Industry Brief, September 24, 2026: IMTS closes, CNC tending, cobot service, MoveIt

By MillBrief Editorial · September 24, 2026

Today’s theme is getting more out of what you already own, and knowing who stands behind it. IMTS, which its organiser calls the largest manufacturing technology show in the Western Hemisphere, has published its closing numbers, a cobot maker is pitching its 7-axis arm at CNC machines that sit idle for lack of operators, a large integrator has signed up to install and service a Korean cobot line, and Qualcomm has agreed to buy the company that looks after MoveIt, a widely used open-source robot motion planning package. As always, the writing is ours, each item links to the original outlet, and vendor numbers are labelled as vendor numbers.

IMTS closes with 91,295 registrants and plenty of buying on the floor

AMT, the trade association that owns IMTS, has published its wrap-up of the show, which ran September 14 to 19 in Chicago. Its figures: 91,295 registrants, including 14,447 students, from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 123 countries, with 1,788 exhibiting companies on 1.17 million square feet. AMT’s opening-day release had counted 80,697 registrants on the morning of September 14 and forecast more than 90,000, so the final count added 10,598 (91,295 minus 80,697) over the week and cleared that forecast.

The release is mostly a highlight reel, and its buying stories are anecdotes AMT chose to include. Okuma’s Tim Thiessen said the company’s sales gong was struck more than 100 times by Friday morning, including a 24-machine order. Tsugami America reportedly sold every machine on its stand, and job shop owner Tom Bassett of ProCam Services bought two DN Solutions DVF 5000 5-axis machines, saying the first one, bought at the last show, created a backlog because the shop has so much work that needs 5-axis capability. On automation, Intrinsic (an AI robotics group at Google) said it pairs AI with a camera for machine tending so that a new part needs neither new fixturing nor robot reprogramming. That is the vendor’s description, not a tested result. AMT also cites a shortage of 435,000 workers in durable goods manufacturing.

Why it matters: None of this is market data: it is an organiser’s selection of good news. Still, a show where at least one exhibitor reportedly sold every machine on its stand is a reason to ask any machine or robot supplier for a delivery date in writing before you plan a start date around it. Treat “no fixturing, no reprogramming” claims the same way: ask to see the cell run your own parts, including your awkward ones. Our anatomy of a first machine-tending cell shows where the time and money usually go.

Sources: Robotics Tomorrow (AMT release), September 23, 2026; Robotics Tomorrow (AMT release), September 14, 2026.

Productive Robotics pitches its 7-axis OB7 at idle CNC machines

Productive Robotics, a Santa Barbara, California cobot maker, is marketing its OB7 arm as a way to run CNC machines that already sit on the floor rather than buying new ones. The company’s argument: because the OB7 has a seventh joint, it can be placed beside or behind a machine and still reach around the sliding door, leaving the front door open for operators to do setups, tool changes and inspection without moving the robot. Operators teach a job by guiding the arm by hand and arranging drag-and-drop tiles on a tablet. The company says the OB7 can run jobs as small as five to 10 parts, stores earlier jobs for repeat setups, and can run unattended around the clock.

President Zac Bogart claims a shop can unbox an OB7, teach it a job and run parts the same day, and that it “can run any CNC machine” with no facility changes, new equipment or extra staff. Those are the company’s claims. The release also opens with statistics (36% growth in manufacturing technology orders in the first half of 2026, and 20.6% of U.S. plants running below full capacity for lack of workers and long CNC lead times) but does not say where they come from. No price is given.

Why it matters: Using the machines you already paid for is the right place to start, and a 7-axis arm that works from the side of a machine is a real layout advantage in a crowded shop. But unattended overnight running depends on more than the arm: how many blanks the cell can hold, where finished parts go, chip control, and how the robot knows a cycle went wrong. And a layout where an operator works at an open door beside a moving arm still needs a proper risk assessment. Price the whole cell, not the arm, using our cobot cost guide and the TCO calculator.

Source: Robotics Tomorrow, September 23, 2026 (Productive Robotics press release).

E Tech Group signs on to install and service Rainbow Robotics cobots

E Tech Group, a systems integrator that says it has more than 900 staff in eight countries, has signed an Authorized System Integrator Agreement with Rainbow Robotics and will act as a Servicing System Integrator for Rainbow’s collaborative robots in the United States. Under the agreement E Tech Group will install the robots at customer sites and provide first-level service, including authorized warranty-related support. It names machine tending, welding, palletizing, inspection and assembly among the target applications, alongside laboratory automation.

Rainbow Robotics, founded out of KAIST’s HUBO Lab and listed on KOSDAQ, has Samsung Electronics as its largest shareholder. According to the release, its line includes NSF/ANSI 169-certified cobot models with IP66 protection and all-aluminium construction for hygienic and washdown work, and a welding interface with built-in weaving patterns.

Why it matters: When you buy a cobot through an integrator, the question that decides your downtime is who comes when it faults, and what they are allowed to fix. This agreement spells out a split that is common but rarely stated: the integrator handles installation and first-level service, including authorized warranty-related support. Before you sign with any integrator, ask where first-level service ends, who handles the next level, where spare parts are stocked, and what response time is written into the contract. Our questions to ask a system integrator covers the rest.

Source: Robotics Tomorrow, September 22, 2026 (E Tech Group press release).

Qualcomm agrees to buy PickNik, the company behind MoveIt

Qualcomm Technologies has agreed to acquire PickNik, the Boulder, Colorado company that stewards MoveIt, an open-source framework for robot manipulation and motion planning built on the Robot Operating System (ROS). No price was disclosed, and closing is subject to customary conditions. The Robot Report notes that PickNik was founded in 2015, that MoveIt’s development began in the ROS project at Willow Garage, and that PickNik renamed its commercial product MoveIt Pro in 2024.

Qualcomm says it intends to keep MoveIt open source under its existing license with community-driven roadmaps, and to keep supporting it on other companies’ hardware. It also plans closer integration of MoveIt and MoveIt Pro with its own Dragonwing robotics chips and with Arduino boards, starting with the VENTUNO Q. Qualcomm bought Arduino in October 2025, The Robot Report adds. The Robot Report places the deal in a run of physical AI acquisitions, including Mobileye’s $900 million purchase of Mentee Robotics in January.

Why it matters: Most small manufacturers will never touch MoveIt directly, but integrators and robot makers that build custom or AI-guided cells often do. “Intends to remain open source” is a statement of intent, not a contract, and nothing has changed today. If a cell you run or are quoting depends on MoveIt or MoveIt Pro, ask your integrator which version, under what license, and who supports it. Software dependencies like this belong on the list in the hidden costs of automation.

Sources: The Robot Report, September 23, 2026; Robotics Tomorrow, September 23, 2026 (Qualcomm press release).