technology transitions in forming industry.

Spread over 3 concurrent sessions and 6 technology tracks, experts from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Holland, UK, USA, Switzerland, Italy and India facilitated sessions at the seminar.

Speakers presented latest developments in metal forming technologies such as Laser Technology, Future of Bending Automation, Innovative CMT Processes, Next Generation Stamping Technology, Production Solutions for High Strength Aluminum, Additive Applications in Aerospace Industry, to name a few.

Welcoming the delegates to ISFT 2020, Indradev Babu, president, IMTMA said, “The response to this seminar clearly indicates the importance of forming technology in manufacturing. Visitors’ presence encourages us to create a platform like this to share the emerging trends in this technology arena.”

Delivering his keynote address on ‘Aggressive Lightweighting through use of composites’, at the inaugural session, Dr Asim Tewari, G.K. Devarajulu Chair Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT-Bombay said, “Every light-weighting effort has mass-decompounding effects when adopted in the early vehicle development process. Mass-decompounding can lead to substantial cost savings, partially offsetting the additional cost required for light-weighting.”