As summer nears its end and we creep closer to fall, that means one big thing for the global machining and manufacturing industry — it’s almost time for the International Manufacturing Technology Show 2022 (IMTS 2022). This long-awaited annual trade show is the most highly anticipated event of the year for everyone from machine shop owners and distributors to manufacturers, engineers, and executive teams from all over the world.
Running from September 12-17, 2022, IMTS is where the creators, builders, sellers, and drivers of modern manufacturing technology congregate to network, learn, and be inspired. Industry professionals from around the globe will visit IMTS to discover the latest innovations in digital and traditional manufacturing, experience more than 15,000 new machining technologies, and find processes that could solve their specific manufacturing challenges.
IMTS Is Back in Business After a 4-Year Hiatus Due to COVID-19
This will be the first recurrence of the biennial exhibition since 2018. Typically taking place in Chicago, every two years, IMTS — which is owned and operated by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) — was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in an effort to minimize its breadth and keep industry members who would have been in attendance as safe and healthy as possible.
Known for being the largest and longest-running industry trade show in the Western Hemisphere, IMTS had been held uninterruptedly for 73 years prior to this unprecedented cancellation. In lieu of the live event in 2020, IMTS offered two digital programs, IMTS Network and IMTS Spark, throughout the following months to assist exhibitors and the manufacturing community. The IMTS Network was scheduled to live-stream a wide variety of features and human-interest stories from the manufacturing technology sector while IMTS Spark was designed as a digital platform to connect IMTS exhibitors and visitors.
Thankfully, as the world has become acclimated to the still-present COVID-19 pandemic and re-opened with appropriate safety measures in place, 2022 marks the historic return of this treasured industry event at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center.
What’s in Store for IMTS 2022
IMTS has been marketed as the “additive manufacturing (AM) destination for 2022,” and it’s set to live up to the hype.
The IMTS 2022 Additive Manufacturing Pavilion will showcase technology for large industrial components, including the 3D-printed rocket engine nozzle liner for NASA’s Artemis moon program.
It will feature more than 55 exhibitors in the Additive Manufacturing Pavilion and will host a variety of AM breakthrough technology in AMT’s Emerging Technology Center. Visitors will also get to see transformative technologies working closely with traditional manufacturing processes up close and personal across more than 2,000 booths and nine pavilions covering 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space in McCormick Place on topics including:
- Abrasive Machining/Sawing/Finishing
- Additive Manufacturing
- Controls & CAD-CAM
- Fabricating & Lasers
- Gear Generation
- Machine Components/Cleaning/Environmental
- Metal Removal
- Quality Assurance
- Tooling & Workholding Systems
And AM education opportunities at IMTS 2022 include the next edition of the Additive Manufacturing Conference presented by Additive Manufacturing Media, which is stationed across the main concourse from each other in the West Building of McCormick Place.
Visitors will have the chance to see AM solutions first-hand and hands-on for uses like production and high-volume part applications, tooling, workholding, and fixturing that improve performance, lower lifecycle costs, increase reliability, and help reshore production. Attendees will also get to meet the industry members who are pushing the boundaries of AM, including those responsible for the advanced technologies and components being developed for NASA.
Considering the pace at which AM technologies and solutions accelerate, there’s no denying that IMTS 2022 is the must-attend industry event of the year.
IMTS 2022 and Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, was once a far-off, futuristic concept that seemed unattainable for most manufacturers. However, this technological dream has quickly become a reality for large-scale producers and is set to become more commonplace as time goes on. Players from small-scale entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies and large-scale OEMs have embraced 3D printing to meet their tough performance standards and production demands, both independently of and in conjunction with traditional manufacturing techniques.
In fact, according to a recent analysis and report from McKinsey & Company — a global management consulting firm that serves leading businesses, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and not-for-profits — the AM sector grew to a $14.5 billion industry with a 22-percent growth rate by 2020.
It’s sufficient to say that despite long-term supply chain issues and an impassioned focus on reshoring initiatives, AM has metamorphosed from a mere concept to a very real manufacturing process. More and more industry members are using or looking into utilizing 3D printing to manufacture tooling and end-user components, making it an appropriate and necessary theme for IMTS.
There are obvious challenges with AM, though, like facilities needing to be built or renovated to accommodate AM and engineers needing to be trained to design this way. Additionally, everything from production lines, supply chains, transportation, and marketing tactics will need to evolve to scale the use of technology as their AM operations grow.
However, according to IMTS and Peter R. Eelman, the vice president and CXO at AMT, “the most efficient way to increase productivity per employee and create a lean supply chain is by implementing digital technologies such as additive manufacturing, and IMTS showcases the most complete breadth and depth of digital technologies available.”
IMTS 2022 Attractions
In addition to the exhibitors on the trade show floor, there will be several additional aspects of IMTS visitors can enjoy, including (but not limited to) live panel discussions, targeted forums with curated trade show tours, happy hours, and even a charitable 5K.
A Co-Located Conference
In addition to all of the excitement surrounding this year’s IMTS, HANNOVER MESSE USA is celebrating 10 years of co-location with the iconic industry trade show, bringing everything manufacturers need to experience together at a single venue and establishing the ideal platform for industrial change. 2022 will mark HANNOVER MESSE USA’s largest show floor to-date at McCormick Place’s East Building with more than 500 companies representing a variety of manufacturing verticals, including:
- Industrial Automation Systems
- Linear Drives, Gears, Motors & Mechanical Transmission Systems
- Industrial Energy Systems
- Digital/software, IIoT/Industry 4.0
- Engineered Parts & Solutions
- Surface Treatment Technology
- Compressed Air and Vacuum Technology
- Fluid Power
- Parts2clean
This co-located show is free for everyone visiting the IMTS show floor. The Solutions Theater powered by Smart Factory Institute will feature presentations, case studies, demonstrations, and special events.
