FABTECH 2026

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

New this edition

• 1

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  Metal additive has moved out of a side room at recent editions of the Las Vegas show: direct energy deposition, wire-arc additive and laser cladding now sit next to conventional welding and hardfacing suppliers, because the buyers and the service providers overlap. Confirm which additive exhibitors and demo cells are confirmed for the 2026 floor on the organiser directory - this entry is a sector-level expectation, not an organiser announcement.

• 2

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  Fume extraction, downdraft tables and ambient filtration are increasingly specified alongside the welding power source rather than after the fact, driven by tightening exposure limits for manganese and hexavalent chromium in US fabrication shops. Expect this to show up as larger extraction exhibits and as session content on exposure assessment; verify the 2026 programme on fmafabtech.com/schedule.

• 3

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  Cobot welding, pre-engineered robot cells and modular fixturing are being packaged at price points and setup times that small and mid-size shops can absorb, which is a shift from earlier automation pitches built around high-volume OEM lines. This is a sector trend to test on the floor rather than a confirmed 2026 programme item - check the exhibitor directory for the specific automation vendors attending.

• 4

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  Nesting, CAM, MES and machine-monitoring software is increasingly demonstrated on the machine builder's own stand rather than in a separate software aisle, so buyers comparing a laser or punch should ask to see the cutting plan and reporting workflow during the demo. Confirm which software partners are co-exhibiting in 2026 via the organiser exhibitor list.

• 5

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  Powder coating and e-coat suppliers increasingly position line upgrades around pretreatment chemistry, curing consistency and emissions rather than throughput alone, which reflects permitting pressure on US finishing shops. Treat this as an expected theme for 2026 and confirm the actual conference sessions on the published schedule.

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

Market news

Latest updates from across the market.

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Frequently asked

Glossary

1

FABTECH

The North American metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing trade show run on the fmafabtech.com platform with FMA (Fabricators and Manufacturers Association) involvement. The Las Vegas edition fills the Las Vegas Convention Center with machine tools, welding equipment, finishing lines and the software that runs them.

2

Fiber laser cutting

A CNC cutting method that uses a doped optical fiber as the gain medium instead of a CO2 resonator. On the FABTECH floor this is the largest single machine category, quoted by wattage (typically 6 kW to 60 kW and above) and by whether the machine is flat-bed, tube-cutting or a combination chassis.

3

Press brake

A forming machine that bends sheet and plate between a punch and a die. Buyers compare tonnage per meter, bend length, crowning or angle-measurement compensation, and whether the control stores tooling setups. Hydraulic, hybrid and all-electric servo drives are all shown in Las Vegas.

4

Tooling (press brake)

The punches, dies, and quick-change clamping systems that determine what radii and angles a brake can produce. Tooling suppliers exhibit alongside machine builders because the tooling inventory often limits a shop's throughput more than the machine does.

5

Robotic welding cell

A welding power source integrated with a six-axis industrial robot, positioner and safety fencing. Cells are specified by payload, reach, number of stations and whether the robot program is generated offline from CAD or taught on the part.

6

Cobot welding

A collaborative robot arm packaged for GMAW or tack welding, usually sold with force-torque sensing or a simple line-tracking seam finder. These systems target job shops that cannot justify a full fenced cell or a dedicated welding programmer.

7

GMAW / MIG

Gas metal arc welding, the workhorse process for production steel and aluminum fabrication. Consumables, power sources and wire feeders shown at FABTECH are usually quoted with duty cycle, synergic pulse capability and wire diameter range.

8

FCAW

Flux-cored arc welding, preferred for thicker sections and outdoor or windy conditions where shielding gas coverage is unreliable. Structural fabrication buyers compare it directly against GMAW and SAW on deposition rate and slag handling.

9

GTAW / TIG

Gas tungsten arc welding, used for thin gauge, stainless, aluminum and code-quality root passes. AC/DC inverter sets with high-frequency start and pulse controls dominate this category on the show floor.

10

Submerged arc welding (SAW)

An arc process run under a granular flux blanket, giving very high deposition for long seams in pressure vessels, beams and pipe. It appears at FABTECH as column-and-boom or gantry systems rather than handheld guns.

