Modern Machine Shop is focused on all aspects of metalworking technology - Providing the new product technologies; process solutions; supplier listings; business management; networking; and event information that companies need to be competitive.
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24 MMS April 2017 mmsonline.com ONE-OFF Commentary Held during even-numbered years, IMTS is the show manufacturers (and manufacturing maga- zine editors) definitely should see. That said, there are four events presented this year by Gardner Business Media (publisher of this magazine) that, although they are more targeted and not as big, are also worth a visit. Three of these you might be familiar with, but one is brand-new. • PMTS (April 25 to 27). The Precision Machin- ing Technology Show ( pmts.com ) is put on by the Precision Machined Products Association and co-presented by Production Machining, Products Finishing, and Modern Machine Shop magazines. Held in Columbus, Ohio, PMTS will offer more than 280 exhibitors focused on equipment, mate- rials and ser vices of precision machining. The event also includes show-floor machining dem- onstrations and knowledge centers, which are interactive presentations to enable attendees to dive deep into specific technologies and processes. In addition, the Parts Cleaning Expo is collo- cated with PMTS. Advances in cleaning technol- ogy are particularly important for producers of precision-machined parts. • Amerimold (June 14 to 15). Introduced as the MoldMaking Expo in 1999, the annual Amer- imold trade show ( amerimoldexpo.com ), held at in Rosemont, Illinois, addresses the business development and best practices in the plastic Shows to See These four events this year are worth taking time away from the shop to see. injection mold manufacturing industry. It is pre- sented by MoldMak ing Te chnology, Plastics Technology and Modern Machine Shop magazines. A new addition to the show floor this year is hourly "Tech Talks," which will feature a panel or pre- sentation covering a range of topics, including additive manufacturing, data-driven manufactur- ing, five-axis machining, automation and CAM. • Top Shops Conference and Exposition (September 5 to 7). This is the new one, and the one to which I'm most closely tied. This event was born from our Top Shops benchmarking program. The goal for this conference is to present advanced yet practical business and machining technology concepts that attendees can implement straight- away. In fact, in some cases, your peers will be presenting ways they've found to become more effective in both the front office and on the shop floor. Topics will include leveraging additive man- ufacturing in a shop setting; machine tool moni- toring and data collection; cutting tool manage- ment; and best practices in areas such as business strategies and workforce development. Informa- tion is available at topshopsevent.com . • Addit ive Manufac turing Conference (October 10 to 12). Presented by Additive Manu- facturing magazine, this year's event is its fourth edition and will be held in Knoxville, Tennessee. This conference focuses on industrial applications of additive technologies for making functional components and end-use production parts, pro- viding practical knowledge about how attendees might implement AM in their facilities. In fact, there are a series of videos from past conferences at additiveconference.com that you can view to get a better feel for what the event is all about. Host- ing this conference in Knoxville is fitting, since it's the home to two AM industry leaders: Local Motors and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. DEREK KORN EXECUTIVE EDITOR DKORN@MMSONLINE.COM "Although these four shows aren't as big as IMTS, they're still worth attending."