Starrag offers new, virtual experiences at EMO

20 September 2025

Hybrid is the new magic word …

Virtual demonstrations with VR headsets or large screens are evolving the full effect of combining real-life conversations and hands-on technology. At EMO, Starrag will be utilising this technology, combining digital insights with tangible technology both at its exhibition stand and live at its Bielefeld plant.

"The new magic word is hybrid," explains Michael Schedler, Head of Marketing at Starrag. "We don't see the use of virtual technology as a replacement, but as an intelligent addition." The company is offering its guests a variety of virtual games.

VR application: Through the eyes of the operator

This technology allows visitors to virtually climb onto complex machine models to experience how they work from the perspective of a workpiece or operator. Thanks to the VR headset, visitors to exhibition stands like EMO can follow movements, tool changes and typical machining steps up close and in real time.

360° applications provide new virtual experiences, allowing interactive panoramic views of important Starrag machines – from ECOSPEED aluminium machining and Droop+Rein portal machining centres through to Heckert 4 and 5-axis machining centres. This makes the production process very clear and tangible. The panoramic views combine digital simulation with real scenes from the factory floor – and blur the boundaries between the virtual and real-life world of production.

Various short films allow visitors to experience different industries as part of a visual journey. They clearly demonstrate how key components such as turbine blades, aircraft landing gear or huge rotor housings for wind turbines are produced on Starrag machining centres.

However, it goes without saying that the best way to impress users is to let them get their hands on technology. In Hannover, this includes a nose landing gear of the Airbus A350, on loan from Starrag's long-standing customer Liebherr-Aerospace, and a visit to the new Dörries VT 28 vertical turning machine at the nearby Bielefeld plant – just an hour's drive from the virtual demonstrations in Hannover.