More than 1800 exhibitors will occupy 1.2 million ft2 of exhibit space at this year’s International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), which takes place September 10 to 15 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. The biennial event brings individuals involved in every facet of manufacturing together at one location to discuss new opportunities, network and gain insight to improve business. They also come to learn, so IMTS offers a wide array of opportunities to learn about materials, manufacturing technologies, alternative manufacturing processes, quality assessment and control and plant operations.
IMTS has added a new conference for this year: the Motion, Drives and Automation (MDA) Conference, which will be held held September 10 and 11 in the Lakeside (East) Hall. The MDA Conference will feature two in-depth conference tracks running simultaneously — Hydraulics and Pneumatics in Automation and Motion Control in Automation. Attendees who register for this two-day conference will have access to both tracks. Researchers, executives and engineering technology leaders will speak about topics covering reducing costs and boosting machine efficiency to recent advances in technology and security in industrial automation.
The conference, sponsored by Bosch Rexroth. was organized by Hannover Fairs and the National Fluid Power Association, and Hydraulics & Pneumatics and Machine Design magazines produced the technical program.
With the current pressures on performance, efficiencies, security and the environment, engineers are even more pressed for the most up-to-date educational information on manufacturing equipment and industrial automation systems. The Motion, Drives and Automation Conference offers the perfect opportunity to obtain critical content during IMTS. Learn more at bit.ly/KMO21v
Following is a schedule and summary of the MDA conference and a list of exhibitors offering products and services related to fluid power.
Monday, September 10 — Fluid Power Technology
Closed-Loop Position and Force Control
10:15 - 11:00 am
This session delves into considerations and techniques for closing the control loop of electrohydraulic systems, including the valve, actuator, and controller.
Peter Nachtwey, President – Delta Computer Systems.
Controlling Hydraulic Contamination to Improve Reliability
11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Contamination of hydraulic fluid is the top cause of equipment malfunctions, so this session explores techniques to achieve and maintain clean fluid with a tight budget.
Marty Barris, Engine Liquid & Hydraulics Product Director – Donaldson Co.
Electronic Control Options for Pneumatic Systems
1:45 - 2:30 pm
Today’s pneumatic systems can operate from fieldbus systems, all the way down basic operators. This session summarizes control options and how to determine which is best suited to an application.
Ryan Hettinger, Applications Engineer – Festo Corp.
Performance and Comparison of Hydraulic Fluids
2:45 - 3:30 pm
You can improve the efficiency of a hydraulic system simply by switching to a different type of fluid that’s more suited to the application.
Paul Michael, Research Chemist – Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Reducing Noise in Hydraulic Systems
3:45 - 4:30 pm
Noise generated by hydraulic systems can be significantly reduced by following simple design and component selection techniques.
Robert J. Sheaf Jr., President – CFC Industrial Training.
Energy- Efficient Hydraulic Drives
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Simple, yet effective hydraulic components and circuits can be incorporated into a hydraulic system to total cost of ownership, especially energy consumption.
Speaker: Robert J. Sheaf Jr., President – CFC Industrial Training.
Reducing the Electrical Costs of Pneumatic Systems
12:15 – 1:30 pm
Virtually every manufacturing plant has multiple compressed air systems, which hold potential to save tens of thousands of dollars in electrical consumption every year.
Speaker: Hank VanOrmer, President – Air Power USA.
Monday, September 10 — Motion Control in Automation
Techniques for Boosting Machine Efficiency
This session covers methods for increasing energy efficiency, including machine controls and how certain setup techniques can shorten nonproductive machine phases and raise overall efficiency.
Speaker: Dr. Jens Kummetz, Head of Application Development, Dr. Johannes Heidenhaim GmbH.
Tuesday, September 11
Think Like a Machinist
This discussion will offer some practical tips on how engineers and CAD/CAM users can design easier-to-manufacture components that cost less, offer faster turnaround and consistently higher quality.
Speaker: Jon Helt, Project Manager, Aztalan Engineering.
Mechanical and Structural Considerations for Precision Motion Control
We examine mechanical factors engineers should consider, such as inertia, natural frequency, vibration, thermal deformation and other factors that lead to a loss of precision and explain how to compensate for or totally eliminate the problems.
Speaker: Clint Hayes, Product Management Supervisor, Bosch Rexroth Corp.
Trends in High-Speed Bearings
New bearing designs, lubricants and sophisticated software help solve current problems and push the machine design envelope.
Speaker: Carl White, Engineering Manager, Schaeffler Group.