What We Learned at IMTS

The International Manufacturing Technology Show or IMTS is one of the largest trade shows in the world. This year was the return of the show since the Covid pandemic. More than 85,000 attendees filled the halls of McCormick Place in Chicago over a six-day period with 1 million square feet to traverse. As one of the 2,000+ exhibitors, the employees of Nel PreTech were on hand to visit with current customers and engage new acquaintances wanting to learn more about our 3D & CT scanning services.

Located in the quality assurance hall, we just so happened to have the best views of Lake Michigan; a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the show.

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Many attendees were wowed by all of the machinery, technology, and robotics on display. Some who visited the Nel PreTech booth were pleasantly surprised to find our 3D and CT scanning services to be just the thing they were looking for. Some brought parts and blueprints from current projects they are working on to get our input and to find out if computed tomography or structured blue light scanning might help them with their problems. Free scans, colormaps, and layouts were offered to show attendees as an added bonus for visiting the Nel PreTech booth. There were some great discussions on the benefits of 3D scanning for a wide variety of applications within manufacturing. Ideas were born, collaborations created, and relationships strengthened.

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Director of CT, Mike Heim, and NPC President, Dave Nelson participated in a video presentation of the x-ray technology we use to create 3d models. Included in the presentation was a review of our value-add services. From 3D scans to post-scan engineering and metrology services, viewers were informed about our people with metrology and software expertise, engineering design, and physics backgrounds. They also learned of our accredited process and cutting-edge 3d scanning platforms.

Going in, we knew this was a show geared towards the equipment and manufacturing technology. This left us unsure of what to expect as service providers and first-time exhibitors in the quality control arena. What we found was an up and down flow of traffic with a handful of good, quality leads looking for reverse engineering, colormaps, porosity analysis, failure analysis, and overall ideas on how to interrogate their parts. There were fruitful discussions on how to use our 3d scanning services to better their processes and enhance their ability to move products along to market quickly. As some of these new contacts spoke with us, we learned of their pain points and goals. Many stopped by for the free candy we were handing out, but stayed for the enlightening conversation!

Now that IMTS is over, we forge ahead with the post-show follow-ups and free scans. We reflect on what worked for us and what we can do better next time. Energized is a good word to describe the overall experience. If you are looking for first article inspection, colormaps, comparisons to CAD, reverse engineering, or any other engineering and metrology services mentioned in this article, please reach out to: gregn@nelpretech.com or give us a call (708) 429-4887.