In this episode of the Machine Tool Maniacs podcast, Will and I sit down ahead of IMTS 2026 to talk about what we’re actually expecting to see at the show — and whether trade shows like IMTS are still as valuable as they once were.

Machine tool builders continue to make massive investments in IMTS, while companies like DMG MORI have taken a different approach by putting more emphasis on private showrooms, technology centers, and direct customer experiences. With YouTube, livestreams, and online machine demos making new technology easier to see than ever, we talk about what still makes walking the IMTS floor valuable for machine shops and manufacturers.

We also get into where the real innovation in manufacturing may be happening right now. Are we going to see major changes in CNC machine tools themselves, or is most of the progress happening around the machine through automation, robotics, machine monitoring, inspection, software integration, and AI?

With defense, aerospace, reshoring, and domestic manufacturing continuing to grow, we also talk about whether those industries are starting to influence the technology machine tool builders are prioritizing.

And before we head to Chicago, we ask one simple question:

What would we have to see at IMTS 2026 to walk away thinking something in manufacturing is genuinely changing?

A straightforward pre-IMTS conversation about CNC machining, machine tools, automation, AI, defense manufacturing, and where the industry may be headed next.

AI isn’t just changing how we program parts anymore. It’s changing what shop owners and manufacturers can build for themselves.

In this episode of the Machine Tool Maniacs Podcast, Jon Cheney and I talk about how AI can be used to create tools that make a business more efficient, streamlined, and capable. We’re talking about building your own ERP systems, CRM systems, machine monitoring tools, internal databases, workflow tools, and other software designed around the way your shop actually operates.

The biggest shift is that you no longer need to be a programmer to start building these things. If you understand the problem you’re trying to solve, you can sit down with AI, talk through the process, refine the idea, and work your way toward a functional tool.

That also means AI isn’t just a young person’s game. Experienced machinists, shop owners, engineers, and manufacturing professionals may actually have one of the biggest advantages because they already know where the problems are. They know where time gets wasted, where information gets lost, and where existing software falls short.

If you choose to look at this technology as a tool instead of the boogeyman, manufacturing could be entering a pretty interesting Renaissance.

Tune into this episode of the Machine Tool Maniacs Podcast with Jon Cheney, and check out GenAIPI.org if you’d like to learn more or reach out to Jon directly.

In Part 2 with Brett from BRC Metalworks, we pick up with a look inside his current shop setup and what it took to get his building up and running. We also get into some of the modifications he’s made to his Haas TL lathe and how he’s continued to refine his equipment around the kind of work he actually wants to do.

A big part of the conversation centers around something Brett has learned as a one-man machine shop: sometimes spending more money on better tooling and technology is really about buying back your time. When you’re handling everything yourself, where you choose to spend your time can have a huge impact on what you’re able to accomplish.

We finish the episode talking about goals and the constantly moving goalpost that comes with always wanting to build the next thing, improve the shop, or take on another project. Brett shares some perspective on learning to occasionally stop and enjoy what you’ve already built, and how doing that can take just as much intentional effort as chasing the next goal.