Flex-Metrics Demoing Flex-Voice, Supporting the Future of Manufacturing AI, at LOUPE Americas & PRINTING United 2026

Flex-Metrics is heading to Chicago and Las Vegas this September to introduce Flex-Voice™, our newest offering and the first step in the next generation of the Flex manufacturing execution platform.

We'll be exhibiting at LOUPE Americas 2026, September 15–17 in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois, at Booth 1450. We'll also take the Spotlight Stage on the second day of the show at 12:00 PM to discuss how capturing frontline insight can drive real improvements today—and help manufacturers prepare for the future of AI.

The following week, we'll be at PRINTING United Expo 2026, September 23–25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Booth N7229.

Visit our PRINTING United Expo 2026 booth page

Both shows will center around Flex-Voice, a new voice-enabled operator interface designed to capture something traditional manufacturing data systems often miss: the knowledge and context of the people closest to the process.

Giving Operators a Voice

Manufacturers have become very good at collecting machine data. We can automatically track production counts, speeds, downtime, and other performance metrics.

But machine data only tells part of the story.

The people running the equipment often know why a line slowed down, what changed before a quality issue appeared, or what they noticed while troubleshooting a problem. That context can be difficult to capture consistently because traditional operator reporting often requires someone to stop what they're doing, navigate a screen, or enter information manually.

Flex-Voice provides a more natural manufacturing voice interface, allowing operators to capture operational information as work happens.

Using voice, operators can document production activity, downtime reasons, observations, and contextual information that might otherwise go unrecorded. This creates a richer operational record without adding another cumbersome reporting process to the shop floor.

Better Manufacturing AI Starts With Better Operational Context

That additional context matters today. We believe it will matter even more as AI in manufacturing evolves. AI can analyze the information it's given but the quality and completeness of that information ultimately shape the usefulness of what comes back.

Consider a downtime event. Machine data may tell you that a press stopped for 17 minutes. That's important for machine downtime tracking, OEE, and production reporting.

But what if the operator noticed a material issue before the stop? What if a similar problem happened earlier in the shift? What was tried before maintenance was called? What ultimately got the machine running again?

Those details help explain the story behind the event—and they're exactly the kind of operational context that traditional automated data collection can miss.

Flex V2 is being built around bridging that gap.

Flex-Voice is the first offering in that next generation of Flex, beginning with a better way to connect frontline knowledge with automated production data.

Future states of the platform will introduce additional analytical layers and AI capabilities designed to turn that richer combination of machine data and human context into increasingly useful, actionable information for operations and continuous improvement teams.

The idea is straightforward: better information in creates the opportunity for better information out.

Moving Manufacturing Execution From Visibility to Understanding

This is an important evolution of how we think about manufacturing execution software.

Real-time production data creates visibility. But visibility alone doesn't explain everything happening within an operation.

Operators, supervisors, and machines each contribute a different part of the picture. When those sources of information can be brought together, manufacturers have an opportunity to move beyond simply knowing what happened toward developing a better understanding of why it happened and what deserves attention next.

That's the direction behind Flex V2—and why we see Flex-Voice as much more than voice transcription and prompts.

It creates another layer of operational information that can support continuous improvement, shop floor communication, downtime analysis, and ultimately more useful manufacturing analytics and AI. 

See Flex-Voice at LOUPE Americas and PRINTING United Expo

If you're attending either show, stop by and see Flex-Voice in action.

LOUPE Americas 2026

·       September 15–17, 2026

·       Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois

·       Booth 1450

·       Spotlight Presentation: September 16 at 12:00 PM

We'll explore how capturing frontline insight can drive real operational improvements and why human context will become increasingly important as manufacturers look toward AI.

LOUPE Americas event information

PRINTING United Expo 2026

·       September 23–25, 2026

·       Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

·       Booth N7229

Find Flex-Metrics at PRINTING United Expo — Booth N7229

Whether you're looking to improve manufacturing execution, capture better operator reporting, strengthen machine downtime tracking, or understand where manufacturing AI is heading next, we'd love to continue the conversation at either show.

Machine data tells you what happened. Your people often know why. The next generation of manufacturing intelligence needs both.