, commonly known as Makino, is a

machine tool builder A machine tool builder is a corporation or person that builds machine tools, usually for sale to manufacturing, manufacturers, who use them to manufacture products. A machine tool builder runs a machine factory, which is part of the machine industry ...

with global sales and service, headquartered in Japan.

History

Makino was established in 1937 by Tsunezo Makino in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, developing Japan's first numerically controlled (NC)

milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of ...

in 1958 and Japan's first machining centre in 1966. The North American branch of Makino was formed through the 1981 merger of the R. K. LeBlond Machine Tool Company of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and the Makino Milling Machine Company of

. Resulting from the merger was the formation of what was then called "LeBlond Makino Machine Tool Company". In 1996, LeBlond Makino became Makino, and in 1997 LeBlond Lathe Ltd. was formed as a parts and servicing subsidiary.

Innovations

In 1984, Makino introduced the first commercial high-speed

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euonym ...

for milling. In 1990, Makino introduced Geometric Intelligence, the first servo-control software tailored to high-speed machining, and Flush Fine machining, a method for cutting hardened materials. The company developed the first drop-tank wire EDM in 1994, and HQSF (High-Quality Surface Finish) technology with patented uSc additive in 1996, increasing the ability to finish parts without hand polishing when using a ram EDM. In 2003, Makino developed the first conventional horizontal wire EDM that automatically threads and machines with a 0.02mm diameter wire. In 2006, the company developed High Energy Applied Technology (HEAT) for wire EDMs to increase speed in wire EDMing, and released the EDAC1 micro EDM ram machine. Makino is also the only manufacturer of a horizontal wire EDM, the UPJ-2. In 2007, Makino introduced SurfaceWIZARD wire EDM technology, designed to eliminate witness lines in stepped parts. Makino created ADVANTiGE™ Technology for the machining of titanium in 2010, which was recognized as a winner of Aviation Week's 2012 Innovation Challenge. In 2018, Makino introduced ATHENA, Makino's voice-activated technology, which is designed for machine tool users. It is intended to make humans more effective at translating, assimilating and analyzing the onslaught of big data.

References

External links

Makino official website
* {{Cite web, url=https://www.makino.com/athena, title=Voice-enabled Machine Interaction {{! Makino, website=www.makino.com, access-date=2019-06-04 Machine tool builders Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Multinational companies headquartered in Japan Manufacturing companies established in 1937 Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Japanese brands Japanese companies established in 1937 Technology companies established in 1937 Technology companies of Japan

History

Innovations

References

Further reading

External links