MT Magazine July/August 2022

FEATURE STORY

IMTS ISSUE

16

don’t operate smoothly (if at all). And as for the cleaning and environmental aspects: Not only are there regulatory and health and safety issues, but large manufacturers are also requiring suppliers to be in environmental compliance, to say nothing of social awareness. Yes, this matters. A lot. Included: Filtration, purification, separation, electrical, noise control equipment; washers and cleaners; ballscrews, bearings, spindles, motors; conveyors and AGVs; assembly, motion control, and test equipment; software. Yes, subtractive manufacturing. Still the means by which most durable goods manufacturing is performed. But now with greater levels of capability, precision, and networking capability. To borrow the old Oldsmobile line: “Not your father’s machine tools.” Among the machines, centers, and systems: Machining and turning centers; boring, drilling, transfer, screw, milling, turning, EDM machines; automated manufacturing and assembly systems. Metal Removal South Building, Level 3

Controls and CAD-CAM East Building, Level 2 & Level 3

Everyone knows about the First Industrial Revolution. Who didn’t learn about James Watt and Eli Whitney in elementary school? But what of the Second Industrial Revolution? This overlooked stage in technical development is arguably analogous to the Fourth Industrial Revolution

(aka Industry 4.0) that we are in today. Then – in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – networks were created with the telegraph (digital) and trains (physical). Electricity allowed the powering of machinery for more efficient factories. And so, today there is the networking of digital information among machines and entire enterprises. Digital technologies or Industry 4.0 at IMTS 2022: CIM/CAD/ CAM systems; CNC controls; automation management systems; communications systems and LAN; software development systems services; computers and software; instruments controls and systems integrations services. Although there are advances such as various types of composites and other polymer-based materials, by and large the greatest proportion of durable goods are produced with metals, oftentimes requiring forming (whether it is a fender for a car or a door for a fridge). Associated are processes from cutting to cleaning, with the first requiring increasingly high levels of precision to reduce waste and the latter being done in ways that are not environmentally deleterious. Among the equipment here: Plasma machines; coiling, bending, and forming machines; shears; press brakes; stamping presses; roll formers; heat-treating equipment; lasers; waterjets; marking machines; punching equipment. Fabricating & Lasers North Building, Level 3 Remember the quote from Archimedes, “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth”? Well, it so happens that when you have two gears, you have a lever. So, arguably gears and the means to make them have been undergoing improvement since circa 250 BCE. They are still leveraging power in things ranging from precision medical devices to wind turbines. This pavilion includes: Gear hobbers, shapers, cutters, grinders, shavers; broaching equipment; measuring machines. Gear Generation North Building, Level 3

Quality Assurance East Building, Level 3

“If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.” – Lord Kelvin “If you can’t measure it, you can’t change it.” – Peter Drucker “One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert

opinions.” – Grace Hopper Smart people, one and all.

This pavilion includes: Various measuring machines (coordinate, laser, vision); gaging systems (stand-alone, in process); and software.

Tooling & Workholding Systems West Building, Level 3

No cutting is going to occur without a tool. No accurate cutting (or forming or measuring or …) is going to occur without fixturing. Which goes to the point that no matter how sophisticated, complex, or networked your operation, without these things, it simply won’t work as planned. At IMTS 2022: Cutting tools; tool holders; work holders; jigs and fixtures; coolants and fluids. See You in Chicago for IMTS 2022! The World’s Columbian Exposition was transformative as the 19th century segued into the 20th. And arguably, IMTS 2022, showcasing advances in machinery, software, automation, peripherals and more, will provide transformative capabilities to those manufacturers who embrace the tech as they help build the future.

If you have any questions about this information, please contact Gary at vasilash@gmail.com.

Machine Components/ Cleaning/Environmental East Building, Level 2

Consider machine components in the context of “For the want of a nail.” Without them, whether it is a servo or a way cover, things