Intelligent Technology

We don’t fight thermal growth, we work with it. Thermo-Friendly Concept helps improve quality, save time and reduce the incidence of waste product by controlling the ‘uncontrollable’. Okuma’s Thermo-Friendly Concept combines control technology and machine design to both minimise the amount of heat generated and deal with the heat that cannot be eliminated. Coupled with extremely accurate thermal deformation compensation, the benefit is unrivalled dimensional stability over long, continuous runs. You no longer waste time and money warming machines up, thus requiring manual adjustments for temperature changes.

As machines become more complex, involving additional axes, automation and setup changing, there is more room for human error. Many applications and development tools concentrate on the cutting and forget about the hazard of collision.Our Collision Avoidance System (CAS) integrates 3D modelling of our machines, blanks and tooling with the power of the OSP control to create a virtual machine. Running the real-time virtual application seconds ahead of the actual cutting, problems can be detected early and the machine is stopped before a costly collision. CAS generates the actual and exact shape of the materials milliseconds ahead of a cut to confirm that no interference takes place. Virtual Modelling requires exact dimensions and that only Okuma can deliver because we manufacture the machine and custom-create applications.

Chatter is fairly common in the world of CNC machining. Okuma’s Machining Navi chooses the optimal speed(s) at which your machine can avoid chatter, thereby saving operator time and maximising productivity. Machining Navi uses the OSP control and sensors to monitor chatter. When chatter is detected, the function then either recommends spindle speed changes or automatically makes the spindle speed adjustments. The function is available for both lathe and machining centre applications.

When machining with a 5-axis CNC machine tool, it is common for geometric errors to affect the quality of the part. Commissioning and general wear & tear can take a toll on the kinematic chain and result in potential quality issues in your finished parts. Machines come out of level over time and even the smallest bumps can cause geometric errors. To maintain high-level 5-axis machining, an accurate on-site tuning must be done to compensate for any geometric errors.

Our SERVONAVI is a high-precision technology that improves cycle times and accuracy when machining heavy parts. It automatically estimates table loads to adjust for the best acceleration speed to achieve faster cycle times, compensates for slide load variations, and – with optimised servo control – maintains the required CNC machining accuracies for surface quality. The function also effectively eliminates noise and vibration that may occur when machine conditions change over time. This technology can be applied on all Okuma double column, vertical, and horizontal machining centres.