Okuma Opens Aerospace Center

Okuma has opened an Aerospace Center of Excellence at its facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center serves aerospace manufacturers as a testing and proving ground for CNC machining technology. The nearly 10,000-square-foot space houses nine CNC machines designed for the aerospace market, a fully operational metrology room with CMM and other quality measurement devices, and a conference room. Visitors also have access to the Partners in THINC facility, which features an additional 16 machines ranging from entry level CNC lathes to machining centers and grinders. Facility activities will incorporate Okuma equipment and engineering personnel as well as resources from Partners in THINC members.

“We envision that the facility will be used by various levels of aerospace suppliers, from Tier 3 to OEMs, to help them test new equipment, processes and materials,” says Jim Kosmala, vice president of technology. “We’ve been working with our partners to improve exotic metal cutting through the use of tool management software, cutting tool selection and other productivity enhancements, and now we want to help the actual manufacturers with these same challenges.”

The aerospace center will debut during Okuma’s annual open house, December 9-10. The theme of this year’s event is “Make the Leap.”