PPMA Show 2027 and Automate UK Week: 3D visuals for processing and packaging machinery

Dates

28 to 30 September 2027

Venue

NEC Birmingham, Hall 5

Organiser

Automate UK

Co-located

UK Automation Show in Hall 1, under Automate UK Week

Registration

Separate registration for each show

Cycle

Automate UK Week planned every two years

Sources: Automate UK Week 2027, Automate UK announcement.

The PPMA Show 2027 runs from 28 to 30 September 2027 at the NEC in Birmingham. For the first time it sits inside Automate UK Week, a new co-located event in which the PPMA Show takes Hall 5 and the UK Automation Show takes Hall 1. Each show still runs independently and visitors register separately, but a food or FMCG engineer can now walk processing, packaging, robotics and machine vision in one trip. Automate UK plans to run the format every two years.

For packaging and processing machine builders this changes the audience slightly. Alongside packaging technologists and production managers from food, drink, pharma and FMCG, you will see more automation engineers who think in cells, cycle times and integration. Your stand visuals should speak to both.

What PPMA visitors look for

UK buyers at PPMA are usually line owners: they run existing lines and want to add capacity, reduce changeover time, handle new pack formats or cut labour. They want to see the machine in the context of their line, not as an isolated object. Three questions come up again and again:

• Will it fit? Footprint, infeed height and integration with upstream and downstream equipment.
• How fast is changeover? Format parts, tool-free adjustments and recipe changes.
• Is it hygienic and easy to clean? Especially for food and pharma, where washdown and access decide the shortlist.

Visuals that work for packaging machinery

Process film, infeed to outfeed

Sixty to ninety seconds following one pack through the machine: forming, filling, sealing, labelling, inspection and case packing. This is the asset that explains your machine in the aisle. Read our production line animation guide for structure and accuracy rules.

Changeover sequence

A 30 to 45 second feature film showing a format change step by step, with a timer on screen. For many buyers this is the real decision point, and it is almost impossible to demonstrate live on a stand.

Hygienic design cutaways

Sloped surfaces, open frames, sealed bearings and washdown zones, highlighted in renders and short clips. These help food and pharma visitors judge a machine before they talk to you.

Booth wall renders and line layouts

Your machine rendered in the configuration and finish you sell most, printed at booth scale, plus a layout render showing it inside a full line. See packaging machinery visualization for examples.

Using the co-location

With the UK Automation Show next door, robotics content travels further than usual. If your machine has robotic infeed, pick and place or vision inspection, give those modules a short film of their own. Automation visitors crossing between halls are looking for exactly that integration story.

One production for PPMA, FachPack and PACK EXPO

September 2027 is crowded for packaging: FachPack in Nuremberg runs 21 to 23 September and PACK EXPO Las Vegas 27 to 29 September, the same week as PPMA. If you exhibit at more than one, prepare the machine once and re-cut per show: UK English and metric for Birmingham, German for Nuremberg, US units for Las Vegas. See our guides to FachPack 2027 and PACK EXPO 2027.

Timeline for PPMA Show 2027

Budget

Booth essentials, renders plus a loop film sized for your screens, start at $5,600. A complete show package with process film, feature films, prints and interactive viewer starts at $15,900. CAD preparation is included, and assets from a machine we have already prepared cost 20 to 40 per cent less.

What to send

• Machine CAD as STEP or native files, and a layout drawing if you want line context.
• Pack formats, speeds and the changeover sequence you want to show.
• Stand plan, screen resolutions and print specifications.

We sign an NDA before any file moves. Send one CAD file for a free assessment and a fixed quote within one working day.

Written by Engr. Bilal Naseem, mechanical engineer (PEC Reg. No. 47883) and founder of 3DEnginuity. Questions about your own machine? Write to bilal.naseem@3denginuity.com.