Okuma America Corp. has opened an Aerospace Center of Excellence at its facility in Charlotte, N.C. The center is for aerospace manufacturers to use as a testing and proving ground for advanced CNC machining technology to enhance productivity while solving industry-specific challenges, according to the company. The nearly 10,000-sq.-ft. space currently houses nine CNC machines designed for the aerospace market, and also includes a fully-operational metrology room, including CMM equipment and other measurement devices. Additionally, visitors have access to the Partners in THINC facility, which currently houses an additional 16 machines, ranging from entry-level CNC lathes to machining centers and grinders.

"We envision that the facility will be used by various levels of aerospace suppliers, from Tier 3s to OEMs, to help them test new equipment, processes and materials," said Jim Kosmala, vice president of technology at Okuma America. "We've been working with our partners to improve exotic metal cutting through the use of tool management software, cutting tool selection and other productivity enhancements, and now we want to help the actual manufacturers with these same challenges."

The center will debut Dec. 9 and 10 at the annual Okuma open house.

"While the Aerospace Center of Excellence is physically located in Charlotte, we are using our worldwide resources to support this effort," said Jim King, president and COO of Okuma America. "We have a global team made up of people from Okuma operations in Japan, Europe and America, who are working closely to identify new processes and technologies specifically to help this industry address its challenges. It's an existing and ongoing mission and the center establishes a centralized point of collaborative expertise for delivering innovation and productivity enhancements to aerospace manufacturers."