Last year, most people were still just talking about it, but now there is an increasing number of concrete projects and approaches to actually integrating digitization into production. Practical examples were also interesting here, showing how corresponding concepts can also help to reduce considerable costs for unnecessary peak loads. In addition, major topics in the "Management meets Surface" entrepreneur forum included the climate-neutral energy-saving orientation of electroplating, as well as finance and insurance, and corporate management. Surface processes for sustainable climate-neutral and energy-saving plating also played a major role in session two. Session three focused all morning on cost and resource-efficient wastewater treatment. But the topic of chromium(VI)-free decorative chromium plating of base materials was naturally also on the agenda in several presentations. The session on regulatory developments in European and national environmental and chemical policy also met with great interest. Here there was a lively discussion between experts and the audience. Although there were repeated presentations on the subject throughout the two days, the session on Friday was finally dominated by digitalization, from inline XRF bath analysis and process optimization using RFID to software as a solution for the growing multidimensional requirements of electroplating operations.
With about 90 presentations in five lecture series, the Surface Days 2023 offered an enormous range of topics and, as in every year, it was not always easy to decide which lecture to attend: From modern functional coatings and various topics around zinc nickel to exciting research topics such as composite galavanoforming for ultra-dense power electrode lithium-ion batteries, there were interesting suggestions for many applications. Both the participants and the exhibitors drew a very positive conclusion. The new venue was also well received due to its short distances between the exhibition and break area and the lecture halls.
Enjoy a tour through the exhibition area of the Surface Days as a video clip. We have also collected some exhibitor testimonials for you.
There will be a more detailed follow-up report on the individual topics of the ZVO-OT 2023 in the magazine for surface technology in issue 11/2023.