IMTS 2018 Showtime: Controls and CAD/CAM

IMTS 2018 is the 32nd edition of the premier manufacturing technology show in North America. More than 2,400 exhibiting companies are expected to occupy 1.37 million net sq ft of exhibit space at the McCormick Place complex in Chicago, IL. This event is held every even-numbered year in Chicago and attracts more than 115,000 buyers and sellers from over 117 countries. This year’s show runs from September 10-15. On-site registration opens Monday, September 10 through Saturday, September 15, in all four buildings of McCormick Place:

• East Building Level 2 & West Building, Level 3 Annex 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
• East Building Level 3 & West Building, Level 3 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
• North Building Level 3 & South Building, Level 3 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

To help you plan your trip to the show, here are technical reviews of some of the hardware, software and related machine controls that will be exhibited in the Controls and CAD/CAM Pavilion to help you navigate the show floor and manage your time while you’re there:

Engineering Software Streamlines the Entire Manufacturing Workflow
3DXpert 14, GibbsCAM 13 and Cimatron 14 from 3D Systems cover digitization, design and simulation through to manufacturing, inspection and management.

Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem Developed by Machinists
Ideal for Industry 4.0 practitioners in small and medium-sized shops, ProShop software from Adion Systems provides an integrated, comprehensive set of modules for managing typical ERP operations, MES and QMS functions, including ISO-9000, AS9100, API and ISO 13485.

CNC Machining Simulation, Verification and Optimization Software
VERICUT 8.2 software from CGTech optimizes all types of CNC machining, including drilling and trimming of composite parts, waterjet, riveting, robots, mill/turn and parallel kinematic/hexapods.

Full Real-Time Visibility of all Facility and Machine Maintenance Needs
Using eNETMD real-time Maintenance Dashboards from eNETDNC, a shop can schedule or prioritize today’s maintenance needs or even weekly, monthly and yearly preventative maintenance projects. It also offers an email server with automated notifications to improve communication within the maintenance department.

Capacitive Glass Keyboards for Simple Integration in Machines
Capacitive glass keyboards from HMI specialist GETT are 3 mm thick thermally hardened white glass with a high degree of inherent rigidity, resistance to breakage and are heat and cold resistant.

Cloud ERP Simplifies and Optimizes Manufacturing Operations
Maintenance-free software and speed combines with quick and simple, automatic cloud-based data backups using Cloud ERP from Global Shop Solutions. Files and data are never lost, updates and maintenance are done in-house so that users always work with the most up-to-date version.

Intuitive Touch Scheduling Board Replaces Magnetic Boards on Shop Floor
Replacing magnetic scheduling boards often found in shops, the Visual EstiTrack Touch Scheduling Board from Henning Software uses an intuitive touch screen interface for users to drag-and-drop scheduled shop order operations represented as cards within and between work centers.

Analytics Technology for After-Sales Service of Equipment in Real-Time
Using Remote Service from MachineMetrics, service managers and technicians can remotely monitor, manage, diagnose and resolve a customer’s machine issues for any piece of connected equipment in the field in real-time, without the necessity of an on-site visit.

Powerful CAM Software Increases Machining Productivity and Reduces Overall Production Costs
Mastercam 2019 from CNC Software features a new series of automated 2D through 5-axis toolpath improvements, multi-axis milling automation, CAD and model preparation improvements, expanded 3D tooling, Accelerated Finishing and turning and Mill-Turn enhancements.

The Next Generation of Data-Driven Manufacturing Software
Merlin Tempus Enterprise Edition from Memex expands machine monitoring and management functionality with real-time data collection capabilities that capture machine-generated information and real-time sensor data, including alarm states, feed and speed rate overrides and other green-light metrics.

Industry 4.0 CAM Software Reduces Cycle Times, Improves Milling Surface Finishes
Integrated hyperMILL MAXX Machining finishing software from OPEN MIND uses conical barrel cutter technology to reduce machining cycle times by over 90 percent on planar, ruled and curved surfaces in complex, 5-axis components.

Moving Machine Builders and Users Toward the Digital Factory
The Mindsphere IoT operating system from Siemens is an open, customized platform for recording and analyzing large volumes of real-time, plant-wide production data used to operate, manage, program and maintain machine tools on the shop floor.

How to Optimize Machine Utilization, Predictive Work Flow, Automation and Digital Chain Security
Automation in NCSIMUL 2018 software from SPRING Technologies links the engineering department to programmers and operators working at the machine tools on the shop floor to improve forecasts and reduce operating cycles.

Universal CMM Software Creates Enterprise-Wide Measurement System
For automated quality inspection, reporting, scanning, reverse engineering, tool building and assembly guidance, Universal CMM from Verisurf provides seamless communication and interoperability between standards-based I++ protocol and CMM controllers so that CMM operators can also use legacy inspection programs if needed.

Universal Decoder Connects and Collects Real-Time Shop Floor CNC Machine Data
The Excellerant API universal decoder from WireFreeCNC provides small to large shops with the ability to connect every CNC machine tool controller, no matter the brand, so they can monitor and manage each machine’s data in real-time and send that data to their MES and/or ERP systems.