IMTS Spotlighted New Innovation with Emerging Technology Center

The sights and sounds of manufacturings future greeted IMTS show attendees in an exciting multimedia extravaganza in the first ever IMTS Emerging Technology Center. Sponsored by GE Fanuc Automation, the Emerging Technology Center showcased companies and organizations that are researching and developing the next generation of manufacturing technologies. ETC exhibitors were invited to participate based on the strong relationship of their research to the nearterm influence on the manufacturing sector. Participants included incubators, think tanks and businesseducation partnerships.

We assembled what we believe to be some of the best and brightest developers of manufacturingspecific technologies in the country, said Peter Eelman, Vice President Exhibitions, AMT, the Association for Manufacturing Technology. This was an unprecedented opportunity for manufacturers to touch and feel the technologies currently in the R&D stage that will affect their operations in the future.

The exhibition that grew to become IMTS held its first show in 1927. The main goal of that event, the Machine Tool Show, as it was known then, was strictly to exhibit the new technology of the day. According to AMT, the ETC brought IMTS 2004 back to its roots with entrepreneurs showing off innovative and enabling technologies in the areas of processors, micro machines, nanotechnology, software, robotics, and more.

As the sponsor of the Emerging Technology Center, GE Fanuc Automation showcased its new technologies and services to improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). With new product demonstrations and actual application examples, the GE Fanuc booth highlighted the three key contributors to OEE Availability, Performance and Quality and how they combine in a bestinclass plant to achieve operational excellence. Additionally, GE Fanuc highlighted Proficy Machine Tool Efficiency software throughout the booth which provides drill down intelligence at the machine line or cell level and is a key measuring tool for plant operations. This software solution offers connectivity to equipment and delivers detailed reporting on OEE, ultimately helping manufacturers improve asset utilization through an understanding of shop floor dynamics.

Availability
Manufacturing plants can improve machine availability both by reducing set up time and decreasing the amount of downtime as a result of equipment breakdowns. In this area, GE Fanuc demonstrated how manufacturers can improve machine availability through the use of integrated probing solutions, new Manual Guide i shop floor programming tools, and the latest maintenance and diagnostic features of the new Series 30i CNCs.

Performance
With a goal of Turbo Charging the perform a n c e o f m a c h i n e tools currently on the plant floor, GE Fanuc featured fiveaxis and highspeed machining capabilities, retrofit solutions for existing machines, cycle time reduction by up to 40% with i Adapt adaptive control software, and additional demos highlighting machine optimization for improved performance.

Quality
As a leader in Six Sigma methodology, GE Fanuc can help manufacturers take the first critical step on the road to continuous improvement: data collection and analysis. GE Fanucs Proficy Machine Tool Efficiency software featured connectivity to several machines in other booths at IMTS and showcased powerful data collection, analysis and display capabilities. Qualityrelated demonstrations also included turnkey probing solutions, demonstrations of the high quality machining features of the latest GE Fanuc CNCs, and machine compensation functions to maintain the accuracy of older machines. The Emerging Technology Center fulfilled our goal of bringing new technologies back to the forefront of IMTS, Eelman concluded. We responded to visitors requests to learn more about emerging technologies at the show in addition to commercially available technology.

Emerging Trend
With interest growing in new manufacturing technologies as the economy rebounds, the ETC experience began with a 12minute video presentation that illustrated the impact that smart machines, nanotechnologies and noncontact inspection will have on manufacturing in the future. The video, however, quickly became more than just an introduction. It assumed a role as the voice of the industry to government and corporate representatives visiting the ETC, explaining to them the paths by which technology will change the face of U.S. manufacturing. One example is in providing production equipment with the capability to make decisions on its own. As a result, growing support from government representatives and leading corporations was achieved for the Smart Machine Platform Initiative.

For the exhibitors in the ETC, this was truly a unique opportunity to create a link between their goals and the needs and expectations of manufacturing representatives. Not often does a university research staff have an opportunity to discuss their work with realworld manufacturers, nor do industry representatives have a chance to see what activities are occurring on our nations campuses and in research labs. The ETC provided this important chance. This has been one of the greatest experiences Ive had to be able to discuss with industry the research I am conducting, said Neena De Silva, a graduate student at the University of Kentucky.

Included in the ETC were representatives from Penn State Universitys Machine Dynamics Lab, the Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, the University of Toledo College of Engineering, the Y12 National Security Complex, and the NSF Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems to mention a few. All offered thanks for the chance to be at IMTS