IMTS 2026 opens in Chicago with 1,788 exhibitors
The International Manufacturing Technology Show opened on September 14 at McCormick Place and runs through September 19. AMT, the association that owns the show, counts 1,788 exhibiting companies, 400 of them first-time exhibitors, across 1.17 million square feet. Registration stood at 80,697 on the opening morning, including an estimated 15,000 students, and attendance is expected to pass 90,000 from all 50 US states and 113 countries.
Order data released alongside the show backs the turnout. The U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report puts July 2026 new orders for metalworking machinery at $605.8 million, taking the seven-month total to $4.03 billion, up 37.1% year on year — only the second time since the series started in 1998 that monthly orders have stayed above half a billion dollars for five consecutive months. AMT president Douglas K. Woods said at the opening ceremony that investment is moving back into US manufacturing as companies regionalize supply chains. (PHCP Pros, Sept 14, 2026; Industrysourcing)
Universal Robots launches Gen 7 at IMTS
Universal Robots used the Chicago show to introduce Gen 7, its seventh-generation collaborative robot platform, on September 14. Three g-Series arms lead the launch: the UR10g-1750, with 1,750 mm of reach and an 8 kg payload that scales to 10 kg; the UR17g-1300, 1,300 mm of reach and up to 17.5 kg; and the UR18g-950, 18 kg over a 950 mm reach. Repeatability is listed at ±0.05 mm for the UR17g and UR18g, ±0.08 mm for the UR10g.
The redesigned tool flange carries power, data and safety signals to the end of the arm, cutting the cabling normally needed for cameras, grippers or force sensors. Force-torque sensing, impedance control and Real-Time Data Exchange are standard. The CB7 Core controller is rated at 40% more computing power in a footprint 30% smaller than the previous generation and connects to PLCs, HMIs, MES, industrial PCs and vision systems, remaining compatible with existing e-Series arms. PolyScope X runs the platform with open APIs, ROS 2, OPC UA and ProfiSafe. The TP7 Core teach pendant is more than 20% lighter than before, and the SP7 Smart Panel mounts at the tool flange. The arms carry TÜV certification to ISO 10218-1 and UL 1740. (Universal Robots, Sept 14–15, 2026; Tech Enquirer)
Tesla places a reported 5,000-unit Optimus order
Tesla has issued roughly 5,000 units of new Optimus humanoid robot orders to suppliers, according to people familiar with the matter cited by financial outlets on September 17. Earlier trial runs covered a few hundred units, making this the first order at the thousand-unit level. Tesla is also speeding up supplier audits in China, with teams visiting vendors in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Xiamen. The same reports put 2026 Optimus output at about 50,000 units, all for internal use inside Tesla factories rather than for sale. Neither figure has been confirmed by the company. (Zhitong Finance, Sept 17, 2026; Gelonghui)
Siemens connects Agentforce to Teamcenter service data
Salesforce and Siemens announced an expanded partnership at Dreamforce in San Francisco on September 15, linking Agentforce with Siemens Teamcenter Service Lifecycle Management. Three workflows were described: a technician identifies the right spare parts for a serial number before the first site visit, a salesperson quotes only upgrades that are technically valid and manufacturable, and a customer orders a part without waiting on an engineer. Siemens CEO Roland Busch described it as putting engineering answers inside commercial workflows.
Siemens has also deployed Agentforce on its own inbound leads. The company receives more than 2,500 unqualified leads a month; an engagement agent now contacts each one and passes interested prospects to a qualification agent before anything reaches one of its 18,000 sellers across 132 countries. Salesforce said Siemens engages 100% of these leads this way. (Unite.AI, Sept 15, 2026)
ASRock Industrial moves edge platforms to Core Ultra Series 3
ASRock Industrial, the Taipei-listed industrial computer maker, announced an edge AI platform family built on Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors (Panther Lake-H) on September 15. The company quotes up to 180 platform TOPS by combining CPU, GPU and NPU engines, with up to 128 GB of DDR5-7200 memory and In-Band ECC across the range.
The boards cover the Mini-ITX IMB-1251-WV, the 3.5-inch SBC-377 with 12–36 V DC input and 100 W USB Type-C power delivery, and the COM-HPC module COMHA-300 with PCIe Gen 5 and Gen 4 expansion, USB4/Thunderbolt 4 and Intel functional safety support. Systems include the NUC Ultra 300 BOX and a 38 mm-tall NUCS variant, each able to drive four displays. The iEP-7050E industrial IoT controller is rated for -25 °C to 60 °C. (ASRock Industrial, Sept 15, 2026; Konsulteer)
LG CNS brings its Factova platform to IMTS
LG CNS said on September 15 that it is exhibiting the Factova smart factory platform at IMTS 2026, aiming at North American manufacturers.
Factova Worldworks is a digital twin simulator that reproduces a plant in 3D so layouts and logistics flows can be tested before equipment is installed. Factova MES is built from modules picked by industry and process type. Factova Control, recently given added AI functions, collects current, temperature and vibration data to flag early failure signals; LG CNS says it runs on more than 100,000 pieces of equipment worldwide and that Factova has been deployed at more than 100 manufacturing sites. (PR Newswire, Sept 15, 2026)
China counts more than 56,000 basic-level smart factories
Xinhua reporters surveying smart factory construction at the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period reported on September 14 that China has built more than 56,000 basic-level smart factories, over 9,000 at advanced level and more than 500 at excellent level, plus 15 lighthouse factories. The plan outline calls for promoting "smart upgrading, digital transformation and network connectivity" in manufacturing through a smart manufacturing program and an industrial internet innovation program.
At Tianwei Food's Shuangliu plant in Sichuan, robots handle batching to recipe and AGVs move material between steps, with the line under 100% digital management and traceability from raw material to finished product. Public affairs director Yang Yan puts single-line output at more than 200% above the previous level and per-capita efficiency at more than 600% above it. (Xinhua, Sept 14, 2026)
Samsung co-leads a €200 million round for Dutch inference chip startup
Samsung co-led a Series A of more than €200 million, about $231 million, in Euclyd, a chip startup founded in Eindhoven in 2024 by Bernardo Kastrup and Atul Sinha, the company said on September 19. Somerset Capital Partners, the EQT-managed Scaleup Europe Fund and Innovation Industries co-led alongside Samsung, with Denmark's EIFO, imec.xpand, the Brabant Development Agency and Quadri also taking part.
Euclyd works on AI inference rather than training, combining programmable compute, processor-memory co-design and data-center systems to cut energy use and cost. Former ASML president and CEO Peter Wennink has joined as board chairman. Physical chip system rollouts are planned for 2028, with thousands of enterprise customers targeted by 2030; the technology has not yet been demonstrated at commercial scale. (Aju Press, Sept 19, 2026)
Ready to start your HMI project?
Our engineers help you choose the right HMI hardware and software for your project.