Not only was new technology on display at , May 16-18, but there were new faces, speakers, and an abundance of positive energy throughout all four buildings of the 鈥淏ig E鈥� officially named the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
From the show floor and busy aisles to the packed speaker sessions and outdoor picnic tables, a congenial and confident vibe flowed through the event. The bright sunshine certainly added to the upbeat feeling as visitors walked among three buildings. Manufacturers from aerospace and defense to medical and automotive gathered to connect and find solutions to increase production, manage workforce, and genuinely collaborate to move the industry forward.
New 都灵体育直播 from longtime EASTEC exhibitors showed a multitude of advancements to help manufacturers increase profitability. , , , and showed how workholding is evolving. , , and showed off aggressively intricate tooling for challenging parts. displayed its world-class honing equipment while presented its large but compact multispindle machining centers.
Very cool inspection and measuring systems by , , and garnered attention for their capabilities to scan large volume parts and even analyze the tiniest parts. New robotics equipment and accessories were especially interesting in the and booths. Many crowded around the booth to see their digital manufacturing management system, while others were drawn into the booth to get their hands on the custom, rigid-foam workspace organizers.
It was refreshing to see folks I鈥檇 met before, to meet new young people from Generation Z 鈥� like and 鈥� working in the Keyence booth, and talk to entrepreneurs of family business owners 鈥� like Ed and of and of .
Speakers 鈥� AI a popular theme
Keynote speaker , vice president of innovation and transformation at , presented 鈥�.鈥� While automation is considered a modern solution for repetitive and predictive tasks, he introduced a third dimension of automation: collective intelligence which combines subject matter expert knowledge (from retiring baby boomers) of processes and functions with the analytics of artificial intelligence.
He reassured the audience that AI will not take over manufacturing; that humans will always be involved with manufacturing because AI is an extension of the human and needs human intervention to perform efficiently, effectively, and purposefully.
AI was a common thread throughout the speaker sessions including the panel discussion, 鈥淧athway to 都灵体育直播 Adoption.鈥� Moderator , venture partner at , challenged panelists to describe manufacturing in seven seconds. 鈥淩ealized design and engineering鈥� was a common thread from all three panelists, who included , COO at , , , and , R&D assistant staff member of the Intelligent Machine Tools Group of the Manufacturing Science Division at .
Out on the show floor, Betters also promoted (ACE) program, a public-private partnership to reestablish American leadership in the machine tool industry through training and scientific expertise. If you know someone who might benefit from learning about manufacturing at no cost, you may want to direct them to AmericasCuttingEdge.com.
AI also was a main topic in the presentation by of s to nearly 100 students who participated in the EASTEC鈥檚 Bright Minds Student Summit. He emphasized the opportunity to design, program, and work with AI in many aspects of manufacturing including robots, additive manufacturing, and sustainability. Healy engaged the students with a talk that dissected the contents of the students鈥� lunch with a presentation about how everything was made from the soda machines to the plastic wrap.
The high level of enthusiasm and activity at EASTEC 2023 was refreshing and surely a sign of the robust heritage and thriving future of the Northeast鈥檚 advanced manufacturing. If you鈥檙e eager to experience a regional event like EASTEC 2023, there鈥檚 still time: is October 24-26, in Greenville, South Carolina, and , November 7-9, in Long Beach, California. These events are part of the MT Series, which is co-sponsored by and the (SME).
