Largest Industry Trade Show Proves Successful for Hurco
INDIANAPOLIS-Hurco's participation in the 26th International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) held at Chicago's McCormick Place September 6-13 proved beneficial with a 35% increase in sales leads compared to IMTS 2004.
Hurco focused its energy on showing shop owners how Hurco can put them in control of productivity so they can maximize efficiency and improve their shop's bottom line. Hurco's new control software, WinMax, drew the most attention. Two-thirds of the 1,800 customers who entered the Hurco booth experienced the power of WinMax Control software by participating in a hands-on, one-on-one demonstration.
WinMax will span the entire Hurco product line of machining and turning centers as the company's standard control when it is released in early 2007. WinMax is the most significant product introduction since Hurco revolutionized the CNC machine tool industry 22 years ago with the launch of its user-friendly dual screen graphical control that brought streamlined programming to shop floors around the world.
"I was pleased to see how many customers embraced WinMax and quickly understood its value. For Hurco, WinMax will play a pivotal role in continuing to develop new technologies while taking advantage of trends in commercial technologies that enable our customers to realize measurable productivity gains," said Jim Fabris, President and COO of Hurco Companies, Inc.
WinMax provides the highest level of shop floor flexibility and software productivity tools for customers using NC or Conversational programming formats. Reduced key strokes, touch screen navigation, and interactive solid rendering of graphics, promote process improvements through software application automation that will allow Hurco customers to realize quantitative time savings.
The new WinMax Control software with solid rendering graphical programming will be released with five new software productivity packages and hundreds of Windows® related enhancements. It will run on a high performance hardware platform including 2.8 GHz Intel® Pentium® processor (CPU), 2.0 GB RAM, 40 GB hard drive, and has a USB port. Additionally, a high-speed video card for dual color touch screen LCD panels will be standard on all VMX Power of Two (VMX2) packages. One of the new package features provides the flexibility of merging NC and Conversational program segments.
The use of a Windows® based platform for the Hurco WinMax Control provides numerous benefits inherent to this time-tested operating system. Some of the benefits include streamlined upgrades and compatibility for the future, simplified file and folder naming and file/folder management improvements, intuitive USB interface, and simplified networking.
Another "best in class" attribute of the WinMax Control is the ability to extend the investments that existing Hurco customers have made, by providing them with a technology path that gives them the ability to add affordable software to existing machines. Unlike other industry controls that leave customers with software that becomes obsolete, the new WinMax Control software will have the ability to be retrofitted to most of the Hurco models that were shipped in the last five years. The WinMax retrofit kits will be available in the near future and will require minor hardware upgrades.
In addition to WinMax, Hurco introduced several new machine models including a swivel-head 5-Axis machine (VMX42SR) designed with a smaller footprint to save space on shop floors. The VMX42SR will be released with specially developed software and graphics to support simultaneous 5-Axis machining and greatly simplified 5-sided machine programming. Hurco also demonstrated one of the two new TMM slant-bed Lathe models with Live Tooling (TMM8) embedded with high performance WinMax touch-screen turning graphic simulations. Hurco will also launch the TMM10 slant-bed lathe with live tooling that has a 10" three-jaw chuck. The VMX 60 vertical machine model was demonstrated with 60" X travel, 26" Y travel and 24" Z travel. In addition to the new VMX models, TM models, and standard VMX models, enhancements were released for the VMX Power of Two (VMX²) packages and the VM models that include increases in spindle speeds, greater capacity automatic tool changers, and faster rapid traverse.
For more information about Hurco, go to www.hurco.com, call 1-800-634-2416, or send an email to info@hurco.com.
About Hurco Companies, Inc.
Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Hurco manufactures sophisticated, yet shop-floor friendly machine tools designed for virtually any application or budget. The popular VM Series and the new TM Series of lathes combine small footprints with huge work cubes and best-in-class features. The VMX Series is a production-oriented line designed for speed. The VTX/HTX Series features application machines with 5-axis and horizontal offerings. Every machining center and turning center from Hurco utilizes one of the industry's most flexible controls. Parts can be programmed on the shop floor using Hurco's easy-to-use control via conversational language or using off-line CAM generated programs. The optional UltiMax 4 control or Max Classic control provides expanded memory and network software to facilitate large CAM generated programs. Converting CAD drawings is handled with the DXF transfer software option.
About IMTS
The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), sponsored by the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) is held every even numbered year in Chicago and attracts over 85,000 buyers from 80 countries. IMTS 2006 was the 26th edition of the largest manufacturing and technology show in North America.
Contact:
Maggie Smith
Media Relations Manager
317-298-2622
smithmag@hurco.com
Hurco Companies, Inc.
o One Technology Way o
P.O. Box 68180 o
Indianapolis,
IN 46268-0180
