One entrepreneur will win a Hurco CNC mill or lathe at the Hurco booth on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, as part of the first ever Chipmaker Challenge contest. The application period started July 1, 2014, and will conclude Aug 8, 2014. The top five finalists will appear at IMTS to pitch their business plan, win a brand new machine, and control their future with Hurco CNC technology.
“The idea of the Chipmaker Challenge evolved as we discussed ways to add some excitement to IMTS and get publicity for the entrepreneurs in our industry who do remarkable things each and every day,” said Joe Braun, General Manager of Hurco North America. “Our customers are competitive, proud of the businesses they’ve built, and the products they make. We decided to model the Chipmaker Challenge after the television show Shark Tank in order to create an exciting, competitive, entertaining event that showcases manufacturing entrepreneurs and highlights the hi-tech aspect of manufacturing in this country. We know there is an effort to rebrand manufacturing so young people and their parents better understand 21st century manufacturing and we hope the Chipmaker Challenge might bring more attention to the industry,” continued Braun.
In addition to the Chipmaker Challenge, IMTS attendees will be the first in the world to preview the new 3D printing capabilities incorporated into the Hurco control’s WinMax software, to see the new MAX5 control console, and to experience the new 3-axis conversational pocketing strategy named AdapiPathTM that includes controlled chip load, controlled tool engagement, and a rest machining cycle in addition to a smooth toolpath motion. With a theme of Control Your Future, Hurco will showcase their CNC technology that is focused on making shops more profitable with demonstrations on their most popular CNC mills and lathes in addition to new models.
For the energy sector, the Hurco HBMX55i boring mill will be of particular interest. The HBMX55i horizontal boring mill has a small footprint (18 feet 4.37 inches x 17 feet 3.28 inches) especially considering the large work envelope (55.1 x 55.7 x 43.3 inches). The HBMX55i has a W-stroke of 19 inches, a geared head spindle with two speeds, hardened box ways, unlimited angular movement of the B-axis, and weighs just over 21 tons (42,328 pounds). The boring mill has a 4.33-inch diameter quill that allows you to use shorter tools; a contouring 4th axis rotary table, not just positional; linear glass scales on X, Y, and Z axes to maintain thermal stability and increase accuracy; CTS; and a 60-tool ATC.
The Hurco boring mill is powered by the integrated Hurco control that supports both ISO/EIA NC and Conversational Programming, and includes the patented Hurco motion system, UltiMotion that uses sophisticated software algorithms for motion planning instead of conventional hardware, which means it optimizes look-ahead, up to 10,000 blocks, and simultaneously reduces cycle time by 30 percent or more and significantly improves the part’s surface finish quality. UltiMotion benefits both conversational and NC programs, but is only available on Hurco mills because Hurco invented it.
Hurco will also premiere the company’s new MAX5 control that features bigger, brighter LCD screens and numerous ergonomic features. “Our engineers spent thousands of hours perfecting the control console and leveraged the latest technology available. Since we consider our customers to be the true experts in usability, we hosted a series of usability tests last summer. The input from our customers was extremely valuable and increased the ergonomics and usability of the console considerably,” said Braun.
Other models on display at Hurco booth S8319 include the new 3-axis VMX6030i, the new 5-axis high speed VMX30UHSi with an Erowa robot, the new 5-axis VCX600, the 5-axis VMX42SRTi, the 5-axis VM10Ui, the high speed 3-axis VMX42HSi, the 3-axis VM20i with a rotary table, 3-axis VM5i, the TMM12i mill turn lathe, and theTM8i lathe.