If you're heading to IMTS 2026 (September 14–19, 2026, McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois) to shop horizontal machining centers, here's who to see and what to look for. The big builders run machines live in the Metal Cutting halls, so it's the best place anywhere to compare them side by side in a day.
The horizontal machining centers builders you'll typically find on the IMTS floor: Mazak, Okuma, Makino, DMG Mori, DN Solutions, and Kitamura. Find their exact booths on the official IMTS exhibitor directory & floor plan.
Go straight to the source — these builders' own IMTS 2026 / product pages: Mazak · Okuma · Makino · DMG Mori · DN Solutions · Kitamura. Cross-reference their booths on the official IMTS floor plan.
HMCs are about production, so look at the automation: pallet pools, tombstone fixturing, chip management and lights-out capability. Compare pallet-change time and how the machine keeps the spindle cutting while the next pallet loads.
Use the same fields for every HMC so a dramatic live cut does not replace a usable comparison. Record pallet dimensions and load, X/Y/Z travel, spindle taper, speed and torque, tool capacity, tool-to-tool and chip-to-chip time, pallet-change time, control, probing, coolant delivery, chip evacuation and available automation. Ask which figures are standard, optional or tied to a specific demonstration configuration.
Save the builder configuration, quotation revision and option list. Then compare the new-machine proposal with current and historical HMC market records, site-readiness requirements, rigging planning and independent financing research. MBB does not sell the machine or arrange financing; the goal is a complete decision record.
Official show site: imts.com · Dates: September 14–19, 2026 · Venue: McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois.
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