Visions of the Future, in Real Time

‘Digital manufacturing’, Smart factories or ‘factories of the future’, call it what you will, the idea of highly dynamic production environments processing massive amounts of information as well as optimal amounts of raw materials — is a compelling one. It’s one that will be highlighted in numerous ways at IMTS 2018 and demonstrated with various systems and equipment. Defining credible and functional concepts for advanced manufacturing involves more that high-tech automation and IT systems, there are machine and handling systems to be incorporated too. Advanced automation for manufacturing is on the minds of equipment and technology suppliers as well as manufacturers, and will prompt many more new ideas as the concepts are presented.