IWF brought a lot of energy to Atlanta

You know it’s a good IWF when …

• Exhibitors talk about their sales without being asked.

• You can easily spend two or three days exploring the machinery venue.

• The suppliers’ venue is abuzz with activity.

• There aren’t many long faces at the hotel bar.

IWF 2016 was bigger than recent shows and made a certain magazine editor happy with plenty of new tools, machinery and technologies to fill several upcoming issues. Our coverage begins on Page 10 and will probably end around next spring, just in time for the buildup to the 2017 AWFS fair.

ON OUR RADAR: There were a number of products that grabbed our attention, which you’ll learn more about in the coming months.

The Wood Wizz (woodwizz.com), available from Baker Products, impressed attendees with its ability to surface and finish slabs, burls, tabletops and even recycled timber. A 5” cutter, featuring 10 square cutter inserts, with a 3-hp motor gets the job done. The cutter is attached to a gantry, which is manually moved over a flatbed with a 4’8” x 11’8” material capacity.

Freud (freudtools.com) presented its next generation of solid carbide tooling and new CNC router bit sets.

Black Box Vacuum Solutions (blackboxvac.com) had several single-phase vacuum solutions for a CNC router.

Centipede (centipedetool.com) showed its Portable Work System, a steel frame support that sets up in seconds and folds up like a beach chair. There’s a 2’ x 4’ Sawhorse model and 4’ x 8’ version that the company says can support up to 3,000 lbs.

The Magswitch Workholding System (magswitch.com.au) features On/Off magnet clamps for use on a steel table or fence.

Lamello (swissinvis.com) presented the Invis Mx2, a hidden fastening system that’s opened and closed with the rotating magnetic field of the Mx2, chucked in a cordless drill.

The Magpi forming machine, available from Stiles (stilesmachinery.com/magpi) creates arcs to a specific radius in minutes.

IWF 2016 was also heavy on new hardware solutions, CAD/CAM software, low VOC and waterborne coatings, CNC machining centers, and dust collection.

FUN FACT: According to my free step counter app, I walked an average of 7 miles per day at the cavernous Georgia World Congress Center while covering the IWF. This, however, pales in comparison to the 9 miles a day logged during the family vacation to Walt Disney World.

AWFS UP NEXT: Online registration has already begun for the 2017 AWFS fair, which runs July 19-22 in Las Vegas.

“The 2017 fair will include an expanded trade show floor, which is already close to 80 percent sold (as of Sept. 1),” says Rob Howell, the show’s chair and sales manager for SCM Group North America. “As exhibitors, we are excited about the upcoming show and that is very apparent by the response the AWFS has received from repeat exhibitors, exhibitors new to the show and many that are returning to the show after sitting several out. It’s a strong market right now and people do not want to miss out on new opportunities.”

This article originally appeared in the October 2016 issue.