The AI Everyone Will Actually Care About at IMTS 2026, Ep #530

AI is going to be everywhere at IMTS this September, and if you walk the floor without a filter, it'll make your head spin. So we brought in someone whose whole job is helping manufacturers tell the real thing from the marketing fluff. Ryan Kelly, VP of Technology at AMT, joins us to break the noise into something usable. He walks through a simple way to sort every AI claim you'll see into three layers: the hyperscalers and cloud platforms laying the foundation, the AI native tools that couldn't have existed a few years ago, and the embedded AI features showing up as new buttons in the CAD, CAM, and ERP systems you already run. Then we get into physical AI, the part that actually matters for a machine shop. It's the loop that takes information from the physical world, lets an AI reason on it, and sends a decision back to the machine or the robot in close to real time. Nick's tool load monitoring, Paul's native machine monitoring in ProShop, Mike's managing 60 jobs a day by exception, they're all versions of the same idea. The catch is data. If the grammar of your data isn't good enough, the AI will hand you an answer you can't trust. Ryan also previews what AMT is building at the show: a new Industrial AI Arena with 32 exhibitors, a one day Industrial AI Conference focused on the factory floor instead of TED-talk futurism, and an Emerging Technology Center where, alongside Oak Ridge National Lab, they'll be making and flying drones right off the line. Three quadcopter models, a fresh one every couple of minutes, with the ability to change the design on a dime and ramp right back into production. Whether you're already wired up or still getting your data in order, there's something at IMTS for wherever you are on the journey. Take stock of your readiness before you go, bring your real problems to the vendors, and you'll come home with something you can use on Monday. That's making chips.   What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Drones that fly themselves right off the assembly line (2:11) Ryan's back: the tariff comment that drew hundreds of responses (4:40) Boost spindle uptime without adding headcount with the Hennig Workflow (5:40) Meet Ryan Kelly of AMT, and why this year feels like AI-MTS (7:16) A filter for the floor: the three layers of AI at IMTS (11:42) Turn AI buzzwords into outcomes at the Industrial AI Conference at IMTS (12:30) How to shop for AI: bring your problem, not your intimidation (13:58) Inside the new Industrial AI Arena: 32 exhibitors and the ETC (17:15) Know your AI readiness before you walk the floor (19:41) Why it's worth seeing tech you're not ready for yet (21:37) Two frameworks: the data-to-application stack and the part lifecycle (23:13) Automation everywhere, and what physical AI actually means (27:14) The human body metaphor: sensors, feedback loops, and real-time decisions (31:52) The real challenge isn't robots, it's the data and its semantics (33:40) ProShop's machine monitoring: what people say vs what machines say (37:52) Reach true high end machining with DN Solutions (39:03) The two dangerous extremes: blindly trusting AI vs writing it off (40:48) Managing by exception: AI flags the few jobs that need you (42:44) Reflexive factories and capturing shop floor knowledge for AI (47:35) Inside the ETC: making and flying drones live with Oak Ridge National Lab (53:50) Register at IMTS.com and find us live in the Hennig booth (339133) Resources Mentioned Hennig Workflow Automation System DN Solutions Register for IMTS 2026 (September 14-19, Chicago) Connect with Ryan Kelly Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn AMT, The Association for Manufacturing Technology IMTS Connect with MakingChips Website On Facebook On LinkedIn On Instagram On Twitter On YouTube