10 point guide to the Engineering Design Show

Now in its sixth year, the free-to-attend show provides a suitable platform for design engineers to learn and review what's new in the sector, with wide-ranging advice on implementing the latest engineering technology to benefit your design processes.

The event is an unmissable opportunity to discover new supply chain possibilities from more than 220 exhibitors in engineering, electronics and embedded design and will bring together thousands of decision makers in one place.

With so much going on, to ensure you get the most from the Engineering Design Show, the company have put together a quick 10 point guide for planning your visit to the show.

1. When and where
The show is located at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, in the Ericsson Exhibition Hall. The show is open from 10am to 5pm on 18th October and 10am to 4pm on 19th October. On both days, the first conference keynote starts at 9.15am.

2. Directions
If you are planning to drive and have a Sat Nav the postcode to use is CV6 6GE. The arena is just yards from junction 3 of the M6 motorway, and is adjacent to Coventry Arena railway station. The nearest airport is Birmingham International Airport. If you are travelling by rail, air or bus please click here for further information, including maps and timetables.

3. Parking
There are plenty of car parking spaces at the arena. Parking at the arena is free, and pre-booking is not required. Please be aware that there is no parking available in the side streets near the venue.

4. Pre-registration

Entry to the show is free of charge. To avoid queuing up and to save yourself a little time on the day it is strongly advised to pre-register to visit. Not pre-registered yet? You can do so for free here.

5. Do your research
There is a lot to see and do at the show, from exploring the exhibition of 220+ suppliers, to attending the 24 conference and 40 workshop sessions across the two days. You can search for exhibitors by company name or service, and find a brief description of what they do, through the online exhibitor list. You can also find all the speaker information for every session taking place at the show on the website, so you know exactly what conference and workshop content best suits your agenda.

6. Plan your route
On arrival at the show, we recommend you head straight to one of the catering facilities, grab yourself a coffee and plan your route through the exhibition to ensure you make the most of your visit. Make sure you use the interactive floorplan, which can be found in the online visitor hub. You can bookmark the exhibitors you wish to meet with at the show and create your own personal schedule.

7. Follow the activity
If you have a Twitter account, the official account to follow for the Engineering Design Show 2017 is @EngDesignShow. Exhibitor news, guest speaker details and seminar schedules are often posted up on these channels. Exhibitors themselves are also actively posting hints and clues as to what they will be wowing you with this year and sharing their stand numbers so you can find them.

8. Find new suppliers
With several potential partners all under one roof in the exhibition, the Engineering Design Show creates a perfect opportunity for benchmarking. You will certainly get a good 'feel' for the people behind the organisation and the knowledge they have of the products and services they offer. Use the show as a way of creating a shortlist of potential suppliers and then spend time sending tailored request for quotes when you are back in the office.

9. Learn something new
Industry experts will be delivering powerful insight and debate on advanced engineering techniques. Highlights for this year include keynote speakers from BAE Systems, Williams Advanced Engineering, Lenovo, Nano-Dimension, Tharsus, and the UK Space Agency.

You'll also gain insider's tips and tricks, with practical workshops covering topics from wireless technologies available for IoT products, enhanced direct bonding of plastic to metals using plasma technology, and strategies to address EMS issues when designing PCBs - just to name a few.

10. Follow up
After all the buzz and excitement on the day it’s easy to head back into the office and then get caught up in the next/latest operational issue. However, as you’ve just invested precious time in attending the show, failing to follow up and contact the key suppliers you’ve met would be a shame.

Hopefully, this quick 10 point guide on the forthcoming Engineering Design Show 2017 will prove useful to you.