FABTECH 2026 ran October 21 to 23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It bills itself as North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event, and our team walked it for two days.
We wanted to see where American fabrication is headed, and where GYS equipment fits. Here is what stood out.
1Everyone is racing to automate welding
A large share of the welding hall was automation: cobots, robot cells, software. The big US brands all led with it. Almost all of it was static, meaning a fixed cell or jig that the part comes to.
The exception that got people talking was Rove from Path Robotics: a four-legged robot that carries the welding arm to the work. Path announced Rove in April 2026 for shipbuilding, heavy industry and construction, where the parts are too big to bring to a cell.
GYS builds robot welding power sources, cobot welding packages, wire feeders, torches and robot interfaces. Its MIG interface for Universal Robots cobots is listed on the UR Marketplace and cuts cobot weld programming to three steps. Building or running welding cells? See GYS Automation and integrator support.
2Riveting and clinching are moving well past collision
Collision shops already rivet and spot weld because the car makers require it. At FABTECH the same joining methods were being sold to HVAC, appliance, trailer, electrical and machine builders. The best booths showed real joined parts on stands, organized by industry.
GYS has decades in resistance spot welding and riveting for collision repair. Those machines and that know-how carry straight over to sheet metal fabrication. See GYS Collision Repair for spot welding and riveting.
3Weld quality still comes first
For all the robots, the basics were everywhere. Students from welding programs showed their work on weld defects like porosity, undercut and lack of fusion. The message: automation only pays off when the weld itself is right.
GYS makes the full manual line: MIG-MAG, TIG, MMA (stick) and plasma cutting, plus stud welding. See GYS Welding & Cutting.
4Two GYS lines fab shops should know about
FABTECH is a welding show, so these didn't get the floor space. But they belong in any American fab shop or fleet garage.
Keep fleets and shop gear running
Chargers, boosters, battery testers and battery support units for fleet vehicles, shop equipment and service trucks. See the line.
Heat without the flame
Handheld inductors and POWERDUCTION generators heat, loosen and straighten steel without an open flame. See the line.
