October 15-17, 2024 at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida
FABTECH Shows ▶
Register
An info icon
A close icon

Join Us in Orlando

Attend Exhibit

Expo Hours

Tuesday Oct 15 9 AM — 5 PM
Wednesday Oct 16 9 AM — 5 PM
Thursday Oct 17 9 AM — 4 PM

Venue

Orange County Convention Center

9800 International Drive
Orlando, Florida 32819

About the Expo

North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event heads to Orange County Convention Center in October 2024. FABTECH provides a convenient "one stop shop" venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, and find the tools to improve productivity, increase profits and discover new solutions to all of your metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing needs.

A search icon

North America's Largest Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing Event

From the Blog

Augmented Reality is Ready Now to Dramatically Improve Fabrication Performance

vr
By Dexter Lilley on on
In the 1800s, Scottish inventor James Watts and his steam engines transformed forever the way fabricators power their plants and facilities. It was a technology improvement that dramatically altered not only industry and business, but also culture and society. Centuries later we stand on the precipice of another technology that’s radically altering business, culture and society: augmented reality (AR). We’ve already seen its profound effect on culture in the form of masses of people playing Pokemon Go. But like the steam engine of the 1800s, AR is making an equally titanic shift in the way engineers, designers and planners communicate with building, inspecting, operating and maintaining fabrication equipment, plants and facilities. The next few years will see leaders and change agents within fabrication take steps to transform their businesses using AR. The simple way of defining AR is that it is the overlay of digital information on the real world. It’s the first-down line you see on the screen of American football games. AR enhances workers’ capabilities by providing information when, how and where it’s needed. In many cases, AR reduces or eliminates non-value added work such as reading drawings or measuring. Digital information such as 3D models, audio, video, text, animations and others can be put in the hands of a worker, supervisor, inspector, or technician using AR displayed on a powerful mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone. Early adopters are already seeing remarkable results with a AR. In one inspection project, color coded AR was used to highlight temporary components requiring removal. Using augmented reality deployed on a tablet, a 40-year veteran engineer was able to reduce a 36-hour, paper-based process to 90 minutes, translating to a 95 percent reduction in cost and schedule. If it’s not already obvious — thanks in no small part to the tide of Pokemon Go players around the world — AR will be everywhere in a few years. With that in mind, companies that begin today to learn, understand and experiment with the power of AR technology will gain a significant competitive advantage over their rivals. An investment in AR is actually an investment in people. Dramatically improving a company’s advantage in the market with AR means the company’s value increases, which flows to employees. Just as James Watt can attest, technological advances like the steam engine of long ago and augmented reality of today are boons to business, society and culture.
Hear more from Dexter in FABTECH Session F65: Leveraging Disruptive Technologies to Become the Fabricator of the Future on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 PM. Session Details [x_author title=”About the Author”]

2024 Platinum Sponsors

2024 Sponsors

Become a Sponsor