A record 330 customers took part in an open house put on by Thomas Skinner in Richmond, British Columbia. The event, which took place on December 6th, allowed visitors to see the latest in equipment set-up and automation in the metalworking industry.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for our customers to engage with suppliers and industry specialists in a hands on way,” said Don Babineau, Thomas Skinner VP of Operations.

“Our applications team designed demonstrations that showcased the amazing capabilities of today’s CNC Machines. We set out to host the best Open House we have ever had and we accomplished that goal.”

The line-up of demonstrations included turning/multi-function machines included Okuma’s new Multus B300-II – demonstrating milling, turning and W-axis secondary spindle with part transfer and high-pressure coolant supply by MP Systems.

A record turn out of 330+ circulated the showroom.

Haas showcased an ST-20SSY showed various turning, bar pulling and milling. A ST-40BB featured heavy material removal, large hole drilling in 4140 and heavy threading and silent boring tools. Sandvik Coromant provided tooling for all of the above demonstrations.

Also, 47 machinist students from the British Columbia Institute of Technology were in attendance along with faculty members to visit and watch the demos.

Other companies that took part in the event included: Mitutoyo, Hyd-Mech, Lenox, Blaser, Caron Engineering, Chick, CribMaster, EZSet, GibbsCAM, Harvey Tool, Jergens, Kitagawa, Kurt, Mastercam, MP Systems, Remtech, Renishaw, Royal, Schunk, SIC, StorLoc and Techniks.

For a schedule of other open houses that Thomas Skinner will host in 2013, visit: www.thomasskinner.com