As recent months have shown, engineers are ready to get back to in-person meetings and conferences, from the Automate Show in Detroit to the Robotics Summit and Expo in Boston. And few are larger or more important to OEM design engineers than the biennial IMTS that’s held in Chicago’s vast McCormick Place complex. IMTS, or the International Manufacturing Technology Show, is held in even-numbered years, and the 2022 edition is scheduled for September 12-17.
IMTS 2022 will be the 33rd edition of the show. The 2018 IMTS was impressive in scope — it hosted the highest number of exhibiting companies ever (2,563) and was the largest event as far as the number of registrations (129,415) as well as net square feet of exhibit space (1,424,232) at the McCormick Place complex. According to The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), which runs the tradeshow, IMTS attracts buyers and sellers from 117 countries. While the 2020 event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as so many other trade shows were, the 2022 edition is moving full-steam ahead.
This Fall’s show will feature multiple pavilions, to help guide attendees throughout the massive amount of floorspace. The pavilions are divided into:
- Abrasive machining / sawing / finishing
- Additive manufacturing
- Controls and CAD-CAM
- Fabricating and lasers
- Gear generation
- Machine components / cleaning / environmental
- Metal removal
- Quality assurance, and
- Tooling and workholding systems.
A busy conference schedule
Education is always an important part of the IMTS show, and this year’s event will be no exception. A total of 12 different conferences will be co-located at the show, all within Chicago’s McCormick Place.
“Content is key in the information era, and we have organized the widest array of conference topics ever at IMTS 2022 to help visitors move their people, business, and technology forward,” said Bonnie Gurney, VP – Strategic Partnerships for AMT.
New events include the IMTS Women Make Manufacturing Move program to inspire women, the IMTS Investor Forum, and The Smarter Sourcing Symposium. After an impressive 2018 debut, the Job Shops Specialty Programreturns this year with a focus on ready-to-implement digital technologies that will help job shops address their most pressing issues.
The IMTS 2022 Conference is composed of multiple sessions throughout the week. Topics include process innovation, plant operations, quality/inspection, automation, improving productivity, improving part quality, and developing a competent workforce to improve the competitiveness of manufacturing in the United States.
Additional partner conferences cover subjects such as additive manufacturing, 3D printing for job shops, lasers, parts cleaning, industrial interoperability standards, and technology leadership.
“Conferences at IMTS 2022 offer a deeper dive into the technologies exhibited on the show floor, the chance to network with subject matter experts and like-minded peers, and the opportunity for professional growth,” said Gurney. “Plan to take advantage of these learning opportunities for a few days, then add another day to your itinerary to walk the show floor. There is no more efficient way to gather more information in one location, plus it gives you a chance to rest your feet while stretching your mind.”
IMTS 2022 Conference: With a slate of product experts selected entirely from IMTS exhibiting companies, the IMTS Conference will equip attendees with tangible solutions that they can put into practice immediately.
IMTS Specialty Program: Job Shops Workshop Day 1: Designed exclusively for job shops stakeholders, this event features an industry roundtable and panel discussions with job shops implementing digital manufacturing technologies and other best practices that improve their efficiencies. This features a session from the Technology & Manufacturing Association.
IMTS Specialty Program: Job Shops Workshop Day 2 featuring Modern Machine Shop’s Top Shops: This half-day program offers visitors a look into this year’s annual Top Shops benchmarking survey. Attendees will learn from industry experts and current and past Top Shop award winners to find out what makes a shop rise to the top.
IMTS Specialty Program: Women Make Manufacturing Move: The IMTS Women Make Manufacturing Move program will inspire women in the manufacturing technology community through curated sessions, networking, and business. Monday night reception, Wednesday luncheon, and a Friday Take 5.
IMTS Investor Forum: The IMTS Investor Forum connects visitors with advanced manufacturing experts who will demystify the estimated $65 billion manufacturing technology industry. Guided tours of the trade show floor afford an inside experience with the industry, firsthand from startups and industry insiders.
The Smarter Sourcing Symposium at IMTS 2022: The inaugural Smarter Sourcing Symposium at IMTS 2022, presented by IMTS and The Onshoring Project, will deliver direct strategies for sounder and more financially beneficial North American part production.
Additive Manufacturing Conference: Focused exclusively on additive technologies for industrial part production, the AM Conference will take a practical, applications-based look at the machines, materials, and methodologies being used to create end-use tools and components.
3D Printing Workshop for Job Shops: 3D printing’s biggest potential lies in the hands of manufacturers — those that can see the intersections between CNC machining and additive manufacturing and innovate ways to evolve part production. This event will help job shops learn how 3D printing can help them with prototyping, tooling, production, and more.
Industrial Laser Conference: This conference, presented by the Laser Institute of America, focuses on laser processing for manufacturing, including marking, cutting, welding, heat treating, remote welding, cleaning, additive manufacturing, and more.
Parts Cleaning Conference: Environmental limitations are becoming stricter, and manufacturers demand high-quality clean parts. The Parts Cleaning Conference will detail how to make it all happen while staying within compliance and on budget.
Hannover Messe USA 2022 Conference: The 2022 Hannover Messe USA Conference will offer five topic tracks, including Motion & Drives, Cybersecurity, Industry 4.0, Automation, and Supply Chain. This comprehensive conference will provide solutions to current manufacturing concerns.
OPC Foundation Conference: The OPC UA Seminar is about industrial interoperability scaling from sensor to IT and Cloud and back. Learn about the one harmonized solution OPC UA FX for process and factory automation. Learn why MQTT-only is not enough and why the biggest six big IT companies support OPC UA over MQTT.
Technology Leadership Summit: Powered by ASME, this conference focuses on digital transformation. Leaders will discuss big data, digital twin, robotics, additive manufacturing, and tour the show floor with an industry expert.
To register for this year’s IMTS, please visit www.imts.com/show/reg.cfm.
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