Every other year, more than 80,000 people flock to one huge trade show in Chicago displaying the latest manufacturing technology. Products on display range from cutting tools and CNC machines to laser scanners and computer-aided design software. 3D printers are a consistent feature, housed in their own additive manufacturing section.
In 2024 IMTS, Sept. 9-14 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, there are about 20% fewer additive manufacturing exhibitors than the previous show (73 vs. 94 in 2022) and about 500 fewer exhibitors overall, reflecting the current economic status quo regarding capital investments.
Despite the lower AM exhibitor numbers (see full list below), IMTS says there’s a wider selection of additive manufacturing industry companies.
“Every successive IMTS delivers a more technologically diverse Additive Manufacturing Sector and presents more opportunities to integrate AM into manufacturing operations,” says Peter R. Eelman, chief experience officer of the Association For Manufacturing Technology (AMT), which owns and produces IMTS. “Visitors can explore a multitude of ways to apply AM, whether for part production, prototyping, to make tooling or work holding, or to connect with AM service providers.”
First-time AM exhibitors include printer and materials provider Powder Motion Labs, a provider of compact precision powder feeders for metal AM; GKN Additive Forecast 3D, a digital manufacturer of advanced plastic and metal AM parts also known for its powder metallurgy; Colibrium Additive, a GE Aerospace company that provides laser, electron beam, and binder jet technology and metal powders; and large-format AM expert Caracol AM.
“IMTS’s expanded focus on additive manufacturing and automation this year highlights the growing impact of these technologies in industrial supply chains,” says Violetta Nespolo, Caracol AM’s chief marketing & strategy officer.
Although additive manufacturing’s presence at IMTS is still relatively small, most of the established brands in the 3D printing market will be there to put their solutions up against traditional manufacturing as the better, faster, cheaper, and more efficient way to make a wide range of parts and products. Of course, the message isn’t always about replacing traditional manufacturing. Companies also present their solutions as a complement to CNC, injection molding, and other traditional processes.
Beyond the prototyping and low-volume part production capabilities of 3D printers that attendees are bound to already be familiar with, many additive manufacturing companies aim to showcase their production volume capabilities. 3D Systems, SLM Solutions, and EOS all say they plan to showcase AM as an industrial solution for larger volumes of end-use parts.
“We have seen a growing trend of contract manufacturers investing in additive manufacturing technology,” says Andy Snow, senior vice president of EOS North America.
The number of 3D printing contract manufacturers exhibiting at the event has never been higher. These companies include Materialise, GKN Additive, 3DEO, Endeavor 3D, Xometry, Stratasys Direct, RevAmfg, and Penn United.
Unlike exhibiting at additive manufacturing-focused trade shows like Formnext and Rapid+TCT, companies with booths at IMTS say they’ll focus less on explaining the details of 3D printing technology and instead focus on showing final products.
If you’re a manufacturer or supplier, there may be no better venue to comparison-shop manufacturing technologies than this year’s IMTS.
“Anyone who has been to IMTS will tell you that you go to the show to discover what you don’t know,” says Dayton Horvath, director of emerging technology and investments at AMT. “Discovering that service providers can help you reap the benefits of AM without a capital expense or in-house expertise is one great reason to go. Another is to discover some of the unique AM technologies being exhibited and new products being launched at the show.”
Additive Manufacturing Companies Exhibiting at IMTS 2024
- 3D Systems 433129
- 3DEO 433149
- 6K Additive 433024
- Additive Industries North America 433104
- AddUp 433012
- AM Solutions 433000
- America Makes 432423
- AML3D 432424
- Axtra3D 433243
- BigRep America 433335
- Caracol AM 433039
- CBG Biotech 433337
- CEAD Group 432430
- Colibrium Additive 433200
- Desktop Metal 432212
- DM3D Technology 433020
- Dyndrite 432307
- EDM Network 433230
- Endeavor 3D 433127
- EOS 432302
- Eplus3D 433155
- Eunsung Co. 433110
- Exentis North America 433240
- Fabrisonic 433017
- Farsoon Technologies 433144
- Fastech 433122
- Flow-3D AM 433016
- Formalloy 433018
- Formlabs 433219
- Fortius Metals 433108
- GKN Additive Forecast 3D 433118
- GoEngineer 433028
- GZero Additive 433152
- Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies 432320
- Impossible Objects 433140
- Jeol USA 433221
- Kimura Foundry America 433156
- Linde Advanced Material Technologies 433116
- Mantle Inc. 433136
- Markforged 432305
- Massivit 432425
- Materialise USA 433223
- Meltio 432217
- Meteor Inkjet 433128
- MicroTek Finishing 433145
- ModuleWorks 433014
- Mosaic Manufacturing 432432
- MW Components 433114
- Oqton 433171
- Penn United Technologies 433226
- Powder Motion Labs 433160
- Product Innovation and Engineering 433163
- Raise3D 433137
- Renishaw 433239
- Rev A Mfg 433015
- Shadow Tool Company 432408
- SLM Solutions 432310
- Solukon 433126
- Spee3D 432416
- Stratasys 433007
- TDK 433130
- Thermwood Corporation 433103
- Titomic 433339
- Tritone Technologies 432422
- Trumpf 433133
- Visper Carbide 433124
- Voxeljet America 433148
- Wayland Additive Limited 433167
- Würth Additive Group 433000
- Xact Metal 433234
- Xometry 433224
License: The text of "3D Printer Makers & Services Court Manufacturers at IMTS 2024 in Chicago" by All3DP Pro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.