Try It – He likes it! Hey Mikey!

If you grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, or raised kids watching cartoons on Saturday mornings back then, you’ll no doubt remember the iconic Life^® cereal commercial where the two older kids slide the bowl of “good for ya” cereal over to little Mikey to try it. “He won’t eat it, he hates everything.”

Well, much to their surprise, Mikey tried it and he DID like it! We saw similar delight and amazement at IMTS 2012 where Okuma introduced our new THINC^®-OSP-P300 CNC control in a groundbreaking manner by inviting visitors to sit down for a few minutes and try it for themselves. Check out Jim Kosmala’s excellent IMTS summary blog about this if you haven’t seen it.

Try It Hits the Road

When you discover a great idea, why not run with it, improve it, and roll it out to share with as many as possible? In the coming weeks and months Okuma is installing THINC-OSP CNC control simulators at our America’s headquarters in Charlotte, at our Chicago and Houston Tech Centers, and also at our Distributor show rooms. These stations will be set up specifically to give you more opportunities to push the buttons and learn how Okuma will help you Go Beyond.

What will there be for you to learn? As was the message in previous announcements of the THINC-OSP Try It stations, the new and improved Easy Operation, Collision Avoidance, and Programming tools available on the new P300 platform will be demonstrated with step by step instructions and support from one of our Productivity Experts as you use our CNC control yourself. We will also be emphasizing the true differentiators of our CNC machine platform, which are the advantages you can realize only from our unique open architecture CNC. This is not simply a “LOCKED DOWN” PC front-end for a proprietary CNC machine platform.

Your Favorite New Toy

It still never ceases to amaze me when I see the first-time users unfamiliar with our CNC who smile like children opening birthday gifts when they see how easy it is to take full advantage of a fully open system.

A system that makes it possible for you to install PC applications yourself, whether it be so you can load tooling lists and set-up spreadsheets, process documents, or show videos that assist operators in setup and operation. All of these in their native PC format and all possible right out of the box on every new Okuma CNC Lathe and CNC Machining Center that comes equipped as standard with the THINC-OSP platform from the factory.

You can connect an additional extended large screen monitor (as big as you want!) to view those critical documents and videos while you use the native CNC screen. You can “plug and play” a USB caliper or micrometer to measure parts and adjust wear offsets automatically and electronically capture the statistical process control data right on the CNC control – no paper, no mistaken readings. Heck, connect a CMM if you want.

You can do all this and much more with no extra-expensive Okuma options or Okuma hardware required. Experience the freedom you didn’t know you were missing because the machine tool industry at-large keeps you chained to proprietary systems!

Try It For Yourself

I invite you to come see us in Charlotte, Houston, and Chicago and be like Mikey and Try It. Come Try It and understand the difference. And if you can’t come to us, please contact your local Okuma Distributor and we will gladly come to you. For inspiration, go see the commercial at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc and enjoy. By the way, you can watch this YouTube video on your THINC-OSP control. Try THAT elsewhere…

Have YOU Tried It? Comment below and let us know about your experience.

Brian Sides is Director of Technology, Okuma America Corporation