“With the Hurco control, we only need to maintain the program at the machine instead of having a CAM file and a machine program.”
- Alex Okun, Owner, Etogen Scientific, San Diego, California, USA

The story of how Etogen Scientific was started illustrates the spirit of innovation that is responsible for new technology and new products that change the world.

Alex Okun, the founder and owner of Etogen Scientific, worked with a company that distributed testing equipment for aluminum cylinders—the kind of tanks that are used by firefighters and scuba divers. Alex knew there had to be a better way to test the integrity of these tanks because conventional testing methods could not provide reliable measurement of the crack width.

With degrees in both computer science and bio-chemistry, Alex put his ideas into action and created Visual Plus3. This product identifies 100% of neck and shoulder cracks, imperfections, or folds in aluminum cylinders that are used for numerous purposes including fire extinguishers, breathing apparatus for fire fighters, various medical applications, scuba diving, and many industrial purposes.

Alex started Etogen Scientific out of his house in 2003. As demand for his products increased, he moved into a 1,500 square foot facility in San Diego and then invested in his own CNC equipment so he would have more control over manufacturing and product delivery schedules.

Alex first saw a Hurco machining center at the MD&M West show. He says the integrated Hurco control and conversational programming were key factors in his decision. “With the Hurco control, we only need to maintain the program at the machine instead of having a CAM file and a machine program. Additionally, the ease of use made the learning curve less daunting.”

Alex says the performance and precision of the Hurco machine tools have proven to be excellent. He purchased a VM10 3-axis machining center and a TMM10 turning center with live tooling. He thoroughly evaluated other brands, but found the functionality of the Hurco machine tools and value/price ratio to be superior.

  
The TMM10 puts the efficiency of multi-tasking in reach for small job shops like Etogen. Not only does the TMM10 slant-bed lathe with live tooling reduce setup time, it retains accuracy because only one setup is required.




The VM10 machining center has a small footprint with a large work envelope and the swing-arm ATC makes the work envelope even bigger. The VM10 is flexible enough to meet the variety of machining needs required by Etogen.

TheHurco control is central to Alex’s process of producing new testing equipment and replacement parts for equipment in the field. In addition to manufacturing parts for the Visual Plus3 System, Etogen Scientific does custom instrument design and manufacturing for external customers. Alex relies on Hurco technology to give him the flexibility a job shop needs to produce a wide range of parts.