IMTS 2026 Showcases Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for U.S. Industrial Base

Advanced manufacturing technologies including additive manufacturing, CNC machining, robotics, automation and artificial intelligence will be featured at IMTS 2026, with demonstrations focused on applications related to production flexibility, supply chains and the U.S. industrial base.

The technologies will be showcased in the AMT Emerging Technology Center (ETC) at IMTS 2026, scheduled for Sept. 14-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The show is expected to feature more than 89,000 registrants, 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space and approximately 1,600 exhibitors.

Two of the ETC's featured projects are a live quadcopter drone manufacturing system and an 11-foot-tall Aires Tide flight test vehicle. The demonstrations are intended to illustrate how additive manufacturing, automation, digital technologies and advanced computing can be combined for applications requiring flexible and accelerated production.

Automated Drone Manufacturing Demonstration

The ETC will feature a full-scale manufacturing cell developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The system combines additive and subtractive manufacturing with robotics and automation to produce quadcopter airframes. Completed airframes will be flown in a safely netted area during the exhibition.

The demonstration incorporates equipment and technologies from several IMTS exhibitors, including Mazak CNC equipment, FANUC robots, Edgewater Automation integration, MTConnect production-data communications, Open Mind CAD/CAM software, Kennametal tooling and Schunk workholding.

According to Oak Ridge National Laboratory R&D staff member Thomas Feldhausen, the system is designed to demonstrate how flexible manufacturing can accommodate both high-mix, low-volume production and transitions toward higher production rates.

The demonstration will produce drone bodies designed for 3.5-, 5- and 10-inch rotors. According to the release, the project received support from the Department of War's Warfighting, Investment, Resourcing and Execution Directorate through Industrial Base Fund authority.

Aires Tide Demonstrates Additive Manufacturing and AI

The ETC will also feature Aires Tide, an 11-foot-tall flight test vehicle developed through a project involving Sandia National Laboratories and other national laboratories.

The project is described as one of the early tangible results of the Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, which applies artificial intelligence and advanced computing to scientific and national security applications.

Sandia National Laboratories led the Aires Tide project with support from its Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Kansas City National Security Campus.

The full-scale Aires Tide vehicle was produced using a Velo3D Sapphire XC metal additive manufacturing system and Inconel 718.

A half-scale vehicle was tested May 19, 2026, at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. The test involved dropping the vehicle from an altitude of 32,000 feet to generate flight data for evaluating performance and refining future designs.

According to Sandia National Laboratories Fellow Lonnie Love, the project progressed from an initial concept in October to a test flight in May. The release states that the development process was approximately seven times faster and 15 times less expensive than traditional manufacturing approaches.

Artificial intelligence was also used to assist engineers in modifying vehicle designs for different payloads and flight requirements.

Advanced Manufacturing Technologies on Display

The projects in the ETC bring together several technologies that are increasingly being applied across industrial manufacturing, including:

• CNC machining
• Metal additive manufacturing
• Robotics and automation
• CAD/CAM software
• Digital twins
• Production-data connectivity
• Advanced tooling and workholding
• Artificial intelligence
• Hybrid manufacturing

AMT President Douglas K. Woods said the ETC is intended to demonstrate how technologies used for national defense applications can also support broader domestic manufacturing efficiency and capacity.

Ryan Kelly, vice president of technology at AMT, said the center will provide visitors with examples of digital twins, automation and AI operating within manufacturing applications. With the exception of the government supercomputer used in the Aires Tide project, the technologies featured in the ETC are commercially available and represented on the IMTS show floor, according to AMT.

IMTS 2026 to Feature Manufacturing Technology Applications

IMTS 2026 will bring manufacturers, technology suppliers and other industry professionals together in Chicago for demonstrations of manufacturing equipment and production technologies.

The ETC will be located in the North Building at booth 236700. In addition to the Emerging Technology Center, IMTS 2026 will feature attractions and exhibits covering automation, additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, CNC machining, robotics and other manufacturing technologies.

The demonstrations involving drone production and the Aires Tide vehicle are among the projects planned to show how advanced manufacturing technologies can be applied to production challenges involving development time, manufacturing flexibility and supply-chain capacity.

IMTS 2026 is scheduled for Sept. 14-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago.