AI, drone swarms and digital manufacturing workflows at IMTS 2026

Control Design: The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) stands as the western hemisphere's largest manufacturing technology trade show, drawing around 100,000 attendees to explore miles of industrial manufacturing equipment. The event serves as an essential, hands-on marketplace where buyers can interact with capital machinery and automation components, collaborate directly with suppliers and solve real-world challenges.

Introduction to GD&T

Protocase Blog: Manufactured pieces can differ in size and dimensions from an original CAD model due to variations in the manufacturing processes. To optimally control and communicate the allowable variations, engineers and manufacturers working under the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standards, use a symbolic language called Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T).

What Do Those 8 Pin Letters Stand For On A DeWalt Battery?

www.slashgear.com: Ever noticed that row of small metal contacts when sliding a DeWalt battery into a tool or charger? Or tried troubleshooting some of the most common problems with DeWalt batteries yourself? What do all those letters and numbers mean? Plenty of independent teardowns and analyses from hobbyists have attempted to tell us why those symbols are there, but we spoke to Stanley Black & Decker directly to get a definitive answer.

Who Makes Snap-On Sockets And Where Are They Manufactured?

www.slashgear.com: Snap-on is one of the most recognizable names in the professional hand tools segment. Primarily known for its wide range of sockets, the company has, over time, expanded its product portfolio to include wrenches, power tools, and storage solutions. Snap-on is known for its premium pricing, super expensive tool boxes with many of its tools priced well over $200.

Who Makes Knipex Pliers And Where Are They Manufactured?

www.slashgear.com: For decades, products sporting the "Knipex" label have earned a reputation for quality and are widely considered to be the gold standard for pliers. Knipex even made it to SlashGear's list of the best hand tool brands. A German company that has been making pliers since 1882, Knipex is unique because it has a steadfast focus on a single product category.

Who Makes Festool Tools And Where Are They Manufactured?

www.slashgear.com: With many power tool brands, pinning down exactly who makes a product — and where it's made — isn't always straightforward. The story behind who makes Ryobi socket sets is a prime example of the complexities of modern tool branding and manufacturing. Against this backdrop, it's refreshing to find a company that relies on a handful of known locations to manufacture the vast majority of its tools.

Who Makes Snap-On Wrench Sets & Where Are They Manufactured?

www.slashgear.com: Despite their relatively limited availability in the retail arena, Snap-on branded products continue to rank among the more respected tools on the scene. They also tend to be among the pricier options in the consumer tool market.

Ralph Nader Has a Pencil Eraser Problem. We Investigated.

Reviews by Wirecutter: An eraser has one job: to correct your mistakes cleanly, without leaving any residue on the page. If it fails at that, what’s the point? That’s why Ralph Nader, the legendary consumer advocate, whom we previously enlisted for pen testing, is peeved about what he considers the “planned obsolescence” of pencil erasers.

13 Things You Can Make With A Wood Lathe (And The Supplies You'll Need)

www.slashgear.com: If you're a creative person and a jack-of-all-trades, chances are that you've given woodworking a try at some point in the past, or you intend to get your hands dirty with wood filings in the future. There's something immensely gratifying about crafting usable or purely objects out of what used to be a bland log of wood.

3D Printering: Is Hassle-Free Bed Leveling Finally Here?

Hackaday: 3D printers have come a long way over the past several years, but the process of bed leveling remains a pain point. Let’s take a look at the different ways the problem has been tackled, and whether recent developments have succeeded in automating away the hassle.

Environmental Considerations for FFF 3D Printing

Fusion 360 Blog: 3D printing is often viewed as an environmentally friendly manufacturing method because of its reduction in waste material. It’s also shaking up supply chains by allowing localization, consolidation, and reduced inventories. However, every manufacturing process has an environmental impact, and additive manufacturing is no exception. In this article, we’re going to look at the FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) process and how making changes to your workflow could reduce your parts’ impact on the environment.

Autodesk Manufacturing Summit: Betting on Generative Design and Additive Manufacturing

Digital Engineering 24/7: Last week, the Autodesk Advanced Manufacturing Summit joined the list of annual trade shows that have gone virtual, delivering its keynotes and customer stories as live-streamed and on-demand events.

In his opening, Srinath Jonnalagadda, VP of Go-to-Market Strategy, Autodesk, observed, “What we have seen in the last two months, is digital transformation that would have usually taken years compressed into a very short duration ... because of necessity.”

Plasma Cutter + Sharpie Is Surprisingly Useful

Hackaday: What we want is a Star Trek-style replicator. What we have are a bunch of different machines that can spew out various 2D and 3D shapes. For the foreseeable future, you’ll still need to post-process most of what you build in some way. [Stuff Made Here] had a challenge. He often uses his plasma cutter to create complex sheet metal items. But the cutter is two dimensional so the piece doesn’t look right until you bend it at just the right places.

The wonders of 3D printing explained

www.702.co.za/articles: 3D printing has added more functionality to products, and it has allowed for greater depth in designing parts.

This is according to Marius Vermeulen, Project Manager for Additive Manufacturing at Aerosud Innovation and Training Centre.