CNC West Feb March 2019

34 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST February/March 2019 Liberty Industries has a pair of Okuma Genos M560v vertical milling centers. They purchased the first one about four years ago and liked it so much they added a second one a few months later. This part is being held by the Chick One-Loc System on top of the Foundation grid platform . They are utilizing the capabilities of the Okuma to knurl it. They were not able to do this before getting the Okuma but both Bills tout the rigidity of the Okuma as the reason they can do it easily now. Liberty Industries in El Monte, Ca. focuses most of their efforts on the aerospace industry. Manufacturing tight tolerance, complex parts are where they really shine. From planes to tanks, they expertly service the biggest names in the industry like Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin. With 4 and 5 axis milling and a dozen turning centers they are well equipped for the challenge. “When I first started this business, I wanted nothing but Ameri- can machines,” tells Big Bill. “Liberty Industries was all Hardinge, I just wanted to buy American, and run Ameri- can parts. Back then Hardinge offered a 1” CNC for say $40,000. I kept losing job after job and I couldn’t figure out why at first. Mori Seiki was selling a 1.25” machine for 25% less. It was either join them or go broke. We started to buy Japanese machines to stay in business, but now we love what they do and keep adding more. We still buy Haas machines too. They offer a lot of value for the money. It is because of their price point that we were able to make the step up to 5 axis machining without going broke.” Co- incidentally the added business from the 5 axis is what allowed Liberty to be able to purchase their first Okuma vertical mill from Gosiger the local Okuma distributor. Big Bill has always been one to offer something differ- ent than what the other shops might have. It started way back in the 80’s when he bought a Mori Seiki ZL25 lathe. “It has 6’ between centers. I could turn a full size person in that thing if I wanted to,” touts Big Bill. “It has a 2- 5/8th hole through the spindle so we can bar feed the whole