BUILD YOUR AGENDA

Explore innovations in machining, additive, automation, digital solutions, quality and more.

See a live, end-to-end manufacturing system operating continuously on the show floor.

Your front-row seat to the people shaping the industry.

Have a particular manufacturing challenge? Have a seat and discover solutions.

For decades, CAM software has relied on the same workflow: choose a strategy, adjust pages of parameters, regenerate, and repeat. It’s familiar—but not always efficient. Programmers often spend more time translating intent into settings and iterating through regeneration cycles than actually refining the toolpath.

This session explores a more visual, automation-first approach to toolpath creation. We’ll look at how intelligent defaults, direct on-screen toolpath editing, color-coded workflow stages, and seamless 3- to 5-axis flexibility can reduce programming time and eliminate unnecessary iteration. Through live demonstrations on real-world parts, we’ll highlight where traditional parameter-driven workflows create friction—and how a more interactive model can streamline programming and accelerate production.

Designed for CNC programmers, manufacturing engineers, and shop managers, this discussion examines what the evolution of CAM workflow means for efficiency, training, and getting parts out the door faster.

This presentation will help the listener understand the important factors of integrating robots with advanced technologies like perception and embodied AI.

The advent of machine learning, AI and Big Data holds the promise of assisting manufacturing workers to achieve new levels of efficiency.   Applying these technologies to processes requires reaching beyond the capabilities of software and hardware of robots and their controllers. Taking advantage of the best technologies often requires many of the capabilities to be offloaded to specialized hardware or the cloud.  
Flexibility is key to accessing the latest software and hardware technologies.  However, simplicity and intelligence of integration is also very important.  Robots that offer high fidelity open interfaces are well suited to interaction with humans and operation with advanced technology

Kickstart your day with the IMTS Morning Show on the IMTS+ Main Stage! Hosted by the vibrant Marley Kayden, each episode features lively interviews with industry experts, main-stage keynote speakers, manufacturers, and social media influencers. Get the scoop on must-see events and key insights to make the most of your day at IMTS.

Taking to the steps to move to Zero-Point Clamp and plates can be a BIG step but improvements in efficiencies can be a big gain in productivity and reduction in set up times.

Explore innovations in machining, additive, automation, digital solutions, quality and more.

See a live, end-to-end manufacturing system operating continuously on the show floor.

Your front-row seat to the people shaping the industry.

Have a particular manufacturing challenge? Have a seat and discover solutions.

Across the country, regional education programs are accelerating the adoption of automation in high schools. In one workforce reshaping initiative, tens of thousands of dollars were invested to deploy multiple functional automation cells not only at a university level, but across seven local high schools. The goal was not simply to teach robotics it was to prepare students for real-world process automation environments before they ever step onto a shop floor.

This session explores what happens when education modernizes faster than local industry. As students gain hands on experience with automation systems, manufacturers that are not aligned with current tools, workflows, and expectations risk losing incoming talent to more automation ready competitors.

Attendees will gain insight into how regional workforce initiatives are redefining entry level skill sets and what practical steps manufacturers can take to evaluate their own alignment with the next generation of skilled labor.

Simon Schneider, Director of the Okuma Factory Automation for Okuma America Corporation, works closely with manufacturers of all sizes throughout the Americas.  Through these experiences, Simon has gained first-hand knowledge about challenges facing manufacturers today. Many of these challenges can be solved by leveraging and scaling automation technologies, thereby positioning manufacturers for greater efficiency and business growth both today and into the future. 

Short-Term Wins:

The case for preconfigured, easy-to-implement systems
Realize immediate impacts on production levels
Position for new business opportunities
Overcome workforce availability challenges
Achieve short-term ROI on investment

Long-Term Transformations:

Paradigm Shift - the changing role of the machinist/production worker; freeing resources for more strategic work
Evolve your business’s capabilities with the powerful human and technology combination
Scaling for business growth

Explore how the North American machine tool industry is adapting to cost pressures, workforce challenges, and rapid digitalization. This session examines real-world ROI from closed-loop manufacturing, predictive maintenance, and advanced control systems, while highlighting emerging technologies—AI, automation, and smart data integration—that will define machining over the next 3–5 years.

