In Praise of Machinery Shows

Hello List,

After visiting the Canadian Machine Tool Show yesterday, I wanted to
encourage all on this list to see a show like this if they get a
chance. Machine tools of every size, shape, and application were
powered up and making parts. Punch/nibblers, laser cutters, waterjet
cutters, pressbrakes, shears, plate rollers, saws, tube benders,
drilling machines, welding systems, robots, lathes, mills through 5
axis, and umpteen other machines were on display. Lots of tooling,
work-holding, and handling equipment.
For those dreamers out there like me, how about a 5 axis machine
holding a business card between a tool tip and a part face, then
moving ALL 5 axis at once? Or another mill using linear drive motors
with 4,723 IPM rapid traverse speed? Maybe a Hexapod based machine
is for you? All these displays have literature for free, and of
course helpful sales people and technical people for questions. This
show really makes the point - this is a computerized world, and the
capabilities are limited only by imagination (and money!).

Allan