MT Magazine May/June 2026

21

FEATURE STORY

MAY/JUNE 2026

3. Abrasive Machining / Sawing / Finishing Acme Manufacturing’s (IMTS booth #237030) field-proven robotic finishing and polishing (RFP) series transforms how custom knee implants are completed, combining advanced scanning, adaptive path generation, real-time compensation, and multistep abrasive polishing to create smoother, longer lasting components. The RFP series also integrates robots from FANUC Corp. (IMTS booth #338900), tool changers from ATI Industrial Automation (IMTS booth #236144), and workholding from Schunk Inc. (IMTS booth #432010).

5. Gear Generation Exhibitors such as Liebherr Gear and Automation Technologies (IMTS booth #237044) will demonstrate how to digitize gear generation. Through its LHMachineInfo app, users can access machine dashboards to visualize data, machine status, machining results, process logging, manufacturing analysis, production status, and production optimization. Liebherr’s automation solutions also include a portfolio of robot vision applications for part inspection and bin picking. Gleason’s (IMTS booth #236909) closed-loop metrology systems ensure the direct transmission of measured data from the metrology system to the production machine with manually prompted or autocorrective feedback. 6. Components / Cleaning / Environmental IMTS reporters gathered examples covering the spectrum of processes, including deburring, cleaning, polishing, and marking. Even traditional products such as the Easy Arm floor mounted crane from Gorbel (IMTS booth #135784) now incorporate electric servo motors and sensors that actively assist and stabilize the load while the operator guides it by hand. Instead of the operator supplying all the force (and fighting inertia, sway, and friction), the crane’s control system detects operator intent and provides controlled motion.

Acme Manufacturing’s robotic finishing and polishing (RFP) series deployed at Hammill Medical in Ohio for its Knee Implant Polishing System. (Image Courtesy of Acme Manufacturing)

4. Fabricating & Lasers Automation benefits from parts identification. Many shops need to mark parts with tracking information to meet industry-specific traceability standards or to maintain internal transparency. IMTS exhibitors such as Monode Marking Products (IMTS booth #135434), FOBA Laser Marking + Engraving (IMTS booth #135436), and Laser Marking Technologies (IMTS booth #135402) all provide machines that can automatically etch serial numbers or QR codes onto a part in seconds. When automated, they can accomplish this, ensuring every piece is labeled for full traceability with minimal operator oversight – and some laser markers can even do so as parts pass on a conveyor.

7. Metal Removal Exhibitors will showcase automated solutions for spindle machines that enable longer unattended runtimes and increased efficiency in high-mix, low-volume applications. One shop taking advantage of technology at IMTS is Marathon Precision, a 60,000-square-foot machine shop that purchased a Matsuura (IMTS booth #338630) MAM72-52V 5-axis CNC and a Haas (IMTS booth #338100), both with pallet feed systems. “You can’t go anywhere else and see as much technology as you can at IMTS. For the week of the show, IMTS is the largest, most advanced shop in the world,” says Marathon Precision owner Michael Bauer. “If you buy technology before anybody else and get good at it, chances are you can win new business.” When Tavis Vaughn, vice president of engineering at CNC Machine Products, needed a lifting solution to serve three Mazak CNCs, he remembered seeing the Gorbel Easy Arm crane at IMTS.

Monode Marking Products’ machines automatically etch serial numbers or QR codes onto a part in seconds.