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The 2017 Okuma Partners in THINC Winter Showcase will be held December 5-6 in Charlotte, North Carolina. One of the key demonstrations will feature a modular approach to enable manufacturers to generate high-precision five-axis parts without investing in a dedicated five-axis machining center. The part chosen is a representative aerospace landing gear component. The demo will utilize the combined products and capabilities of

• Okuma, which will supply an Genos M56O-V machining center;
• Hainbuch America (workholding);
• Kennametal (tooling);
• Haimer USA (shrink-fit toolholders);
• MP Systems (high-pressure coolant and chiller systems);
• Lyndex-Nikken (five-axis rotary tables);
• Blaser Swisslube (mineral-oil-based coolant); and
• Siemens PLM (systems software).

“Much of the current manufacturing environment is characterized by the need for complex parts produced in small to medium batch quantities. As parts requiring five-axis machining have become more in demand, especially in industries such as aerospace and medical, manufacturers are faced with the problem of justifying a dedicated five-axis machine for a limited number of parts or parts families,” says Wade Anderson, Okuma Product Specialist and Tech Center Manager. “Working together, our Partners in THINC have devised a solution that will enable their customers to achieve five-axis capability and high precision without incurring a prohibitive financial commitment.”

Despite the seeming complexity of the system, the entire five-axis modification is said to be easily removable from the machine table and stored for later use.