IMTS 2026 Preview: What Automation and AI Advances Mean for Custom CNC Parts Buyers

What’s Happening at IMTS 2026

IMTS 2026 — the International Manufacturing Technology Show — will open September 14–19, 2026 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. Organized by AMT (Association for Manufacturing Technology), the biennial show draws over 1,800 exhibitors across 1.2 million square feet of exhibition space, making it the largest manufacturing technology event in the Western Hemisphere. This year’s theme, “Achieve the Impossible,” signals a program heavily weighted toward automation, AI-driven machine tools, collaborative robotics, and digital shop-floor connectivity — all areas that directly affect how custom metal parts are quoted, machined, inspected, and delivered.

The confirmed exhibitor list includes major CNC builders (DMG MORI, Mazak, Haas, Okuma), cutting-tool manufacturers (Sandvik Coromant, Kennametal), metrology providers (Hexagon, Zeiss), and a growing cohort of robotics and software companies. ABB Robotics is showing its newly launched PoWa cobot family — collaborative robots with higher payload ratings designed for machine tending in compact layouts — and Trener Robotics is demonstrating the Acteris platform, an AI-driven system using pre-trained skills to handle part identification, collision avoidance, and natural-language operator instructions for CNC machine tending.

Sources: IMTS official website (imts.com, accessed July 17, 2026); Fabricating & Metalworking, June/July 2026 issue (fabricatingandmetalworking.com); ABB Robotics press materials referenced in Fabricating & Metalworking coverage.

Why This Matters for Precision Machining Buyers

IMTS is not a news event — it is a forward indicator of what contract manufacturers will be capable of, and at what cost, over the next 12–24 months. As we discussed in our 2026 state of CNC machining analysis, lights-out manufacturing and AI-assisted process control are the two forces most directly reshaping how precision parts are quoted and produced. Every major CNC machine tool builder times significant product launches to the show. For engineers and procurement professionals sourcing turned, milled, or multi-axis machined parts, the technologies unveiled at IMTS translate directly into changes in three areas: lead time, achievable tolerances at volume, and per-part cost on repeat orders.

Consider the trajectory visible in this year’s exhibitor lineup:

• Machine tending automation is moving down-market. Five years ago, robotic part loading required a dedicated integration project costing $150,000+ and six months of commissioning. ABB’s PoWa cobots and OnRobot’s Telabotics CNCTend — an out-of-the-box tending package — are positioned as same-day-install solutions with ROI measured in months. When a contract shop automates tending on a turning center or 5-axis mill, the machine can run lights-out across a third shift. For the buyer, this means shorter queues on repeat orders and fewer rush-charge scenarios.
• AI is entering the shop floor as a diagnostic tool, not as a controller. Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence uses its own software on its production floor in Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The most practical AI application today involves uploading engineering documents, work histories, and quality data into an AI agent that operators query using natural language. Ted Coppa, Hexagon’s production manager, noted this “significantly reduces troubleshooting time by instantly searching for data that humans lack the time to review” (Fabricating & Metalworking, June/July 2026). For buyers, this means shops can resolve non-conformance questions faster during incoming inspection.
• Connected-shop architectures are becoming vendor-agnostic. Rather than locking into a single OEM’s ecosystem, shops are building modular stacks where a DMG MORI mill, a Zeiss CMM, and an ABB tending cobot share data through orchestration layers. This mirrors the broader trend toward connected, data-driven shop floors that improve both throughput and quality traceability. This reduces the switching cost for a shop to add capability — and for a buyer, it means the shop you qualified with one machine type can more easily add capacity in another process without disrupting your approved-supplier status.

