Arburg presents Smartest Factory concept at Fakuma 2026

Arburg reported strong visitor interest at the 30th Fakuma, held from 12 to 16 October 2026 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. As a co-founder and the largest exhibitor at the European plastics trade fair, the company focused its presentation on the Smartest Factory concept. A total of 14 machines were shown at the Arburg stand and at partner stands, covering machine technology, automation, control systems and digitalisation. At the start of the event, Arburg also became the first company to receive the newly established Paul Eberhard Schall Medal.

"We are proud to be co-founders and the largest exhibitor at this leading European plastics trade fair. At this year’s 30th edition, we have impressively demonstrated our innovative strength and our leading role in the industry in terms of machine technology, automation, control systems and digitalisation", said Juliane Hehl, Managing Partner at Arburg. "The atmosphere at our stand was excellent, and we received extremely positive feedback from customers and trade visitors regarding our key theme, Smartest Factory, our comprehensive portfolio of solutions and our dedicated, knowledgeable trade fair team. We are once again sensing a willingness to invest".

Dr Christoph Schumacher, Vice President Global Marketing at Arburg, commented: "The enormous advantage of Fakuma is the triad of event, experience and emotion. At this trade fair, suppliers, partners and customers come together to discuss ideas, showcase future-proof solutions and transform projects and technologies into reality".

Digitalisation and automation across production

In the central Smartest Factory exhibition area, Arburg demonstrated how digital services, software and automation can support customers at different stages of digitalisation and connectivity. The solutions are intended to optimise individual machines, production cells, complete injection moulding operations and entire factories, with the objective of increasing efficiency and reducing unit costs.

The arburgXworld customer portal and Arburg’s manufacturing execution system, which marked its 40th anniversary at Fakuma 2026, attracted particular interest. The company also introduced an Arburg-hosted MES cloud solution. According to Arburg, this option allows users to avoid a one-off investment and the costs of maintaining their own MES infrastructure, including dedicated IT staff.

Smartest Factory: At Fakuma 2026, Arburg used a maturity model to demonstrate to customers and prospective clients how they can use digitalisation and automation to make processes more efficient and to reduce unit costs, from individual injection moulding machines through to the entire factory

Apps, assistants and AI-supported process analysis

The MachineDashboard Premium Connect app in the customer portal now includes aXw Control StabilityAssist, which continuously monitors key parameters. Users can view predictive parameter trends generated by the AI-based control assistant for all connected machines.

The new aXw Control FirstShotAssist in the Gestica lite control system is intended to accelerate production start-up without requiring complex specialist knowledge. The aXw Control DoEAssist supports process optimisation by providing structured validation based on Design of Experiments directly at the injection moulding machine. The aXw Control MouldSafetyAssist compares the force curve with a reference curve, detects changes and stops the clamping movement when required to protect the mould against damage.

Arburg also presented software from its partner Plus 10 for data-driven, AI-supported process analysis and optimisation. The tool has been fully integrated into the machine control system, allowing high-resolution machine data to be used without additional hardware.

Standalone robots and domino production cell

A two-component Allrounder More 2000 equipped with a 32-cavity mould produced 32 different two-colour dominoes. The application received second place in the Fakuma 2026 Innovation Award on the first day of the exhibition.

An adjacent standalone automation cell featured two Yaskawa six-axis robots and a Multilift Select. All three operated independently of an injection moulding machine and demonstrated upstream and downstream tasks. The arrangement allows automation to be added to existing systems and scaled according to production requirements. It uses a separate control cabinet for the standalone robots and the new mobile rControl operating panel, which has the same user interface as the Gestica machine control system.

During the demonstration, the robots folded box bases and lids and placed them on a conveyor belt. The boxes travelled through a transparent tunnel in the exhibition hall floor to the injection moulding cell. A mobile cobot, also operated via rControl, then packed 32 dominoes into each box to form a complete set for visitors.

Allrounder Trend machines draw interest

Six automated Allrounder machines were exhibited at Arburg’s stand. Two electric Allrounder Trend models produced insulators for automotive connectors and liquid silicone rubber closures for medical technology. The standard machines combine the new Gestica lite control system with a compact design and are intended to provide energy-efficient, cost-effective operation. The Allrounder 1000 e Trend was shown for the first time with a maximum injection speed of 500 millimetres per second.

The Arburg stand at Fakuma 2026 included a dedicated Allrounder Trend area and focused on the Smartest Factory concept

Turnkey systems for medical and mobility applications

The NextGen Medical Solution was presented as a digitally connected turnkey system based on an electric Allrounder 570 A. Arburg developed it with specialist partners and an OEM from the medical technology sector. Using an injector pen as the example application, the system demonstrated the consolidation of production data in the central Gestica control system and the use of its pilot and assistance functions.

A second compact turnkey cell, based on a vertical Allrounder 475 V, produced textured wireless control fob covers for mobility applications from recycled material. The cell included a six-axis robot, laser station, milling station and cleaning station. It combined recycled material with in-mould decoration film technology and a textured mould. Recycling-related data could be accessed through a code applied to the finished component.

Micro-injection and thin-wall packaging

An electric Allrounder 270 A with a micro-injection module produced micro-filters for hearing aids, each weighing 0.002 grams. According to Arburg, approximately 15 of these components have the same weight as one granule.

Stork IMM, described as a new member of the Arburg family, exhibited the fully electric All-Electric 5500 packaging machine at its own stand. Equipped with a two-cavity mould from Brink, the machine produced thin-wall, in-mould labelled containers with a capacity of approximately 3.9 litres in a cycle time of 4.8 seconds.

Career Friday and sustainability

Arburg apprentices and trainers joined the exhibition team during the "Mold your dreams, mold your future" Career Friday event. They explained the Smartest Factory concept to young visitors and presented career opportunities within the family-owned company. Prof Andreas Fath, Arburg brand ambassador, also addressed the subject of sustainability.