The International Manufacturing Technology Show ( IMTS) of 2008 was held in Chicago’s McCormick Place during the week of September 8-13.

Over 15,000 new machine tools, controls, computers, software, components, systems and processes were displayed by the 1,803 participating companies in the 1.2 million net sq. ft of exhibition space. This year had the strongest showing since 2000, with a total registration of 92,450 buyers and sellers from 119 countries.

“The feedback from exhibitors and the purchasing activities of attendees proves that manufacturing is not only healthy, but thriving,” says IMTS Vice President Peter Eelman. “Manufacturers coming to the show from around the world clearly understand that investing in the latest technology is key to being competitive.”

The many remarkable exhibits included:

The WASINO Mi8 Five-Axis Processing Machine. The machine, which is used for small complex-shaped parts, is based on a high-precision CNC lathe machine and equipped with an automatic tool changer (ATC) and a built-in main shaft for rotary tools. The main shaft, with five turret-type fixed-blade holders, has a rotation speed of 8,000 rpm and an output of 2.2 kw. The tool spindle, equipped with an HSK E32 holder has a cutting speed up to 20,000 rpm.

The machine can be automated with a multi-jointed robot, and work is automatically checked by a charge-coupled device camera.

Fanuc Robotics M-2000iA. At IMTS, the machine simulated a coordinated welding sequence to weld brackets to a tractor frame that the robot was whipping around other robots.

The machine is said to be the largest and strongest six-axis robot in the world, with the longest reach and strongest wrist. It has a max payload of 1,200 kg and 900 kg and a vertical lifting stroke of 6.2 m.

Joe Gibbs Racing at Mitsubishi Booth. NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart, a team member of Joe Gibbs Racing, made an appearance and signed autographs at the Mitsubishi booth on Monday, September 8.

Joe Gibbs Racing, the most winning team in NASCAR, uses all of Mitsubishi’s equipment to cut high-performance racing components. The Joe Gibbs manufacturing facility houses equipment from Mitsubishi EDM, Hole Popper, Mitsubishi Laser, and Mitsubishi Waterjet.

The Next Engine Display at the MAG Industrial Automation Systems Booth. Next Engine presented a low-cost reverse-engineering system that includes a 3-D scanner and advanced software that includes everything needed to digitize 3D models, including Scan Studio CORE Software to scan, align, polish, and fuse. Models can be outputted to popular design software like Rhino, SolidWorks, 3ds Max, ZBrush, Mathematica, and more. At IMTS, the company used its system to reverse-engineer a model of a Ferrari.

Toyoda’s Unique Spindle Design. Toyoda is the only manufacturer with a modular spindle design that simplifies the spindle replacement process. On most machines, damage caused by spindle impact requires replacement of the entire spindle, resulting in costly downtime and repair work. Toyoda’s spindles are designed with a removable taper, allowing technicians to quickly and easily replace the taper unit in the field, thus maximizing machine uptime.

Senior Spindle Technician Bill Gibler was giving spindle rebuild demonstrations in the Toyoda booth. The entire presentation took less than 10 minutes, proving the speed of this unique replacement design.

Seminars in the BIG Kaiser Booth. BIG Kaiser was offering several seminars every day of IMTS, including one about driving performance with innovations in boring systems.

Pictured above is the EWB-UP Finish Boring Head, which achieves the highest level of precision diameter adjusting accuracy in the world. The revolutionary series has the distinction of the finest adjusting resolution - .001mm steps of diameter corrections (.00005″ on dia. for inch graduated heads).

MTConnect. MTConnect, a communication protocol standard for interconnectability between devices and applications, seemed to steal the show.

The main idea is to allow for devices, equipment and systems to output data in an independent format that can be read by any other device using the same standard format to read data.

People on the floor referred to MTConnect as “The Rosetta Stone.”

According to the exhibit, manufacturers spend $90 billion a year on interoperability issues. And MTConnect, a possible solution to these problems, is absolutely free. It’s an open program with all software and specifications available online at no cost.

Overall, purchasing activity at IMTS was high. “We are ecstatic that IMTS 2008 not only achieved, but exceeded expectations and objectives,” said Eelman. “The continued increase in attendance over 2006 clearly shows visitors understand the key to the future is productivity and innovation.”