Okuma Demonstrates Different Perspectives on Automation

Thoughts of factory automation usually bring to mind robot (or these days, cobot) arms tending machine tools. But as Tim Thiessen, VP of sales and marketing at Okuma, points out, automation is a much broader concept that includes everything from bar feeders and pallet systems to gantry loaders and software. Shops have different needs based on the size and volumes of parts they produce. A high-volume precision turning facility can automate with bar feeders and parts catchers, while a job shop producing low volumes of complex parts can benefit from a pallet changer.

This mindset was on full display at Okuma’s 2023 Technology Showcase, held March 7-8 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Many of the machines featured at its newly renovated headquarters and its Partners in THINC facility had some form of automation. Highlights included the MB-80V, a large-capacity bridge mill in a compact footprint, which was paired with a two-station automatic pallet changer (APC), as well as the 2SP-2500H, a horizontal lathe with two front-facing chucker spindles. The machine’s orientation is designed to work with one or two gantry loaders, reducing cycle times and loading/unloading times.    

Okuma works with a number of companies that specialize in automation through its Partners in THINC program. This is a collaborative network of more than 45 companies that serve the metal-cutting and manufacturing industry that works together to solve problems and explore new ideas to increase productivity for real-world manufacturers, including automation. Members include software providers, integrators and OEMS that make everything from robotic arms to bar feeders to tooling, workholding and inspection equipment.