At IMTS, Physical AI Moves off the Slide Deck and Onto the Show Floor

Shops are expanding automation beyond machine tending into inspection, welding and sheet metal forming by pairing robots with AI and supporting technologies such as pallet systems and zero-point workholding. A prime example is Acutec's automated CMM cell, with solutions from more than 260 exhibitors at IMTS 2026.

LMT RbtIQ and bespline have formed a strategic collaboration to develop a single robotic cell combining automated fiber placement (AFP) and filament winding via a tool changer, targeting composites manufacturers and research centers in North America.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has developed FAST CAR2, a single-step field-assisted sintering process for carbon-carbon (C/C) composites that compresses production timelines from months to days. The lab has produced samples up to 8 inches in diameter and is working to develop larger press sizes.

A collaboration between K-Rain, Zero Tolerance LLC, Xact Metal and Reaction Plastics Solutions replaced traditional thermal pins with 3D printed Corrax stainless steel conformal cooling inserts, cutting injection mold cycle time from 54 to 44 seconds, while eliminating warpage and sink marks.

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) researchers used laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) to 3D print a titanium-polyurethane foam hybrid lattice that floats even after cracking, connection-point failure and fracture of an entire lattice layer.