By Dan Ewing
IMTS 2008 was one of the best-attended shows in recent memory. In fact, the more than 92,000 attendees is the strongest showing since the year 2000. This year the show was two days shorter than in previous years, but obviously that did not hurt the attendance numbers. It is safe to say that the show “exceeded expectations and objectives” according to a quote that I read from the IMTS VP-Exhibitions, Peter Eelman.
The exhibits were bigger and better than ever, with all the usual contests, free t-shirts, models, and “free stuff”. I loaded up on the Boeing t-shirts at the MMS booth to bring back to my co-workers at the plant. I also took advantage of the free shuttle that was a great way to cover the massive expanse of the four buildings.
There was however a minor bump in the road when I arrived in the “Windy City” to find that my hotel was overbooked and that the reservation I made months ago through the IMTS website had fallen through the cracks. I actually felt like Jerry Seinfeld when he tried to pick up his rental car only to find out that they were out of cars. “Apparently you do not know what the word reservation means”. Aside from getting booked in another hotel and the overpriced and average at best food, I had a great IMTS experience.
The most impressive and unusual display was the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that greeted you at the entrance to the Cutting Tool Building. The 10 rows or so of actual leather seating complete with soothing lighting, clouds and other Dreamliners flowing past the windows, made for a cool respite from the rigors of the show.
It seemed that this year’s focus was squarely on several industries such as: aerospace, power generation, farm & construction equipment, and medical devices. The small parts industry (medical) and the large part industries (power generation and oil patch) are definitely where it’s at these days. Automotive has become the “red-headed step-child” of the show. Perhaps that is due to the ever decreasing number of jobs in the rust belt states. Here in Michigan for example, we have lost 200,00 manufacturing jobs over the last 5 years.
Due to the shrinking local automotive market, we here at E-Z Burr have been developing products designed for aerospace and other hard-to-machine materials. It was nice to see that we are right in line with what IMTS was touting. In fact, in early 2009 we will be rolling out our new line of small diameter carbide tools to cover .125 through .250-inch diameter range. Our new Dovetail Carbide insert design has been successfully implemented at accounts such as G E and Williams International. Boeing is also is a large user of our Carbide Series Tools.
Due to the positive response of this new product, we will be featuring a complete offering in our Carbide Series to cover ranges of .125 through 1-inch diameter, available right off the shelf. Diameters of 1–2 inches are delivered in less than 3 weeks, and up to 6-inch diameter tools have been recently quoted as well. We currently stock inserts with aggressive angles as a stocked option with the latest coatings recommended for Titanium, Inconel, and high-nickel alloy applications.
Overall, the atmosphere of the show was positive and upbeat. Of course, the show was prior to the financial market meltdown and bailout legislation battles of the past several of weeks. The need for precision manufactured products is a worldwide market. We at E-Z Burr are proud to say that we will continue to innovate and increase our productivity at every level of the manufacturing process for whatever industry we are serving.