Product quality comes with greater focus at Mazak
Product quality, in its most basic sense, means giving customers what they want. But Mazak goes beyond that by being able to anticipate and quickly meet the requirements of an ever-evolving marketplace. In fact, the company manufactures its machine tools to meet today’s real-time specifications, but it can also turn manufacturing operations on a dime to meet those of tomorrow.
Inside the company’s ISO 9001:2008 North American Manufacturing Plant, a forward-thinking Production-On-Demand (POD) manufacturing approach makes collaboration with customers on special machine requirements possible.
The approach gives the flexibility to quickly react to market changes, as well as increase the quality and customization of products – all in real time. And, because POD allows to keep work-in-process to a minimum, it can ensure the company’s new machines always feature the industry’s most advanced and dependable components and systems.
For example, Mazak’s new UNIVERSAL Series of simple but innovative milling and turning machines. Consisting of VERTICAL CENTER UNIVERSAL (VCU), HORIZONTAL CENTER UNIVERSAL (HCU) and QUICK TURN UNIVERSAL (QTU) machines, this three-family, highly diverse series makes it easy for shops to find the most 
relevant technology balance for their manufacturing needs at the lowest possible operating costs.
With UNIVERSAL Series production, the process starts with a simple modular design concept and apply it to a common-castings platform. And from there, outfit of the machine can be done to the customer’s liking, depending on the model type. Selectable features and functions include spindles of various maximum speeds, second spindles, Y-axis functionality, upper turrets with rotary tool milling and more.
During the production of these UNIVERSAL machines, or any Mazak machine for that matter, design and manufacturing teams closely work together, so that the focus remains on the processes and quality control. Every machine component, from the spindle headstock to the X-axis way cover to the CNC, must be operating to the exact engineering specifications promised to a customer.
The fact that UNIVERSAL machines is build on a concept of modularization makes testing individual ‘units’ (spindles, tool changers, turrets, etc) possible prior to final assembly. Once assembled, each and every machine is put through a stringent final testing process. If any aspect of the finished machine does not meet rigorous reliability standards, it doesn’t leave the factory.
Overall, Mazak takes great pride in the quality and reliability of its machines and have complete confidence they will exceed customers’ expectations – today, tomorrow and always. And because the company wants is customers to have the same level of assurance when making a Mazak machine purchase, they back their equipment with a variety of world-class warranty and support services.
