IMTS 2016 – Manufacturing is COOL!

CCT Precision Machining attended the International Manufacturing Technology Show this week in Chicago.  IMTS is the premiere manufacturing technology trade show in North America, Attracting 114,000 buyers from over 112 countries

From the IMTS2016 Website:

“Manufacturing industry professionals from all over the world attend IMTS to see more than 15,000 new machine tools, controls, computers, software, components, systems and processes that can improve their efficiency. They gain valuable ideas and insights from over 2,000 exhibitors from the metalworking industry. They come to look and they come to buy.”

In addition to the trade show floor, there were highlighted presentations by industry leaders who covered ground from robotics, industrial IoT, collaborative cloud manufacturing to process optimization and additive manufacturing.

Now, for the sexy highlights…

Additive manufacturing (technologies that build 3D objects by adding layer-upon-layer of material – plastic, metal, concrete or one day…..human tissue.) – This process was highlighted with some pretty cool displays of 3-D printed vehicles

Robotics – As major players in Industry 4.0 (smart factories using cyber-physical systems, cloud computing and the Internet of Things to increase productivity), robots are always sexy. This photo shows a Fanuc robotic arm – Fanuc is the leading supplier of robotic automation in the Americas.

Collaborative Manufacturing – (Open source manufacturing which allows customers, designers, engineers, suppliers and the shop floor to communicate and share ideas with each other to increase productivity.)  The Rally Car from 2012 was on display again this show.  This car was a collaborative project between 25,000 contributors, designers, engineers, machine lovers and Phoenix-based Local Motors and was built onsite at the 2012 IMTS.

All-in-all, IMTS 2016 brought sexy back with exhibits of the latest and greatest technological advancements in manufacturing, product demonstrations and best-practices presentations.  We look forward to attending IMTS2018 in Chicago. Maybe we will all drive Ollies to the show!