11

Laser welding

Keyhole or conduction-mode welding with a fiber or disk laser source, often paired with a scanner (remote welding) or a robot. Session content usually focuses on gap tolerance, spatter control and weld-seam tracking for battery trays and thin-gauge enclosures.

12

Abrasive waterjet

A cutting process that uses high-pressure water plus garnet abrasive, so it cuts thick plate, composites and pre-hardened material without a heat-affected zone. Buyers compare pump pressure (for example 60,000 to 90,000 psi class), number of cutting heads, and taper compensation.

13

Plasma cutting

An arc-based thermal cut used for plate and structural steel, frequently on CNC gantry tables or as a combination plasma-plus-oxygen-fuel machine. High-definition plasma is judged on cut squareness and dross on thicker section.

14

Plate rolling

Forming flat plate into cylinders and cones on a three-roll or four-roll machine. Four-roll and CNC-controlled rolls reduce the need for re-clamping on thick tank and vessel work.

15

Tube and pipe bending

Rotary-draw, roll or press bending of tube for frames, rails and process lines. Exhibitors quote maximum OD, wall factor, bend radius and whether an electric or hydraulic axis package is supplied.

16

Powder coating

An electrostatic dry-finishing process: powder is sprayed onto a grounded part and cured in an oven. Line buyers at FABTECH evaluate pretreatment stages, booth recovery, gun count and oven curve against their part mix.

17

E-coat (electrodeposition)

A dip-and-electrophoresis primer giving uniform coverage inside box sections and weld seams. It is usually the first finishing stage before powder or liquid topcoat on automotive and appliance parts.

18

Coil coating

Continuous painting of flat metal coil before fabrication, used for architectural panels, appliance skins and HVAC. It appears at FABTECH alongside coil-fed blanking and roll forming lines rather than as a job-shop process.

19

Weld fume extraction

Source-capture arms, downdraft tables and ambient filtration used to keep hexavalent chromium and manganese fume inside exposure limits. This category grows each year as US state and federal exposure rules tighten, and it is a live-demo requirement in many halls.

20

Nesting software

CAM software that arranges parts on a sheet or plate to maximise material yield. Buyers compare yield on their own part family, integration with ERP/MES, and whether the nest can drive a right-angle shear or a combination punch.

21

Combination punch / shear

A CNC turret or servo punch that also carries a right-angle shear and, on some models, a laser or tapping head. It suits shops producing many small brackets from standard sheet sizes.

22

Direct energy deposition (DED)

Metal additive manufacturing where wire or powder is fed into a melt pool on a moving head, used for cladding, repair and near-net shapes. It appears in the additive zone next to laser cladding and wire-arc AM systems.

23

Laser cladding

Depositing a metallurgically bonded layer of wear- or corrosion-resistant alloy onto a substrate, common for tooling repair, valve seats and hydraulic rods. It competes with thermal spray and hard chrome plating, which face environmental restrictions.

24

Laser safety classification

Enclosures and interlocks on Class 3B and Class 4 laser cutting and welding systems, with the shop responsible for a laser safety officer, signage and controlled access. It matters on the show floor because many machines run live.

25

AWS D1.1

The American Welding Society structural steel welding code, referenced constantly in US fabrication. Its presence at FABTECH shows up in welder qualification demonstrations, procedure qualification seminars and inspection service booths.

26

ISO 3834

A quality-management standard for fusion welding in fabrication shops, used by European and export-facing buyers when qualifying suppliers. It is often discussed alongside welder certification and traceability requirements.

27

Distortion control

Managing heat input, sequencing and fixturing so a welded assembly stays within tolerance. Fixture table, strongback and clamping suppliers at FABTECH sell directly against this problem, as do simulation software vendors.

28

Modular welding table

A steel table with a precision hole grid (commonly 16 mm or 28 mm) plus clamps, squares and stops for repeatable fit-up. It is one of the highest-traffic product families for small and mid-size shops at the show.

29

OEM versus job shop buyer

Two distinct audiences moving through the halls: OEM manufacturing engineers specifying a line or cell, and job shop owners buying a single machine to win new contract work. Exhibitor messaging and booth staffing usually split along this line.