Material and Process Implications

The automation wave has uneven effects across material families, and buyers should understand where the impact is largest:

• Aluminum alloys (6061-T6, 7075-T6, 5083): High material removal rates and relatively predictable chip formation make aluminum the easiest material to automate for lights-out turning and milling. (See our guide on 5052 vs. 6061 aluminum selection for CNC machining for context on alloy-specific machinability differences.) Shops with cobot-tended 3-axis and 5-axis mills running aluminum are the most likely to offer reduced per-part pricing on volumes above 100 units, because the machine utilization rate can jump from ~40% (single-shift) to ~85% (attended two-shift plus lights-out third). Buyers should ask whether a shop’s aluminum work is on automated cells when negotiating repeat-order pricing.
• Stainless steels (304, 316L, 17-4 PH): Work-hardening and chip-control challenges limit unattended turning. For detailed machining parameters, see our technical reference on 17-4PH CNC machining parameters and tooling. New-generation high-pressure coolant systems — many to be demonstrated at IMTS — improve chip breaking enough for longer unattended runs on 316L. Buyers of stainless turned parts may see modest lead-time improvements but should not expect dramatic cost reductions from automation alone.
• Titanium and nickel alloys (Ti-6Al-4V, Inconel 718): These materials demand conservative cutting parameters regardless of automation. The primary benefit of robotic tending for titanium is consistency — eliminating operator-to-operator variability in part loading can tighten process capability (Cpk) on critical features. For aerospace and medical buyers, this translates to fewer lot rejections, not lower unit prices.
• Engineering plastics (PEEK, PTFE, acetal): Thermal expansion and chip-wrapping risks make plastics challenging for unattended machining. Shops investing in automated cells are doing so for metals first; plastics buyers should verify a shop’s specific capability before assuming automation benefits.

What Buyers Should Do Between Now and September

The period before IMTS is an opportunity to strengthen supplier relationships and position RFQs strategically:

1. Ask current suppliers if they are attending IMTS and what technology areas they are evaluating. A shop that is actively researching automated inspection or robotic tending is signaling intent to invest. If your volume justifies it, offer to commit to a 12-month forecast in exchange for priority scheduling on the new cell once it’s commissioned.
2. Include “automated cell” as a qualifier in RFPs for aluminum parts with annual volumes above 500 units. Specify that you want to know whether the quoting shop has or is planning lights-out capability for the specific material and geometry. This isn’t about favoring larger shops — compact automation solutions like CNCTend are priced for job shops — it’s about identifying which suppliers have a clear path to consistent pricing over a multi-year program.
3. Request capability statements that distinguish between “we have the machine” and “we have the machine with verified process capability on your material.” The connected-shop trend means more shops can collect and share real-time SPC data. A shop that can provide Cp/Cpk data from similar past work on your material grade is more valuable than one listing a machine model number.
4. Watch for post-IMTS pricing adjustments. Historically, shops that invest in new automation at IMTS begin depreciating that equipment in Q4 or Q1 of the following year. If your program can tolerate a Q1 2027 start, you may capture lower pricing as shops seek to fill capacity on newly automated cells.

Limitations and Context

This analysis is based on publicly available exhibitor information, trade press coverage from the June/July 2026 issue of Fabricating & Metalworking, and the official IMTS 2026 website (imts.com). It does not constitute a forecast of specific pricing changes. The feasibility of lights-out machining — and therefore the economic benefit to the buyer — depends on material, geometry, tolerances, batch size, and the shop’s specific equipment configuration. Shops quoting tight-tolerance work (±0.0005 in. or better) will generally maintain in-process inspection regardless of tending automation, which limits the labor-cost reduction achievable.

This article draws on the Fabricating & Metalworking June/July 2026 issue (fabricatingandmetalworking.com), the IMTS 2026 website (imts.com), and ABB Robotics coverage. All company and product names are attributed to their respective owners. Quotes are reproduced as published in the cited trade press.

Next Steps for Your RFQ

Whether you’re sourcing turned stainless components, milled aluminum housings, or 5-axis titanium parts, understanding your supplier’s technology trajectory matters as much as their current machine list. Before sending your next RFQ:

• Define your annual volume and whether it justifies supplier investment in dedicated automation
• Identify critical-to-quality features so suppliers can assess whether unattended machining is feasible
• Share material grade, key tolerances, and surface finish requirements along with your drawing or 3D model

Submit your drawings, material specifications, quantities, and tolerance requirements for a DFM review and competitive RFQ response. Our engineering team evaluates every part for manufacturability before quoting — because automation only delivers value when the process is right first.