Here comes the show of shows!

Manufacturing Engineering, Jul 2000 by Hogan, Brian J

The International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago presents the state of the art in equipment and techniques to North American industry

Once again the biennial IMTS rolls into Chicago's McCormick Place. More than 120,000 manufacturing engineers and managers will attend the show, which will be held September 6-13. Taking up some 1,400,000 ft^sup 2^ (130,200 m^sup 2^) the biggest manufacturing show held in North America will put new manufacturing hardware and software on display for visitors.

Nearly half of the attendees at IMTS come from plants with more than 100 employees, and they represent almost every manufacturing facility in the US with more than 100 employees. On the other hand, visitors to IMTS are not all citizens of the US. At IMTS '98, attendees came from 82 nations, ranging from Argentina to Zimbabwe. The international component of the attendees amounted to almost 14% of all persons attending the IMTS. We can expect IMTS 2000 to have a similar attendance profile.

The show will draw American manufacturing engineers and managers from all over the US. About twothirds of Americans attending IMTS '98 traveled more than 200 miles (320 km) to reach Chicago, and 43% came from a location outside a 400-mile (640-km) radius.

Responding to this kind of attendance, builders of every type of equipment used in manufacturing will show their newest and most innovative offerings at IMTS 2000. Almost all of the products displayed by more than 1400 exhibitors will appear in 10 distinct product groupings (pavilions). Each pavilion functions as a show within the bigger show, allowing attendees to compare technologies and products from competing manufacturers.

More than 220 companies will participate in the Abrasive Machining/Sawing/Finishing pavilion in McCormick Place's North Building. Products on display will include cylindrical grinders, internal grinders, angular wheelside grinders, creep-feed grinders, throughfeed grinders, centerless grinders, surface grinders, abrasive belt grinders, jig grinders, CNC tool and cutter grinders, universal grinders, and cam grinders. Bench, crankshaft, and abrasive-cutoff machines will be shown in this pavilion, along with bandsaws, circular saws, lapping machines, balancing machines, honing machines, and polishing equipment.

The Metal Cutting pavilion, the largest pavilion of the show by far, will take up more than 650,000 ft^sup 2^ (60,450 m^sup 2^) in the North Building and the South Building. In fact, the entire South Building will be taken up by metalcutting machines and products. Equipment scheduled for exhibition includes machining centers, turning centers, drilling machines, milling machines and centers, transfer machines, screw, boring, and broaching machines, and skiving/trepanning/roller burnishing machines. If that's not enough to slake your thirst for metalcutting, there will also be gun drilling machines, boring mills, multiple-spindle drills and automatics, drill/mill/bore heads and slides, thread rolling, jig boring/milling machines and knurling machines, bar feeds, automation systems, CNC lathes, and Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). This list doesn't exhaust the categories of equipment available in the pavilion.

Anyone interested in tooling innovations should visit the Tooling 1' Workholding Systems pavilion in the East Building, where some 175,000 ft^sup 2^ (16,275 m^sup 2^) of space will contain everything from cutting tools to Z-axis fixturing. All the bits and pieces that go into work holding and tooling will be shown irt the pavilion. A severely edited list of products scheduled for display includes boring bars, ceramic and composite cutting tools, coolants, tool coatings, drills, chucks, milling cutters, form cutters, cutting tools and tooling systems, end mills, NC tables, spindle adapters, quick-change dies, vises, jigs and fixtures, and tool storage equipment. It's definitely the place to go for tooling/workholding ideas.

Any visitors interested in EDM work will find one of the largest gatherings of EDM machines and related equipment assembled under one roof in North America. Located in the East Building, the EDM pavilion will include displays of CNC wire and ram-type EDM, EDM filtration systems and supplies, metal disintegrators, and die sinking machines.

The Lasers and Laser Systems pavilion in the North Building will present state-of the-art laser-based equipment. Applications covered will include laser cutting, marking, scribing, drilling, cladding, trimming, engraving, welding, heat treating, and measuring. In the Gear Generation pavilion (also in the North Building), you can expect to find exhibits from nearly all of the major companies that make gear production equipment. Technologies and equipment on display will include gear hobbers, shapers and cutters, gear shavers, broaching equipment, gear grinding equipment, and gear measuring equipment.

Equipment from several technical categories that contribute to improved manufacturing efficiency appear in the Controls & CAD-CAM pavilion in the East Building. Some 68 exhibitors will show their CIM/CAM/CAD systems, CNC controls, automation management systems, communications systems, and LANs. Software development systems services, computers, software, and controls and systems integration services will also be represented.