Expectations high for IMTS 2004

More than 85,000 people visited the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) two years ago, and organizers say attendance may top 100,000 this year. IMTS 2004 will be held on Sept. 8-15 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

IMTS 2004 will host 10 pavilions, including Metal Cutting; Tooling & Workholding Systems; Metal Forming & Fabricating/Laser; Abrasive Machining/Sawing/Finishing; Controls & CAD-CAM; EDM; Fluid Power; Gear Generation; Machine Components/Cleaning/Environmental; and Quality Assurance.

The show will also stage an Emerging Technology Center (ETC) in the grand ballroom of McCormick Place’s south building. Besides housing GE Fanuc Automation America’s entire exhibit, ETC will include demonstrations of robotics; software approaches to configuration and production optimization; equipment monitoring; laser-assisted machining; micro-machining; lean tooling techniques; vibration monitoring; nanotechnology applications for manufacturing, including finishing, cutting, automotive, and polishing; automated inspection systems; and ultra low-power, self-organizing wireless sensor networks.

In addition, attendees will have a chance to test their skills at “Junkyard Wars: On the Road,” an interactive version of TLC’s exciting techno tourney program, Junkyard Wars. Experts and novices alike will compete head-to-head on the treacherous Gravity Crash course, which includes a 16-foot drop, wall of fire, and smoking “tunnel of doom.” Teams of up to four people will have just under 10 minutes to build gravity-powered vehicles out of a pile of “junk,” and then race them.

Also, the 50 conference sessions at IMTS 2004 will be organized around four tracks, including Lean Manufacturing; Machining & Tooling, Manufacturing Strategies, and the new Technologies that Could Change the Way You Manufacture.

Product previews

As usual, IMTS 2004 will be highlighted by thousands of products from hundreds of exhibitors. Some of the most significant include:

• Baldor Electric Co. will introduce several new motion control products, including a family of servo motion controls with new MintMT multi-tasking software, operating 400% faster than prior models. Multi-tasking integrates key functions of motion control, I/O handling, communications, networking, and operator interface. Models range from 5 to 54 A peak with 115/230-460 V ac input. Baldor will also show its linear motors and controls. Booth D4080.

• GE Fanuc ‘s Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) solution improves machine availability, performance, and output quality, and the firm will demonstrate technologies and services for improving OEE at the show’s Emerging Technology Center. GE Fanuc also will highlight its iCell OEE shop-floor intelligence software, which provides drill-down intelligence at the machine line or cell level. Booth S1000

• Mitutoyo America Corp. ‘s Quick Vision Stream CNC vision systems measure “on-the-fly” for five-times faster throughput. Mitutoyo also will introduce its advanced coordinate measurement machine (CMM) system for full auto body applications, and will announce faster, more accurate Quick Vision Apex Series CNC video measuring systems. Booth D4310.

• Renishaw ‘s 10-, 11-, and 12-bit RM miniature magnetic rotary encoders reportedly provide a tough alternative to high-maintenance glass encoders. These new encoders deliver high-resolution positioning (up to 4,096 count), over 9,000 rpm, and accuracy to 0.4°. Products include component, modular, and packaged shaft-style models. Booth D4511.

• Rexroth ‘s IndraMotion MTX offers a high-performance CNC controller for cutting and forming machine tools. Open architecture provides flexibility for software, sensors, and actuators, and the controller works with current Microsoft operating systems because its .NET framework forms basis for a well-designed user interface and an integrated engineering environment. Booth D4240.

For more information, visit https://www.imtsnet.org

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