While the machine technology on display alone is worth the price of admission to IMTS 2010, what’s really cool is seeing the end result from the manufacturing tech. We’ll wrap up our daily coverage of IMTS 2010 by taking a look at a few fun products featured at this year’s show.

In Focus: F-35 Lightning II
There is an F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) on the trade show floor. It’s a big one — a full-scale model.

Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 with principal industrial partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The fifth-generation fighter is meant to be the world’s premier strike aircraft through 2040, with close- and long-range air-to-air capability second only to that of the F-22 Raptor.

The JSF aircraft design has three variants: the F-35A, for conventional takeoff and landing for the U.S. Air Force; the F-35B, for short takeoff and vertical landing for the Marine Corps, the United Kingdom and the Air Force; and the F-35C, an aircraft carrier-suitable variant for the Navy.

The F-35 combines advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment, and lower operational and support costs.

Here’s what we’re talking about:

The U.S. intends to buy nearly 2,450 of the 4,000 planes forecast to be built for American and foreign customers combined. With an overall value estimated at $323 billion, it is reportedly the most expensive defense program ever. On the other hand, Lockheed’s precision machining of composite skin sections represents a key reason why the fifth-generation fighter actually saves billions of dollars for U.S. taxpayers.

I will be posting more fun IMTS updates throughout the day, so check back regularly.

In Focus: Tesla Roadster
Also on display here is a brand new, cherry-red Tesla Roadster, one of the most highly anticipated cars today.

The all-electric sports car, produced by electric-car firm Tesla Motors, can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 125 mph. The Roadster is powered by a 3-Phase Alternating Current Induction Motor. Small, but strong, the motor weighs slightly more than 115 lbs. The car can travel more than 200 miles per charge.

The Tesla Roadster offers powerful acceleration and the highest energy efficiency at the same time. Full recharging can be achieved in as little as 3.5 hours.

The car’s strength-to-weight ratio of carbon fiber requires about 30 percent less material (by mass) than steel to build a light but strong body.

Here’s a recent video pitting the Tesla Roadster Sport against the Porsche Boxster Spyder:

In Focus: American Precision Museum
With a presence at IMTS for the first time in years, the American Precision Museum has a fantastic story to tell at this year’s show, highlighting who and what made America — literally. The Windsor, Vt.-based museum’s IMTS exhibit explains the workings of historic machines and traces the history of the people who made and used those machines: inventors, machinists and skilled craftsmen.

A few of the devices on display: a Singer sewing machine (1910); a miniature steam engine made by Frederick W. Sinon (late 20th century); American machinist handbooks (1940-1946); and a reproduction Model 1841 U.S. Army rifle.

The rifle on display here is commonly called the “Mississippi rifle” because it first gained fame during the Mexican-American war, “in the hands of Mississippi volunteers,” the display explains.

In fact, gun-making was the main government-sponsored high-tech industry in the mid-1800s. And the museum itself is housed in the original Robbins & Lawrence Armory, a National Historic Landmark and “one of the cradles of the machine tool industry.”

“Through two World Wars, America served — in the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — as the Arsenal of Democracy,” another display explains. “American industry first supplied European allies and then supplied American troops with weapons, ammunition, tanks, ships, airplanes, uniforms and thousands of other things needed for the war effort.”

Between 1941 and 1942, the American machine tool industry produced more than 300,000 machines. Nearly 30,000 of them came from the town of Springfield, Vt., which, according to local tradition, was ranked No. 7 on Hitler’s list of U.S. bombing targets.

Hendey lathe, c. 1920

The exhibit also highlights the museum’s Machine Tool Hall of Fame, a joint project between the museum and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. Among those honored:

• Joseph R. Brown (1810-1876)
• Frederick W. Howe (1822-1891)
• James Hartness (1861-1934)

The American Precision Museum, founded in 1966, now holds the largest collection of historically significant machine tools in the nation, a selection of which are featured at IMTS 2010. For more about the American Precision Museum or to schedule a visit, check out AmericanPrecision.org.

American Precision from mick provencher on Vimeo.

Earlier IMTS 2010 coverage

IMTS 2010 from the Floor: Thursday

IMTS 2010 from the Floor: Wednesday

IMTS 2010 from the Floor: Tuesday