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MakerSpace chat. Watch Cutting Tool Engineering's video coverage, featuring original footage and context from the related product, process, event, or shop-floor demonstration.

I sit down with Dr. Jeff Helm, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Lafayette College. We discuss, as an extension of today’s live show, the best ways to lead by example in creating the future leaders of manufacturing.

Part 1 of our ERT mini-series: Cole shows how mobERT mobile robots automate Rollomatic grinding — machine tending, AI 3D bin-picking, AMR navigation, and smart-factory workflow.

Precision is everything when it comes to manufacturing for the Oil and Gas industry. Gavin Schmitz and John Whitmore from WellHead Systems Inc. (WSI) take us behind the scenes on how their team, located in the small town of Hill City, Kansas, powers the industry with their products and Blowout Preventers (BOPs).

As a pioneer in friction stir welding (FSW) technology, Mazak MegaStir showcased its patented high-speed Instrumented Tool Holder (ITH) for friction stir welding (FSW) during Fabtech 2025. Mazak MegaStir takes the process to the next level with its fast-moving ITH that further boosts joint strength and provides practically zero part distortion. The tool holder is used in Mazak HYBRID Multi-Tasking machine operations that combine subtractive processes with that of FSW assembly/joining. This hybrid platform provides the ability to join assembly components on the same machine with the same operator and consolidates factory floor footprints while decreasing capital expenditures.

From its next generation of water jets, the OMAX Maxiem 1530X, to its latest plasma jet cutter, the XPR460 mechanized plasma cutter, Jake Brown, Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, led a Fabtech tour showcasing the new products launched throughout the company's Hypertherm Associates and OMAX product portfolio. n

In an exhibit floor full of robots and robotic processes and accessories, Universal Robots made news during the Fabtech show with the addition of a collaborative robot that is fast and has a long reach. Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of Universal Robots, as well as parent company Teradyne, introduced at Fabtech the company's newest Cobot, the UR8L. Hathout said the "L" stands for long, and the collaborative robot "brings all the qualities and the high performance" of the UR-15 platform that it introduced at the Automate show last May. The platform brings the highest speeds to the company's portfolio.

Steve Ulmer, director of sales for OMAX Corp., provided Cutting Tool Engineering with a look at two of OMAX's latest generations of equipment during September's Fabtech show. The machines included the new Maxiem 1530X water jet machine and the ProtoMax compact water jet. The 1530X is the next generation in water jet machining, and it's an upgrade from the Maxiem product that was released over 10 years ago. It features a completely new design with more rigid uprights, more rigid axis on the X and the Y, greater bed capacity and greater flexibility with what is in the tank. ProtoMax is a compact water jet that can be used where it is needed. All the mobile water jet requires is single-phase power, and access to water and a drain, and you can be cutting parts.

Keeping a machine running can be a challenge. An expensive challenge. At Fabtech, Olis Robotics, specialists in remote control and error recovery systems for industrial robots, partnered with Mid-Atlantic Machinery to monitor a press brake being fed by a robot from Universal Robots. Using a new App from Olis running on an over-the-counter Android smartphone, a Mid-Atlantic application engineer monitored the data to ensure the robot and press brake were operating efficiently. "To help us support our customers as efficiently as possible, we've started using an app called Olis. This is Olis right here on this tablet. We set this up on site. It has video of the cell. In this case, we have a press break tending robot. We can also see a lot of different diagnostic data of the robot. So for example, if a customer calls me and says, "Hey, the robot just ran into a protective stop," I can click under the events right here and I can click on protective stop. I can see every instance for the timestamp of all the protective stops they've gotten on the robot."

The old adage is that if it "ain't broke, don't fix it." While this has been tried and true wisdom for ages, it might be a little suspect in today's modern age, when one technology advantage can make the difference between standing apart from the competition or falling behind. That is one of the observations imparted by Visual Components, which at the recent Fabtech Show in Chicago gave Cutting Tool Engineering a "walk-through" of its newly released, highly anticipated, Visual Components 5.0 software platform.

From moving cobots to novel mobile automation solutions, Güdel Inc. highlighted two new technologies at FABTECH 2025. The equipment included the CoboMover, a 7th-axis linear track purpose-built for collaborative and lightweight robots. The CoboMover is designed to help integrators and end users expand the range of cobot and lightweight robot applications. In addition, the company showcased an air bearing track motion product. The modular track system was fitted with air bearings and used just 5 psi to levitate a track and a Fanuc robot, which weighed over 7,000 lbs., 1/2" above ground.