FABTECH is one of the largest industry trade shows in the world that specializes in fabrication, welding, and robotics. The trade show is held every other year at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois since 1981. On September 14, 2023, Morton West’s Engineering and Welding students were invited to spend the day exploring FABTECH Chicago, 2023. FABTECH consists of hundreds of different organizations and machines, with major companies like Amada, Mitsubishi, TRUMPF, and many more for those interested in exploring.

FABTECH Chicago was separated into three buildings; North, South, and East. The  North building was dedicated to welding, the South building was dedicated to 3D design and fabrication, and the East building to product finishing.

The 3D design and fabrication building in the South building was the largest of the three areas, with various 3D printers that were able to create either flexible or hard products, a variety of robots, types of metal fabrication and cutting machines, and more. Mark Stoch, Morton West’s engineering teacher and robotics club sponsor, states, “I thought the Cobots that were interactive with people were very impressive.” Cobots are, according to Stoch, a recent invention in the robotics industry that allows robots to sense when they physically come into contact with a human, ultimately allowing humans and robots to work side-by-side in a manufacturing setting.

In the welding building, there was a variety of welding equipment from power sources to welding machines, to robots welding metals together, and even welding in virtual reality (VR). Lincoln Electric, a manufacturing company featured at FABTECH, had a section where it ran a VR welding station for anyone to try out. Alessandro Rodriguez, a Junior at Morton West and an engineering and welding student, gave VR welding a try to evaluate how well it compares to welding in real life. “…welding in VR was really easy cause it basically gave you everything that you needed to know how to do, so it wasn’t really hard,” Rodriguez states. Rodriquez later claimed that VR welding does not include crucial aspects of welding required to master this craft. James Nolan, Morton West’s Welding teacher, explained that there haven’t been any major changes in welding technology in recent times; however, companies featured at FABTECH did have the most up-to-date machinery in the welding industry.

In the third building at FABTECH, the finishing building, the students were able to explore the many different types of product coating. For example, the variety of paints, vinyl, and varnishes as well as the reasons behind the choice of materials for products, and different machines that act as “hearts” for other larger assemblies.

Mark Stoch said, “I wanted them [students] to be amazed by the technology because I think a lot of people still think manufacturing is a dirty job,”.

All this cutting-edge technology is one of the main reasons Morton West’s engineering and welding classes were invited to attend FABTECH Chicago, in 2023. Both Stoch and Nolan wanted students to observe and engage hands-on with the state-of-the-art technology and career paths in both fields, preparing them for their futures.