NASCAR Display Paired With Real-World Applications

NASCAR fans have the opportunity to not only get up close and personal with two high-powered stock cars at machine tool builder Doosan Infracore’s Booth S-8100, but also meet their drivers. Brian Scott will appear alongside his No. 11 Toyota Camry—which sports Doosan’s logo—at 1 p.m. Wednesday, and Kyle Busch will show off his No. 18 M&Ms Camry at 11 a.m. Thursday. Both drivers are members of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), which has partnered with Doosan for 15 years and currently uses 23 of the company’s machines at its shop in Huntersville, North Carolina.

Surrounding the flashy racecars, however, are a number of purposefully more down-to-earth displays designed to appeal to the real reason folks attend IMTS—to explore technology that can help boost the bottom line. Whereas displays in other booths might showcase machines cutting fanciful, artistic components designed especially for demonstration purposes, all Doosan machines under power are cutting actual parts from actual customers, says John Ross, marketing manager. “As opposed to parts that have no place in the real world, we wanted to showcase applications that people walking through the booth can relate to,” he explains. Examples include turning of a large oil industry pipe, an application performed at Houston-based oilfield company Baker Hughes, and machining of a die for a firearm stock manufactured by Remington.

Finally, Mr. Ross says he believes booth visitors will take particular notice of one product: the DooCell. Demonstrated for the first time at IMTS, this cellular manufacturing system uses a touchscreen controller and diagnostic system designed to take automation beyond simply pairing a robot arm with a turning cell or machining center. According to the company, its simple design and operating features enable users to assess performance and diagnose problems without day-to-day use of complex robot pendants.