Use Okuma’s ROI calculator to estimate cost.

Purchasing a machine tool is no small decision – it’s one that requires an evaluation beyond the initial machine tool purchase price. On the surface, this evaluation can seem like a daunting task, but Wade Anderson and the Okuma team have taken the guesswork out of this process by developing a return on investment (ROI) calculator, which includes key criteria to be considered by shops of all sizes. Using the calculation method, shop owners and operators can calculate metrics such as total profit per job, part cycle time, cost per part, margin levels, and more. As a bonus, session attendees receive access to a free ROI calculator, making it easy to choose the right investment for your shop.

Meet your presenter Wade Anderson is a machinist who started programming machine tools in 1992. His early years were spent machining large, heavy equipment components. He became an applications engineer for a machine tool builder, where he spent eleven years developing super abrasive aerospace and medical processes with an emphasis on 5-axis grinding. Anderson did 5-axis programming and machine tool troubleshooting – even building machine tools from the ground up. He joined Okuma America Corp. in 2005 as an applications engineer and moved from there to inside sales, sales engineer, and regional manager. He currently serves as product specialist manager and tech centers manager, where his diverse background enables him to help Okuma’s distributors and end users.

About the company Okuma America Corp. is the U.S.-based affiliate of Okuma Corp. founded in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. Okuma is known for its technology leadership, manufacturing, product quality, and dedication to customer service. Okuma products are used in the automotive, aerospace and defense, construction and farming equipment, oil and energy, medical, mold and die, and fluid power industries. Machines include vertical and horizontal machining centers, lathes, double column machining centers, grinders, and wheel machines that offer users high throughput, high accuracy, and reliable solutions to production machining operations.

The program focuses on students from underrepresented groups in the STEM fields.

Solar Atmospheres hosted more than 40 high school students enrolled in the Summer Engineering Institute (SEI) at Lehigh University on July 6. The SEI program, under the guidance of Director Dr. Laura Moyer, is a two-week residential program, running two sessions back-to-back. Students are nominated by faculty of local high schools, and the program specifically targets under-represented groups including girls, first-generation students, and students who might otherwise have limited opportunities to study in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Solar Atmospheres provided a tour of the campus, exhibiting materials and processes for intriguing applications in a variety of markets. The students experienced a manufacturing setting encompassing related topics from their curriculum, gaining a better understanding of heat treating and manufacturing, and how cutting-edge technology reshapes centuries-old processes.

Q1 2022 US, Canada, and Mexico robot sales revenue rose by 43%; Non-automotive sectors surpassed automotive.

The North American robotics market experienced its best quarter ever to begin the year – companies from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico ordered 11,595 industrial robots – up 28% compared to the first quarter of 2021. Revenue rose by 43% and reached a value of $664 million. These results are in line with a positive trend worldwide: Preliminary data for 2021 show, that 486,700 industrial robots have been installed globally (+27% year-on-year).

“A strong recovery of the international robotics markets is currently in progress: Worldwide installations of industrial robots in 2021 even exceed the record year 2018,” says Milton Guerry, president of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). “In North America, first quarter order volumes for both units and revenue were at all-time highs. Across industries, the post-COVID crisis boom creates double-digit growth over the same quarter of last year.”

Automotive orders up In North America, car makers and manufacturers of components accounted for 47% of robot orders in Q1 2022, their orders grew by 15% year-on-year. Several car manufacturers have announced investments to further equip their factories for new electric drive car models or to increase capacity for battery production. These major projects will continue to create demand for industrial robots in the next few years. The United States has the second largest production volume of cars and light vehicles in the world, following China. Worldwide installations of industrial robots in the automotive sector reached 109,400 units in 2021 (+37% year-on-year).

Non-automotive sectors surpassed automotive Continuing a trend, non-automotive customers have ordered more robots than automotive customers. Worldwide, the electrical & electronics industry is the strongest adopter with a record of 132,200 units installed in 2021. In North America, automotive customers orders in Q1 2022 were 5,476 units, while non-automotive customers ordered 6,122 units the same period. In seven out of the last nine quarters, orders from non-automotive customers surpassed orders from automotive customers.

Discover the possibilities of continuous generating gear grinding.

Continuous generating gear grinding is one of the most demanding grinding applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. To improve gear efficiency, gear life, and noise levels, gear profile tolerances and surface finish requirements are becoming more stringent. This is especially true for electric vehicle (EV) gears, which typically require lower noise characteristics than traditional automotive gears. These new quality requirements must be maintained without sacrificing cycle time, and without inducing grinding burn. One of the biggest factors to achieving these goals is a grinding wheel capable of producing low grinding force and low grinding temperatures, while minimizing the wear of the grinding wheel. The toughness and sharpness of the abrasive, porosity, and strength of the bond, and interaction between the bond and workpiece are key. A new vitrified wheel matrix has been developed specifically for gear grinding, significantly reducing the friction generated between the bond and the workpiece while maintaining superior form holding at high removal rates. This new bond paired with the newest ceramic abrasive results in a free cutting grinding wheel that exceeds all the requirements necessary to create quiet and long-lasting gears.

