First Kirklees College Engineering Centre event sees Hurco put on a show

The event was the first of its kind to be held within the new CNC machining department that forms part of the Kirklees College Engineering Centre on Turnbridge Road, Huddersfield. According to Hurco, of particular interest to all visitors was the Hurco VM10Ui machining centre, with its compact footprint and full 5-axis machining capability. The demonstration was able to show how easily conversational programming could be used to make a complex, 5-sided component, without the use of an external CADCAM system. Throughout the day, many students, who are part-way to becoming machine operators, took time to get involved with cutting demonstrations. Others were also enthusiastic to learn about manufacturing methods that they will experience when they move into industry. Visitors were a mixture of experienced Hurco users, keen to see the latest technology, and engineering businesses local to Huddersfield wanting to understand how the joint venture between Hurco and Kirklees College can benefit their apprentices. Although no orders were placed on the day, sales quotations resulted from every discussion. Cliff Hodgkinson, northern area sales manager for Hurco, summed up his experience: "The Open Day proved to be a huge success. "There is clearly a very active manufacturing base around Huddersfield and we are looking forward to doing an increasing number of demonstrations and training events at this facility. "Furthermore, I now have several new enquiries that we anticipate will result in machine sales over the coming weeks".