History
Makino was established in 1937 by Tsunezo Makino in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, 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 direction on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of d ...
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 In 1887, Richard Knight LeBlond founded the R. K. LeBlond Machine Tool Company in Cincinnati, Ohio to manufacture metal cutting lathes."Company: Leblond, Ltd.." Companydatabase.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2010. . The LeBlond Aircraft Engine Corpora ...
of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and the Makino Milling Machine Company of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. 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.
History
Makino was established in 1937 by Tsunezo Makino in Japan, developing Japan's first numerically controlled (NC) milling machine in 1958 and Japan's first machining centre in 1966.
The North American branch of Makino was formed thro ...
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 ''Euony ...
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
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
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
Further reading
* ''US Industry Today'
Vol 4 No.3
* ''American Machinist'
1 August 2000* ''Modern Machine Shop'
February 1991courtesy of bnet.com
* ''Business Courier of Cincinnati'
* ''Manufacturing Engineering'
June 2006 Vol. 136 No. 6* ''Automotive Design & Production'
February 2002* ''Modern Machine Shop'
* ''ThomasNET'
UPJ-2 release on September 14, 2006* ''Modern Machine Shop'
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