IMTS: Major manufacturing technology show kicks off next week

Chicago, IL—BattleBots robot combat, a futuristic technology center, and a presentation intended to help ‘jump start your brain to be more competitive globally’ are among the attractions ofIMTS 2006, set to get underway next week at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

第26届国际Manufacturin版的g Technology Show, among the world’s largest industrial trade shows, is expected to include more than 1,200 exhibitors and welcome some 85,000 visitors from at least 80 countries. An educational conference developed by theSociety of Manufacturing Engineers(SME) and Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) accompanies the show, which runs Sept. 6-13. IMTS occurs every two years in September in Chicago.

Manufacturing industry professionals can anticipate seeing more than 15,000 new machine tools, controls, computers, software, components, systems, and processes designed to improve efficiency, say organizers. Vendors will display equipment in a variety of product category pavilions, including metal cutting, tooling and work-holding systems, metal forming and fabricating, controls and computer-aided design (CAD), machine components, and more.

Highlights include anEmerging Technology Center(ETC), sponsored by The Ex One Co., which will showcase innovative manufacturing-specific technologies, initiatives, and capabilities expected to develop in the next three to five years and what industry needs to do to get there. A speaker series featuring experts from the精密工程的美国社会(ASPE) will cover such topics as nanotechnology, high-performance machining, and deterministic theory.

Keynoting the technical conference is Doug Hall of ABC’s American Inventor . His talk, ‘Jump-start your brain to be more competitive globally,’ is set for Thursday, Sept. 7, at 8:30 am, and is part of the Competitive Manufacturers Conference, sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. A chemical engineer, Hall is founder and CEO of the Eureka! Ranch, an ‘invention and research think tank that specializes in igniting bold thinking on new products and services for leading corporate clients.’

Attendees also will be able to see and participate in BattleBotsIQ, an integrated robotic educational and training program supporting workforce development and technical training. The program is said to engage, attract, and educate students of all ages and has as its goal ‘enabling the United States to remain the world leader in innovation and manufacturing technology.’

For more about the show and conference, or to register, click here .

For relatedControl Engineeringcoverage, please search on IMTS, atop any page atwww.globalelove.com.

—Control Engineering Daily News DeskJeanine Katzel, senior editor

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