AI is moving beyond analytics and fully integrated into operations. Physical AI, systems that perceive, reason, and act in the physical environment, is beginning to reshape how manufacturers run production, quality, and supply chain. Dayan Rodriguez outlines where Physical AI is delivering measurable value today and what it will take to scale it across the enterprise. Drawing on Microsoft work embedding technical experts and enterprise grade AI engineering inside customer operations, he offers a practical view of the technology, the operating model, and the decisions leaders need to make now. For manufacturing leaders, this is a clear look at how Physical AI moves to production, and why the next decade of competitiveness depends on getting it right.

Explore innovations in machining, additive, automation, digital solutions, quality and more.

See a live, end-to-end manufacturing system operating continuously on the show floor.

Your front-row seat to the people shaping the industry.

Have a particular manufacturing challenge? Have a seat and discover solutions.

Lace up and run to fund STEM education.

If your automation plan stalls at the metrology step, this talk is for you. Machines have gotten faster. Automation has gotten smarter. But inspection is still slowing too many of us down.  Modern in‑process metrology—laser, vision, probing, and form measurement—can unlock the productivity your machines already have inside them.

We’ll demonstrate how laser measurement systems's dense measurement stream boosts process reliability.  How visualization software provides instant actionable data for operators and engineers.  And how precision probing standardizes setups in minutes.  Measuring and automation software can also hlep you run longer, with fewer stops, and higher confidence. 

With in‑process measurement, you can detect wear and breakage before it becomes scrap, correct offsets automatically, validate geometry inside the machine, achieve true “first‑part‑right”, and ultimately run longer without an operator standing next to the machine.  This isn’t a dream. It’s happening right now in factories that have digitized the measurement stage.  "Lights out" production is truely possible. 

In this candid fireside conversation, Allison Roberts Grealis will sit down with Dr. Sharon Cobb, the IMTS Elevate 2024 keynote whose leadership played a pivotal role in producing NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), which launched the Orion spacecraft on April 1 for Artemis II: NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby in 50 years.

Dr. Cobb is helping shape the industry’s future through leadership, innovation, and advocacy. This conversation will examine leadership lessons, career pivots, and how women leaders are creating meaningful change across manufacturing organizations worldwide.

Discussion Themes:

• Personal leadership journey
• Lessons learned from leading in manufacturing
• The future of women in advanced manufacturing
• Advice for the next generation of industry leaders
   

Close out the day with IMTS Unwind on the IMTS+ Main Stage! Hosted by the vibrant Marley Kayden, each episode features lively interviews with industry experts, main-stage keynote speakers, manufacturers, and social media influencers. Get the scoop on must-see events for the next day and key insights to make the most of your IMTS.

An opportunity for attendees to connect with peers, speakers, and industry leaders while continuing the conversation about leadership, innovation, and the future of manufacturing.

Explore innovations in machining, additive, automation, digital solutions, quality and more.

See a live, end-to-end manufacturing system operating continuously on the show floor.

Your front-row seat to the people shaping the industry.

Have a particular manufacturing challenge? Have a seat and discover solutions.

Surface preparation, finishing, and cleaning operations face mounting pressure from labor shortages, rising costs, and heightened safety risks in hazardous environments. This session explores how embodied AI and safety-certified, explosion-proof robotics enable adaptive process innovation in finishing applications where variability and compliance constraints limit traditional automation. Attendees will learn how closed-loop, AI-driven automation software enhances safety, reduces rework and downtime, shortens changeovers, and stabilizes high-mix operations. The discussion highlights practical approaches to protecting workers, maintaining compliance, and transforming finishing processes into scalable, resilient, margin-protecting manufacturing capabilities.

