On December 9-10, 2014, Okuma America Corporation  hosted more than 500 customers, partners and distributors at its 2014 Technology Showcase event in Charlotte, N.C. This two-day event featured learning opportunities for attendees featuring hands-on demonstrations, App Store and machine demos, a facility tour highlighting titanium machining at the new Aerospace Center for Excellence, and a behind-the-scenes look at Okuma’s electrical and mechanical repair operations.

The theme of this year’s event, “Make the Leap,” included demonstrations of simple technology upgrades that enable users to enhance the productivity of their CNC machines and operators, thus improving overall profitability. For each technology shown, a side-by-side demonstration of basic vs. advanced machine functionalities and the benefits that can be gained by leaping into higher technology were featured.

The demonstrations were relevant to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction/farming (heavy equipment), die/mold, firearms/munitions, medical, oil/energy, and general job shops.

Members of Partners in THINC demonstrated how peripheral equipment such as tooling, gaging, workholding and automation can be integrated with Okuma technology to improve productivity.

One of the highlights from the event was the side-by-side demonstrations, giving attendees a look at how enhanced features can improve productivity. Attendees gained tips on how they can use advanced CNC machine technology to create a competitive advantage in their marketplace. Examples included:

2-axis vs. 4-axis Lathes – side-by-side cutting demonstration of Okuma’s LB EX-II and LU EX lathes show how a 4-axis CNC lathe can easily combine operations to reduce cutting time, improve quality, enhance flexibility and increase throughputVMC vs. HMC – how a horizontal machining center increases overall throughput, improves quality and reduces labor, WIP and floor space, all without significantly increasing capital budgetThe Okuma App Store – Machine tool apps can significantly impact the effectiveness and efficiency of machine tools – yes, there IS an app for that!

Attendees were able to see more than 20 CNC machines cutting parts, many of which debuted at IMTS 2014. Machines on display included:

MA-12500H horizontal machining center – debuted at IMTS 2014MU-10000H 5-axis horizontal machining center – Okuma’s largest 5-axis machineMULTUS U Series – Okuma’s newest multitasking CNC machinesOkuma’s “Affordable Excellence” products – GENOS CNC lathes and machining centers, LB3000 EX-II and MB-5000H machining centers – functionality at an affordable price

Guests also enjoyed a special dinner at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte wher they competed in a driving simulator and in a pit crew challenge and were given the opportunity to explore the history of the sport of NASCAR.