AI in machine tools advanced rapidly between 21 and 28 November 2025. Several major industrial vendors demonstrated real applications of artificial intelligence inside CNC engineering, maintenance, welding inspection and factory operations. Siemens showed autonomous engineering at SPS 2025. IFS released AI digital workers that automate maintenance and materials. Honeywell confirmed the use of generative AI assistants in live industrial environments. New research in weld defect detection reached accuracy levels suitable for production. These updates strengthened the position of AI in machine tools and signaled that adoption is accelerating.
1. Siemens demonstrated AI in machine tools at SPS 2025
Siemens delivered the most important update for AI in machine tools during SPS 2025 in Nuremberg. The company demonstrated its Engineering Copilot TIA. This system used generative AI to automate engineering tasks and modify automation project elements without coding.
Key outcomes:
- Automated creation of components inside TIA Portal
- AI generated improvements to engineering workflows
- Faster configuration of automation projects
- Integrated AI support across engineering, commissioning and production
Why this matters for AI in machine tools
The demonstration showed practical gains for CNC programming, CAM logic and cell automation. Siemens confirmed that AI driven engineering is now operational rather than experimental. This will influence how machine shops adopt automation and digital workflows in 2026.
2. IFS released AI digital workers that support machine tool environments
On 27 November IFS launched IFS Cloud 25R2. The update introduced several digital workers powered by AI. These workers automate maintenance, materials management and operations tasks that directly affect machine tool uptime.
Digital worker capabilities:
- Automatic completion of work order fields
- Conversion of operator notes and speech into structured data
- AI supported reliability analysis
- Inventory and material flow optimisation
Source:
https://www.ifs.com/news/product/ifs-cloud-25r2
Why this matters for AI in machine tools
Machine shops lose time to maintenance administration and material delays. IFS stated that invisible admin tasks can consume forty to sixty percent of technician time. AI digital workers reduce this overhead and increase CNC availability.
3. Honeywell advanced AI in factory operations with generative operator assistants
During the Honeywell User Group Europe event this week, Honeywell confirmed that generative AI assistants were supporting operators inside live industrial environments. The AI helped explain alarms, retrieve historical incident data and suggest best practice responses.
Capabilities included:
- Clear natural language explanations for alarms
- Retrieval of past corrective actions
- AI driven recommendations for resolving issues
- Identification of cyber and operational anomalies
Why this matters for AI in machine tools
This approach will extend into CNC cells. Operator copilots can reduce downtime by improving decision making. Honeywell proved that generative AI can run safely inside real operational technology systems.
4. New AI research improved weld defect detection for manufacturing
A peer reviewed study published this week demonstrated progress in AI based weld inspection. Researchers trained a YOLOv7 deep learning model on three thousand weld seam images to detect cracks, porosity, slag inclusion and undercut.
Results included:
- Precision of approximately ninety seven percent
- mAP of approximately ninety four percent
- Strong generalisation on external datasets
Source:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2025.1564092/full
Why this matters for machine tools and fabrication
Welding accuracy is central to sheet metal manufacturing. AI based weld inspection can reduce rework, increase consistency and improve quality standards. This research showed that AI is becoming capable of reliable production performance.
Key Takeaways for AI in Machine Tools
- Siemens demonstrated autonomous engineering powered by AI
- IFS launched digital workers that automate maintenance and materials
- Honeywell confirmed generative AI deployment inside industrial control rooms
- New research delivered near industrial accuracy for weld defect detection
- Adoption of AI in machine tools continued to accelerate across core workflows
FAQ About AI in Machine Tools
What was the most important AI in machine tools update this week
The Siemens demonstration at SPS 2025 was the most impactful. It showed autonomous engineering workflows created by generative AI.
How does AI in machine tools help small and mid sized shops
It reduces programming time, cuts maintenance delays, improves materials flow and strengthens quality control. These improvements increase productivity without new machine purchases.
Are factories already using AI in machine tools
Yes. Honeywell confirmed live deployments of generative AI assistants. IFS also released AI digital workers designed for daily use.
Where is AI in machine tools creating value right now
Programming speed, maintenance automation, materials management, operator support and weld inspection are the leading areas.
