After an intense week of metal cutting, tech demos, and robotic acrobatics, the 30th iteration of the International Manufacturing Technology Show has finally come to a close.
In its wake, the show has left us with a clear image of the future of manufacturing that is a little hard to shake as we get back to our normal lives.
This year's show was a whirlwind of tools and technology—a record-breaking maze of 2,407 exhibiting companies stretched out over the back-breaking 1.37 million sq. ft. of Chicago's McCormick Hall.
It featured an impossible mix of hardware, software, IoT, automation, and every imaginable combination of cutting, grinding, and additive machines, all of it working together to create a fantastic kind of futuristic manufacturing puzzle.
The key components to this puzzle, echoing across the floor, were three major pieces: smart machine tools, industrial 3D printers, and—the real king of the year's show—robots.
Here, we have included a few of our favorite displays we stumbled across during our week at the show.