Aerospace & Defense | Okuma Solutions

With today’s increasing passenger traffic and sustained aerospace and defense spending, there is a high demand for aerospace and defense parts, including landing gear and engine components. Okuma machine users win and retain customers by delivering high-precision results with competitive pricing. Aerospace and defense manufacturers can choose from a variety of Okuma models that are specifically crafted for their needs, ranging from our horizontal machining centers to 5-axis and multitasking machines. In addition, we've established our Aerospace Center of Excellence to help you explore, test and prove out your machines and processes.

Okuma machines are built to maximize productivity and minimize downtime, providing a platform that lasts for decades and ultimately yields the lowest cost per part. While Okuma machines deliver an outstanding lifetime low cost of ownership, flexible manufacturing systems can enhance the productivity of Okuma horizontal and 5-axis machining centers by allowing for unattended runs, lights-out aerospace machining and reduced non-cutting time due to setups and changeovers. This all leads to the desired result for any aerospace and defense manufacturer: the ability to place competitive bids and win more jobs.

Learn how Okuma’s reliable design worked for one aerospace manufacturing shop.

Read The Case Study

PRECISE CONTROLS

The build of our machines includes powerful spindles that target specific material machining requirements, mass where it counts to handle extreme cutting conditions, and fine-tuned designs for advanced acceleration and deceleration curves that reduce non-cut times.

Our OSP-P series control is built using the Windows®-based, open architecture platform. You can send production orders to your MRP systems right from the machine tool, track production with scanned barcodes, and generate reports to share with the management team. The OSP control also allows ease of access to machine metrics for complete and accurate machine utilization tracking.

INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGIES

Aerospace manufacturing often utilizes materials that demand special considerations, including Inconel and titanium. Our CNC machines are equipped to work with your material needs, and we work closely with our Partners in THINC to determine the best methods to utilize the machine and tools to cut these metals.

Along with accommodating your material needs, Okuma is constantly working to innovate and find the best methods and tools to fit your special manufacturing process. From our Thermo-Friendly Concept and Turn-Cut to our cycle reduction function to part accountability and traceability, our innovations are designed to maximize efficiency and streamline your aerospace and defense manufacturing operation.

Learn More About Our Partners in Thinc Program

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY EXPERTISE

At Okuma, we realize the importance of understanding the investment in the right equipment for your aerospace manufacturing operations. Our state-of-the-art Aerospace Center of Excellence in Charlotte, North Carolina allows aerospace manufacturers to test cut.

With 9 demo-ready machines designed for the aerospace market and a fully operational metrology room with CMM equipment and quality measurement devices, manufacturers can test, check accuracies, determine effectiveness and prove out better CNC machining processes for their parts. Along with the tools you need to test parts yourself, our Okuma team of application engineers and Partners in THINC will allow you access to aerospace industry experts.

Learn More About Our Aerospace Center of Excellence

FAQ's

Is Okuma a big player in the aerospace machining industry?

Yes. For more than 30 years, leading aerospace manufacturing companies have chosen Okuma because tough challenges require tough, sophisticated machines. One of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers chose Okuma – and only Okuma – to assist with the selection of new additions to their supply chain. When a group of the largest manufacturers (OMAC) convened to ask machine tool builders to create a non-proprietary control, only Okuma stepped up and delivered. And hundreds of Tier-1, 2 and 3 suppliers use Okuma machines to create competitive advantage every day.

I need to stay as cost-efficient as possible. Does it really make sense to invest in machine quality?

Yes. Our aerospace machining customers who invest in quality continually tell us – “my Okuma is how I gain competitive advantage.” This is because a quality-built machine not only delivers quality parts, its sophisticated technologies create cost-efficiencies for the manufacturer. When it comes to cost reduction, you really do get what you pay for. Automation is also key to remaining cost competitive. Our machines can easily be integrated into flexible manufacturing systems, allowing for unattended or lights-out operation and reduce non-cutting time. An automation cell halts spiraling labor costs and delivers effective ROI by maximizing efficiencies.

Is there any way to make parts accountability easier in aerospace manufacturing?

Yes. Because of the flexibility of Okuma’s THINC control, systems can easily be implemented that automatically collect and archive every detail of the aerospace machining process. You can even customize the types of data you collect.

Is the 5-Axis Auto Tuning function utilized within the aerospace industry?

Yes. Within the aerospace market, 5-Axis Auto Tuning can remove the potential for tiny geometric errors that result in quality issues for your finished product through precise position measurements performed by the Intelligent Technology. The 5-Axis Auto Tuning function’s intuitive software allows you to operate with a high level of skill, performing adjustments in approximately 10 minutes versus five hours or more for manual methods.

I need to stay as cost-efficient as possible. Does it really make sense to invest in machine quality?

Yes. Our aerospace machining customers who invest in quality continually tell us – “my Okuma is how I gain competitive advantage.” This is because a quality-built machine not only delivers quality parts, its sophisticated technologies create cost-efficiencies for the manufacturer. When it comes to cost reduction, you really do get what you pay for. Automation is also key to remaining cost competitive. Our machines can easily be integrated into flexible manufacturing systems, allowing for unattended or lights-out operation and reduce non-cutting time. An automation cell halts spiraling labor costs and delivers effective ROI by maximizing efficiencies.