It's showtime!

Birmingham's NEC plays host to an extravaganza of advanced manufacturing on 6th and 7th April 2011. IP&E takes a look at what visitors can expect to find at Midlands Design & Manufacturing,Mtec, MEDTEC UK and 3C UK

Midlands Design & Manufacturing The Midlands Design & Manufacturing 2011 (MDM) show will highlight how best-inclass manufacturing solutions can be harnessed by companies of every size and in every industry sector.

Evolved from the Machine Building and Automation and Vision Technology Exhibitions, MDM will focus on the end-toend manufacturing cycle - from design and development through to packaging and despatch, and everything in between - and it will embrace all the technologies, products and services that 21st century manufacturers, sub-contractors and specifiers depend on to achieve effective and efficient production regimes and world-class products.

MDM will include the spectrum of technologies, including design software and development through to rapid prototyping, production equipment (machine tools and automated processes as well as toolmaking and plastics injection moulding), tooling and workholding as well as quality control and, the all-important sub-contracting supply sector.

MEDTEC UK Addressing a market worth more than £11bn in the UK alone, this year's MEDTEC UK event will showcase everything from materials through to production processes and dispatch - and the authoritative MEDTEC UK Conference and the showfloor educational theatre will help to ensure that every visitor has access to a wide range of topical information relevant to the industry.

The two-day MEDTEC UK Conference will provide medical device professionals with insights into such topics as: regulation, intellectual property, risk management and process validation, as well as innovation and project management - plus a full day devoted to the role of materials and coatings in 21st century product development.

Targeted at everyone in the medical device R & D, product development, design, engineering, quality and manufacturing chain, delegates to the conference will be able to hear a Keynote Address from NASA on how space-borne technologies are finding their way into advanced medical devices and applications - as well as practical advice on project management, clinical investigations and design validation from medical giants such as DePuy, Biotronik and GE Healthcare.

Day Two of the conference will focus on materials and coatings, beginning with the opening remarks by the chairman, Professor Shervanthi Homer-Vanniasinkam from the Leeds Vascular Institute & Leeds Institute of Genetics, Health and Therapeutics. His address will cover 'How do you conduct an exhaustive search for suitable materials and how do you ensure an audit trail for material selection?'

Mtec Visitors to the NEC will also have the opportunity to visit the co-located Mtec show - an exhibition for the processor, sensor, measurement and instrumentation marketplace.

3C For anyone involved with contamination control and cleanrooms, the 3C UK contamination control and cleanroom products exhibition and conference could prove a useful source of new products, services and advice.