FABTECH 2026 launches point fabricators toward electric drives and automated tube work

What launched at FABTECH 2026

FABTECH 2026 ran October 21 to 23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the show's first time there in a decade. Organizers planned more than 1,400 exhibitors on 725,000 square feet and more than 31,000 attendees.

Several launches stood out for fabrication shops. Scotchman introduced the FI 125, a fully integrated ironworker with 125 tons of punching capacity. Davi showed the MCE e-POWER, an all-electric plate roll that runs without hydraulic fluid. BLM Group's PRO-RUNNER 28 bends tube straight from coil up to 28 mm. ESAB launched more than a dozen products, including the Renegade VOLT EMP 200i multiprocess welder, and Hypertherm replaced its five-piece consumable stack with a single SmartSYNC cartridge.

Chinese laser builder HSG used the show to mark its US growth. It showed the TS2 PRO tube laser and its AI CutPilot setup software, and said it has delivered its 500th machine in the US. HSG North America president Rakesh Kumar put US growth at about 200% year over year, a company figure.

How electric drives and Chinese lasers affect used fabrication machine values

Two of these launches change how buyers will judge used equipment. Electric drives on forming machines remove hydraulic maintenance from the equation, so a buyer comparing a used hydraulic plate roll against a new electric one will price in the hydraulic upkeep. Hydraulic machines in good condition still sell. Their service records now carry more weight in the sale.

The second change is the installed base. As HSG and other Chinese builders put hundreds of machines into US shops, more of them will come up for resale in the next few years. Their value will depend on what a buyer can confirm: laser source hours and whether a US service network with parts on the shelf supports the model. HSG's 77,000-square-foot technical center in Geneva, Illinois, is the kind of local support that helps a used machine hold its value. A builder with no US parts stock leaves the next owner exposed, and buyers price that in.

Used laser cutting machines on the market now

MMI has three HSG machines on the market now, the kind of Chinese-built installs the resale market will see more of:

• 2023 HSG G6025X-Pro 20 kW fiber laser
• HSG TX15036 6 kW tube laser
• 2023 HSG HB1003 100-ton hydraulic press brake

Alongside them are lasers from European and Japanese builders:

• 2023 TRUMPF TruLaser 3040 10 kW fiber laser
• 2023 BLM Group LT8.20 tube laser
• 2018 Mazak Optiplex Nexus 3015 6 kW fiber laser

Selling a laser or press brake? Get a valuation with your service records in hand.