In addition to the Solutions Theater, the HANNOVER MESSE USA Conference will focus on topics to address current manufacturing concerns, including:
- Motion and drives
- Cybersecurity
- Industry 4.0
- Automation
- Supply Chain
- Open Platform Communications (OPC)
Additionally, attendees of the co-located conferences can take a break from the hustle and bustle of the trade show floor to relax and imbibe at the HANNOVER MESSE USA Beer Garden in the East Hall. Equipped with authentic German décor, food, and beverages, this is a great place to unwind and network with your fellow IMTS visitors.
Women Make Manufacturing Move
According to IMTS, the Women Make Manufacturing Move specialty program delivers curated sessions, meetups, and receptions to bring together female professionals from around the world to engage and connect.
This initiative celebrates the women who are driving the future of manufacturing. With curated sessions, meet-ups, programming, and receptions, attendees can network with professionals from around the globe. This dedicated program is designed to inspire women in the manufacturing technology community and foster long-lasting professional relationships and friendships.
Job Shops Program
Powered by AMT and featuring MMS Top Shops, these two half-day workshops are exclusively designed to offer job shop stakeholders learning opportunities to excel, connect, and manufacture, according to IMTS. Both sessions will be held on Monday, September 12, 2022, from 11:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, from 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom S100 A&B located at the IMTS+ Main Stage and South Building. Visit bit.ly/IMTS22JobShops to learn more about each session.
Investor Forum
The IMTS Investor Forum connects attendees with advanced manufacturing experts who will demystify the estimated $65 billion manufacturing technology industry and offer tools to help identify opportunities. Curated, guided tours of the trade show floor afford you an inside experience with the industry firsthand from start-ups and industry insiders.
This add-on is ideal for: private equity investors, corporate investors or investment groups, merger and acquisition specialists, financial institutions or investment platforms, researchers and analysts, angel investors, and venture capitalists.
The investor forum addition costs $995 and includes such benefits as (but not limited to): curated guided tours of the show floor and special exhibits; breakfast, lunch, and snacks on the event days; one-on-one time with experts in manufacturing technology; a VIP reception on Tuesday night; and access to forum presentations.
AMT’s Emerging Technology Center (ETC)
Sponsored by AMT, the ETC highlights state-of-the-art and disruptive technologies at IMTS.This year’s focus is on the forward-thinking manufacturing efforts that propel outer space projects for long-term presence on the moon and deep space exploration.
Visitors will have the opportunity to walk through one section of a life-sized 3D printed lunar habitat, learn about the software used to design and print the habitat, see a live additive cell printing and milling a prototype lunar habitat door, and view profiles of two future-facing projects — Rosie, a lunar habitat structure for research and lunar living, and the Giant Magellan Telescope, which is the most powerful telescope on the planet.
Conferences
The IMTS 2022 Conference will unite innovators and exceptional leaders in the industrial space who are shaping the future of manufacturing. With a slate of product experts selected entirely from IMTS exhibiting companies, the IMTS Conference is designed to equip attendees with tangible solutions that can be put into practice at shops immediately.
The IMTS Conference is focused on a range of topics that include process innovation, plant operations, quality/inspection, and automation while addressing such pertinent issues as: improving productivity, improving part quality, and developing a stable, competent workforce to lower the cost of manufacturing in the United States and create new levels of market demand while closing the skills gap.
The IMTS Conference 2022 features 71 different sessions, each selected by a review board.
Visit bit.ly/IMTS22Conferences for a complete list of conference sessions and topics.
Miles for Manufacturing (M4M) 5K
The Miles for Manufacturing (M4M) 5K Run/Walk fundraising event will be held on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, during IMTS. All of the proceeds from this event go toward education programs to prepare students for careers in manufacturing technology. All funds are distributed by AMT’s Smartforce Development initiative, which advocates for manufacturing technology careers through the Smartforce Student Summit, which is an interactive, educational, and free event for students of all ages to engage with the latest technologies and spark an interest in career pathways in our industry.
The 2022 M4M marks the 13th race/walk event in program’s history. Previous beneficiaries and donations have included FIRST™ robotics teams in Illinois and Indiana, a new maker space at Richard J. Daley College, 3D printers and robotics kits to Chicago Public Schools STEM programs, and numerous financial donations to support STEM, FIRST™ and 3D printing programs at schools nationwide.
LATAM Night
This is an IMTS debut event sponsored by AMT and the AMT Tech Center in Mexico. LATAM Night brings together Spanish-speaking IMTS attendees from around the world, in-country associations, and product experts from IMTS exhibitors to exchange ideas and create new synergies, all while having fun in a Latin America-inspired atmosphere. LATAM Night will be held on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, from 5-7:30 p.m. in S406.
Connect with us at IMTS 2022
Like so many of you readers, the Industrial Machinery Digest team will be in attendance at this year’s IMTS. You can find us at Booth #237179 on Level 3 in the North Building. Stop by to grab copies of the magazine, meet the staff, and discuss future content opportunities in which we can collaborate.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay up to date with what’s happening on the IMTS show floor. We hope to see you there!
For more information on IMTS 2022, visit the conference website.
