1、 THE BEST OF IMTS 2024:KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY SHOWTHE BEST OF ITMS 2024IMTS 2024 was vibrant,bustling,and dominated by four key themes:labor force issues,dealing with data,supporting digital transformation for Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs),and the transiti

2、on from a Capital Expenditure(CAPEX)to Operational Expenditure(OPEX)business model.Any solution that spoke to alleviating or supporting these trends resonated and drew significant attention.Labor force issues center around the lack of qualified staff,the lack of staff willing to do low-skilled tasks

3、,the lack of a pipeline of people transitioning through education and training paths,and finally,a rapid exodus of highly skilled people from the industry as skilled workers retire.Collaborative Robots(cobots),Autonomous Mobile Robots(AMRs),and mobile manipulators were prevalent and provide an oppor

4、tunity to alleviate some issues regarding the availability of low-skilled workers.The re-emergence of Rethink Robotics is an indication of the vibrancy of the market.However,work still needs to be done to make these systems interoperable at the data layer,able to be orchestrated in large numbers,and

5、 also requiring just a light touch to set up and get working.Solutions such as CENITs digital twin for cobot path analysis is one example of possible advances that can be made in this space.The data dimension is fast becoming one of the major issues stopping manufacturers from realizing higher produ

6、ctivity,technical innovation,and digital transformation.Many companies,especially at the SME end of the scale,do not have the data fabric to support complex digital solutions.More importantly,solutions painted as the savior are often built on shaky ground.For example,there is no current third-party