IMTS: Hang 10 in Chicago

Back in our preview issue for IMTS 2010, the show introduction article “Hanging 10 in ’10” stated that Lake Michigan, which can be seen from Chicago’s McCormick Place where the biennial event still occurs, may not be well-known as a surfing destination. Nonetheless, the waves can become high enough along America’s third coast to allow surfers to walk the board and dangle their toes off the front, or hang 10.

IMTS 2018 and this August’s IMTS show preview edition provide 10 references as well. Although I don’t have 10 of my own, I have a few.

IMTS 2018 will be my 10th International Manufacturing Technology Show. I was new to the industry when I attended IMTS 2000 and, as associate editor, was at the bottom of the magazine’s editorial ladder. IMTS wasn’t the first manufacturing trade show I attended, but it proved to be a significant—albeit exhausting—learning experience.

Coincidentally, our August 2000 issue included the first editorial piece by Kip Hanson, one of CTE’s current contributing editors. His column was “Kip’s Tips,” and the first installment covered the best way to set a new cutting tool.

This issue features our 10th Biennial Salary Survey, which starts on page 50. Over the years, we’ve refined and improved the survey. Certainly one of the biggest improvements is the elimination of all the manual calculations that were required early on. We don’t claim that the survey results for annual compensation and benefits are scientifically accurate—we present them more as infotainment—but they seem reasonable and are probably not far off target.

IMTS 2018 also marks the 10th anniversary of MTConnect, reports AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. MTConnect is a set of open, royalty-free standards that enhance interoperability among controls, devices and software applications. Mike Cicco explained that the vision in 2008 was for the manufacturing world to develop a protocol that would enable those products to communicate with the simplicity of connecting USB devices from different manufacturers to a PC and have the devices work seamlessly by installing the appropriate drivers. At the time, Cicco was an electrical engineer who also served on the MTConnect Technical Committee for AMT; he is now president and CEO of FANUC America Corp., Rochester Hills, Michigan, and an AMT board member.

“AMT and IMTS were light-years ahead of everyone else when it came to funding, leading the development and marketing of MTConnect,” Cicco said. “Fast forward a decade, and you can see a host of automation and machine tool providers demonstrating the benefits of connected devices at IMTS 2018.”

This year also highlights a multiple of 10 for CTE as we celebrate our 70th, or platinum, anniversary.

And if you plan to attend IMTS 2018, be certain to visit our exhibit at booth 431668. Note that 4 + 3 + 1 + 6 + 6 + 8 = 28 and 2 + 8 = 10.