Building on Wednesday's Smart Machining session, this presentation takes a deeper dive into what it actually looks like to put on-machine inspection to work -- from first deployment through measurable, sustained results.

CAPPS-NC has become the tool of choice for manufacturers who need more than theory. In this session, Chris Affer walks through real implementation experiences across aerospace, defense, and mold and die -- sharing the decisions made, the obstacles overcome, and the outcomes achieved by teams that have made on-machine inspection a core part of how they run their process.

Attendees will come away with a grounded understanding of what implementation really involves, including application overviews that map to common shop floor scenarios, KPI benchmarks that reflect what world-class manufacturers are actually achieving, and an honest look at the tools and workflows that drive those results.

Whether you're evaluating CAPPS-NC for the first time or looking to get more out of an existing deployment, this session offers the kind of practical detail that moves projects forward.

Close out the day with IMTS Unwind on the IMTS+ Main Stage! Hosted by the vibrant Marley Kayden, each episode features lively interviews with industry experts, main-stage keynote speakers, manufacturers, and social media influencers. Get the scoop on must-see events for the next day and key insights to make the most of your IMTS.

The Manufacturing USA network of manufacturing innovation institutes is bridging the gap between technology discovery and scaled domestic production. The institutes are ensuring that American innovations become U.S. commercial manufacturing success stories. Panelists will discuss how public-private partnerships across the Manufacturing USA network are acting as force multipliers to de-risk technology adoption, to navigate the commercialization "valley of death,” and build the technical workforce needed to succeed. Join us for an engaging look at how Manufacturing USA continues to advance the manufacturing industry.

Explore innovations in machining, additive, automation, digital solutions, quality and more.

See a live, end-to-end manufacturing system operating continuously on the show floor.

Your front-row seat to the people shaping the industry.

Have a particular manufacturing challenge? Have a seat and discover solutions.

Kickstart your day with the IMTS Morning Show on the IMTS+ Main Stage! Hosted by the vibrant Marley Kayden, each episode features lively interviews with industry experts, main-stage keynote speakers, manufacturers, and social media influencers. Get the scoop on must-see events and key insights to make the most of your day at IMTS.

The US manufacturing base needs faster access to advanced technology to compete globally. Dean Banks joins AMT's Ryan Kelly for a conversation on what that takes — policy, talent, and industrial strategy working together — and a candid look at where American manufacturing stands today.

Five days, miles of show floor. By Friday, one question remains: of everything at IMTS 2026, what actually matters for your shop? The MakingChips hosts and guests break down the tech that mattered, debate what's next, and place their bets. We'll also announce who won the DN Solutions + Kennametal Machine Giveaway at the end.

Explore innovations in machining, additive, automation, digital solutions, quality and more.

See a live, end-to-end manufacturing system operating continuously on the show floor.

Your front-row seat to the people shaping the industry.

Have a particular manufacturing challenge? Have a seat and discover solutions.

Women aren’t waiting for an invitation to shape the future of manufacturing. This candid conversation brings together women from across the industry to talk about getting in, staying in, and stepping up — from the shop floor to leadership — and what needs to change to build the next generation of manufacturing.

Kickstart your day with the IMTS Morning Show on the IMTS+ Main Stage! Hosted by the vibrant Marley Kayden, each episode features lively interviews with industry experts, main-stage keynote speakers, manufacturers, and social media influencers. Get the scoop on must-see events and key insights to make the most of your day at IMTS.

Close out the day with IMTS Unwind on the IMTS+ Main Stage! Hosted by the vibrant Marley Kayden, each episode features lively interviews with industry experts, main-stage keynote speakers, manufacturers, and social media influencers. Get the scoop on must-see events for the next day and key insights to make the most of your IMTS.

Discover the ideas and innovations transforming manufacturing. This Main Stage session will feature industry experts sharing insights on emerging technologies, workforce trends, and the future of the industry.