Spencer Artz is a Norton/Saint-Gobain Abrasives grinding application engineer with eight years of experience in high-precision automotive grinding applications including camshaft, crankshaft, continuous variable transmission, and gear grinding.

About the company We offer powerful, precise and user-friendly solutions for every market and for every step of the abrasives process, enabling our customers to cut, shape and finish all materials in the most complex and challenging applications. By working closely with end-users and grinding expert partners, we design and provide customized solutions to secure the best option for performance, cost, and safety. With more than 130 years of experience and more than 10,000 passionate employees, we are proud to serve our customers through our network of 60 facilities, in almost 30 countries across all continents.

Expands alliance with Northrop Grumman, Collins Aerospace, Eaton, Safran.

Boom Supersonic, the company developing the world’s fastest airliner since Concorde, presented the refined design of its Overture jetliner at the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow. The company also announced a new partnering agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop special mission variants of the aircraft. Collins Aerospace, Eaton, and Safran Landing Systems are joining the Overture program, supplying key systems.

Engineers at Collins and Boom will perform aerodynamic analysis to evaluate Overture’s Ice Protection System, the system that prevents the formation of ice on the aircraft during flight. Boom will also work with Collins to assess Air Data System architectures that meet Overture’s field performance and range requirements.

Boom and Eaton are developing the Overture fuel distribution, measurement, and inerting systems. Co-developed between Safran and Boom will be Overture’s landing systems. Technical teams at Safran Landing Systems and Boom will also focus on incorporating the latest technology to improve aircraft safety, optimize weight, and reduce aircraft noise.

Northrop Grumman Corporation and Boom Supersonic will work together to offer the U.S. government and allies a supersonic special-mission aircraft.

“Pairing Northrop Grumman’s airborne defense systems integration expertise with Boom’s state-of-the-art Overture supersonic aircraft makes perfect sense,” said Tom Jones, president of Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems. “Together we can ensure military variants of Overture are tailored for missions where advanced system capabilities and speed are critical.”

Together, the two companies will pursue new use cases for Overture to support government and military operations that require rapid response, including quick-reaction surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control, as well as mobility and logistics missions such as emergency medical and troop transport.

The Overture reveal at the Farnborough International Airshow is the culmination of 26 million core-hours of simulated software designs, five wind tunnel tests, and the careful evaluation of 51 full design iterations, resulting in an economically and environmentally sustainable supersonic airliner. Carrying 65 to 80 passengers at twice the speed of today’s airliners and running on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Overture will fly Mach 1.7 over water with a range of 4,250nm.

“Overture is revolutionary in its design, and it will fundamentally change how we think about distance,” said Boom Founder and CEO Blake Scholl. “With more than 600 routes across the globe, Overture will make the world dramatically more accessible for tens of millions of passengers.”

With its updated configuration, Boom combines several engineering innovations in aerodynamics, noise reduction, and overall performance.

Overture will be powered by four wing-mounted engines (being developed by Rolls-Royce) located aft of the cabin to conform to the strictest passenger safety requirements. The airliner will fly without afterburners, meeting the same strict regulatory noise levels as the latest subsonic airplanes. These noise reduction efforts will deliver a quieter experience both for passengers and airport communities.

Overture’s fuselage now follows area-rule design, with a larger diameter toward the front of the aircraft and a smaller diameter toward the rear. Boom has applied this design technique to minimize drag and maximize fuel efficiency at supersonic speeds. The aircraft’s gull wings enhance supersonic performance as well as improve subsonic and transonic handling.

Overture will incorporate carbon composite materials that are lighter, stronger, and more thermally stable than traditional metal construction. Carbon composites can also be manufactured with highly complex curvature, contributing to the aircraft’s aerodynamic efficiency.

The jetliner has been developed from the beginning to be net zero carbon, flying on 100% SAF. Sustainability is emphasized, from design and production to flight and end-of-life recycling.

• Exterior dimensions: Length: 201ft, Wingspan: 106ft, Height: 36ft

• Interior dimensions: 79ft long, up to 6.5ft height at aisle

• Airframe: composite fuselage, wing, vertical, and horizontal surfaces

• Wing: gull with digital leading and trailing edge flap control

• Flight controls: 4x redundant digital fly-by-wire

• Powerplant: 4x medium-bypass 100% SAF-compatible turbofan

• Airport Community noise: ICAO Chapter 14 / FAA Stage 5

Earlier this year, Boom selected the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina for its first Overture Superfactory and plans to begin production in 2024, start flight tests in 2026, and begin carrying passengers in 2029.