FABTECH Chicago is North America's largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing trade show — and 2025 was Rise Tek's most active year on the floor. We joined Bodor Laser at Booth A3549 in McCormick Place, where thousands of fabricators, engineers, and shop owners came to see fiber laser technology live.
What We Showed at Booth A3549
The Rise Tek and Bodor team had multiple machines running live cuts throughout the show. Visitors could see first-hand how the current generation of fiber laser equipment performs on stainless steel, mild steel, and aluminum — with no sales pitch, just running metal.
- Live 6kW and 12kW Bodor fiber laser cutting demonstrations on production parts
- Side-by-side comparison of nitrogen vs. oxygen assist gas edge quality
- Automated sheet loading and pallet-change demonstrations
- Bodor's latest CypCut control system interface running real nesting software
"What's the real ROI timeline?" — The honest answer for most shops: 18–30 months for a properly spec'd 6kW, running two shifts, at Canadian job shop rates.
Key Takeaways from FABTECH 2025
Automation is the dominant conversation
Five years ago, shops asked about machine specs. Today, the first question is about material handling automation — auto-exchange tables, robotic loading, and how to run lights-out. The cost of automation has dropped significantly, and Canadian shops that installed automated fiber laser cells are reporting 35–50% throughput increases over standalone machines.
High power is going mainstream
12kW and 20kW machines are no longer exotic. Multiple Canadian shops are now running 20kW to handle structural steel, thick aluminum, and copper that would have required plasma or waterjet cutting just three years ago. The cutting cost per meter on thick plate with a high-power fiber laser is now competitive with plasma — without the dross and post-processing.
Canadian fabricators are catching up fast
We spoke with dozens of shop owners from Ontario, Alberta, and BC. The consensus: Canadian shops are running about 18–24 months behind their US counterparts in fiber laser adoption, but that gap is closing. The combination of available financing, competitive machine pricing, and skilled local service networks (like Rise Tek's) has removed the main barriers.
"We replaced two CO₂ lasers and a plasma table with one 12kW fiber laser. The floor space alone was worth it." — Shop owner, Booth A3549 conversation, FABTECH 2025
Missed Us at FABTECH?
If you couldn't make it to Chicago, you can see our current machine lineup — including the Bodor P-Series, HF Expert, and TX tube cutting series — at our Mississauga showroom. We run live demos by appointment for qualified buyers.