Top 10 Blog Posts of 2014

At the end of the year we love to check out which blog posts were most popular with our readers. As many of you know, we post a new blog, or vlog (video blog), every Wednesday – so that means we created 52 total in 2014. We always strive to provide helpful, useful information in our posts – "news you can use" – so it's quite interesting to see what resonates with you. Which ones rose to the top, having the most reader views? There’s a good mix of what we call the “fun ones” (you’ll see what we mean) plus “technical tip” articles, so cruise through this list and see our readers’ Top 10 picks.

Okuma’s Top 10 Blog Posts of 2014 (Most Popular First)

1. For the Love of Manufacturing: Love conquers all! For this Valentine’s Day blog, we asked the question “What do you love most about manufacturing?” The result was an onslaught of very candid, very personal and enthusiastic messages. This was our most popular post, by a landslide.
2. Oh, Cam-It!: We almost swore here, but fortunately came clean. Seems many of you share our fascination with cam options for our LU3000 EX CNC lathes, which are uniquely suited for cutting automotive pistons.
3. 10 Great Gifts for CNC Machinists: Apparently you also LOVE shopping, cause this blog zoomed to the top of our list in just a couple of weeks. If you haven’t seen this one, check it out, because these gifts perfectly suit machinists’ “picky” (in a good way) personalities.
4. What’s Better Than Free Hats?: Everywhere we go, people ask us for Okuma hats! Read this story and see how we ran out of hats at IMTS, so Okuma’s Tony Slagle gave an attendee the shirt off his back (literally!). But he wished he’d given him some free machine tool apps instead.
5. How to Achieve Machine Tool Zen: Have you ever had the impression that a CNC machine has its own will, and fights you every time it can? This blog prescribes seven simple steps for how to get along with machine tools and be happy.
6. IMTS Show Setup: Behind the Scenes Photos: This photo essay shows the Okuma setup crew slaving away at McCormick Place, installing huge CNC machines, wielding monster Allen wrenches, and feasting on Chicago-style pizza. Thousands of attendees later, we knew – it was all worth it.
7. Blue Skies for Aerospace Manufacturing: The aerospace industry has been experiencing one the largest booms in recent history. This creates a demand for reliable and accurate machines to produce critical flight-ready parts, and here we share how Okuma plays a large role in making them.
8. Enter Our Idea Contest – CNC Control Apps: Okuma’s software engineering team has been hard at work creating machine tool apps that make your life easier. Here we asked for ideas about what we should create next – and you can see the great answers in the comments on this blog.
9. “Foundations” for Machine Tool Success: When newly installed CNC machines have accuracy and performance issues, an inadequate foundation is often the culprit. Don’t let this happen to you! Check out these best practices for designing and building a good foundation.
10. Multitasking Machines – Smarter Than You Think?: Okuma’s David Fischer warns, there’s “danger on the old cowpath” of doing things the same old way. He shows how “smart” multitasking machines can increase productivity, keep you competitive, and be a very smart choice for your business.

Do you have a favorite Okuma blog post? It doesn’t need to be from the list above, you can see the topics by scrolling through the blog pages on our website. Comment below and place your vote – this will help us focus on your favorite topics.