Goodbye to an Old School Approach

When Minh Huynh, Senior Machinist in Okuma’s Quick Shop, received the news, it made him nervous. Real nervous. His trusted work companion, right-hand man, and “old reliable” MB-56V vertical machining center had found a happy new home with a customer. How would he take care of urgently-needed parts for down machines (and all his other responsibilities) now? Soon a shiny new state-of-the-art, GENOS M560-V vertical machining center with a P300 control and a CAT 50 spindle arrived at its new home in Okuma’s Quick Shop and this was Minh’s new machine tool. Problem was, much of the new technology was barely recognizable compared to his old machine, which he knew like the back of his hand.

Out With the Old

Minh realized he was clinging to an old school approach. But it had served him so well! After a little more than two weeks of training Minh got a good feel for the GENOS and in that short time he decided he loves the speed of the new machine and control in addition to other dynamic features.

“As I learn more every day I really like the new machining center. I’ve only been training about two weeks and I’m still learning the new control but it’s a lot faster. This machine is a lot quieter too. I’m looking forward to eventually utilizing all the new technologies and apps.”

RELATED: Quick Shop, CNC Machine “Emergency Room”

The Quick Shop is the ideal environment to test a variety of cuts and functions while also letting customers get a first-hand look at the GENOS technology and its BIG-PLUS^® spindle.

• CAT 50 BIG-PLUS Spindle: The heavy duty, double-column structure of this particular GENOS features a CAT 50, BIG-PLUS Spindle. Customers can now see a CAT 50, BIG-PLUS in action and the larger spindle makes it perfect for custom cuts in the Quick Shop. The bigger spindle is extremely rigid and has double the cutting power (12,000 rpm compared to 6,000 on the MB-56) and more contact points enabling it to easily make powerful and accurate cuts on exotic and difficult to machine metals including titanium and aluminum.
  
  The faster speed allows quicker feeds, shorter cycle times and the ability to machine smooth finishes. This machining center allows the tapping cycle to be adjusted and it’s much quicker when it backs out of a cut thereby increasing cycle time and efficiency. On the old machine the tap was the same speed going in and coming out of a cut. Additionally, Okuma’s Machining Navi is standard on the GENOS and also assists in determining the optimal spindle speed for highly efficient machining.
  
  
• OSP-P300 Control and Monitor: The OSP-P300 control is built using a Windows^® open architecture platform and is intuitive and process-based. This means the control is customizable and all machine data is centralized and easily accessible from one screen without having to flip back and forth through several screens. This feature cuts down redundancy of control operations and set up times which allows operators to spend more time making parts. “I’m still learning the new control but it’s a lot faster,” says Minh.
  
  One of Minh’s favorite upgrades is the monitor, “You can imagine going from an old DOS, the green and black screen to all of a sudden a new LED PC panel with Windows. It’s like going from a flip phone to a smartphone. And the machine manuals are accessible on the machining center’s screen too. I don’t have to look in my paper file when I have a question. I like that feature a lot.”
  
  
• Tooling and Automation: Minh admits he was surprised by the tooling setup for the machine. Unlike the MB-56V, the tooling type and position on the GENOS M560-V need to be registered. Once the tools are registered the machining center automatically stores and remembers the information for future programming. The GENOS also has a 32-tool magazine compared to 22 on the old machine, in addition to a faster tool-to-tool ATC cycle change time of 1.2 seconds. These automation features generate a significant increase in productivity.
  
  
• Travel: The GENOS M560-V has a generous 51 x 22 axis travel. The standard 30 x 16 travel on the old machine limited the Quick Shop from cutting larger parts. The bigger machining area now gives Minh the opportunity to cut an abundance of gears and a wide variety of parts. Today Minh is a “new school” kind of guy with a world of new machining possibilities in his future.

MORE: Learn more about the transformation of Okuma’s Quick Shop in our case study A Machinist’s Fear of the Unknown.

Are you “old school” or “new school” when it comes to CNC technology? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.