Methods Machine Tools, Inc., North America's foremost supplier of leading-edge precision machine tools and automation, has announced it will have one of the largest displays of machines under power and automation demonstrations at IMTS 2018 in Booth No. 339119, located in the South Hall of McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois from September 10-15, 2018. From sophisticated automation cells with robots to advanced CNC machining centers, Methods will have over 40 leading-edge solutions in action at the show. In addition, several machines from new partners Niigata, Tornos, and Ocean Technologies will be shown for the first time by Methods. Also to be unveiled at IMTS, is an important new-to-market product line for Methods Machine Tools.

 

Ten Engineered Automation Solutions will be prominently featured by Methods, including a high-speed gantry-loaded multitasking turning center, a precision wire EDM cell, a deburring / finishing operation and an automatic workpiece inspection cell. All solutions are integrated with robotic handling. In total, the Methods' Automation lineup will represent an unprecedented range of machining automation at IMTS. Methods Automation cell demonstrations are planned to showcase the extremely popular RoboDrill Job Shop Cell, a deburring, buffing and finishing process, a smart Bin Picking Cell with vision and part recognition, High Flexibility Multi-Machine EDMs, an Automatic Shearing process preparing extruded aluminum stock to length prior to feeding parts to a RoboDrill, a H?berle productivity system extending tool magazine capacity on a RoboDrill, and SCARA robots in action. Nakamura-Tome AS-200 and KIWA Triple H-40 Collaborative Robot Cells will also be featured.

 

Methods continues to expand its leading machine tool automation capabilities by providing profitable, comprehensive, high productivity solutions for manufacturers across North America. Methods designs and integrates all aspects of automation solutions and will be demonstrating one of the largest displays of Fanuc Robots at IMTS.

 

“We are looking forward to showcasing the widest range of machines and automation we have ever had at IMTS,” said Jerry Rex, President and CEO of Methods Machine Tools, Inc. "It is an unparalleled line-up of automation and machine tool technology.”

 

In addition to automation, an extensive range of advanced CNC machining centers, multitasking / turning centers and EDM machines will be demonstrated in the Methods booth.

 

CNC Machines to be featured at IMTS include:
 

  • Nakamura-Tome SC-300IIMYB High Precision Multitasking Turning Center
    Methods has been the exclusive U.S. importer of premier Nakamura-Tome Multitasking Turning Centers for 35 years, and will be showcasing several models including the Nakamura SC300IIMYB that has an extremely rugged machine structure with a massive 45-degree slant bed and box-way slides on all axes, providing the rigidity required to machine difficult, high-hardness materials with extremely high accuracy.The Nakamura-Tome SC-300IIMYB features a 3,500 rpm main spindle with a 3.5" (89 mm)  bar capacity. A large 4.7" (120 mm) Y-axis travel and 10HP milling function offers increased capacity, enabling fast machining with a cutting depth of .35" (9 mm).
  • YASDA YBM 7Ti 5-Axis CNC Horizontal Jig Borer with a 2-Position Automatic Pallet Changer
    This high precision machine features the industry's highest accuracy and performance required to machine the most difficult-to-cut materials. A unique rotary table design and exceptionally rigid machine structure provide high performance machining of heat-resistant materials, such as titanium and Inconel. To ensure extraordinary accuracy levels, the YBM 7Ti has hardened box guideways and a 10,000 rpm, 50-taper direct-drive spindle. The rotary table offers four times the rigidity compared to other rotary tables. With the unique table design, there is ample room around the pallet, which provides smooth table movements and allows operators to get a closer and clearer view of their parts.
  • FANUC Advanced Series D21SiB, D21MiB and D21LiB RoboDrills.
    For 25 years, Methods has partnered with FANUC as the importer of the world's most popular vertical milling machines. The latest generation RoboDrill Advanced models will be on display at IMTS, with fast servo motor-driven ATC’s that reduce tool-to-tool speed by almost half, an impressive extended Z-Axis stroke, optional servo door on the front and side, and much more. New tool monitoring solutions, FANUC RoboDrill-LINKi and FANUC MT-LINKi Integration servers, will be shown at IMTS. Robodrill-LINKi and MT-LINKi Integration can monitor and manage data from one to one thousand FANUC machines. Operational and production data are monitored and collected using a PC and an Ethernet connection. A variety of data points are automatically collected, including alarm history, macro variables & signal history, servo/spindle motor currents & temperatures, battery & fan status, feed rate overrides and more. 
  • FANUC CiB Series Wire EDMs feature the powerful FANUC 31i-WB control with new iHMI User Interface, advanced Automatic Wire Feeding, and a new Economy Mode for energy and wire usage savings. The CiB-Series machines burn with virtually no re-cast and the AWF2 has been enhanced to thread thicknesses of up to 20” submerged. Innovative design efficiencies such as Core-Stitch slug retention, thermal displacement compensation, a moving tank design, and 3D compensation function offer significantly increased accuracy, speed, and throughput. The FANUC RoboCut’s automatic wire tension meter and servo motor adjustment ensure accurate, straight parts. Above all, the RoboCut CiB-Series EDMs are built 100% in Japan, offering exceptional reliability for which FANUC is known worldwide.
  • KIWA Next Generation KH-4500 KAI and Triple H40 QWC Horizontal Machining Centers
    KIWA Japan has improved on its very popular KH-4500 Horizontal Machining Center (HMC), using less floor space with the new compact KAI design, while retaining large machining capacities. Now with 80M (3149 ipm) rapids and standard chilled ball screws, the New KAI model is the fastest in its machine class. Both the ATC Magazine and the APC System are fully expandable in the field, allowing adaptation to customers' growing needs. Active steel cutting demonstrations will be shown at IMTS, highlighting the machine’s multiple pallet 4 + 1 machining capabilities in addition to high chip removal rate.Also on display will be the KIWA Triple H40 with Quick Work Changer, loading and unloading work pieces using a collaborative FANUC robot. While shown as a single machine demo, the Triple H40 is designed to work in an automated multiple machine line and excels in producing high volume parts that require short cycle times. Easy-to-maintain with Armless ATC and no table guides, this HMC provides full size horizontal capabilities in a compact design.The cost-effective, highly productive KIWA-Methods KMH-300A Series Horizontals will be running live cutting demonstrations on 6-Pallet and 2-Pallet machines. With features including 20hp, BIG-PLUS 40 Taper, DDS (12,000 rpm), oil-air lubrication, and spindle chiller, the KMH-300A HMCs provide power, speed, superior surface finishing, long spindle life, and remarkable thermal stability unheard of in their class. Designed for extreme productivity, these multiple pallet HMCs will show unattended accurate single setup machining of complex work pieces without sacrificing the accuracy and precision of the finished parts.
  • Methods Machine Tools’ own line of Machining Centers making their Debut at IMTS
    The New MV 800H (15,000 rpm spindle) and New MV 1600 (12,000 rpm spindle) Vertical Machining Centers (VMC) have a 25hp BIG-PLUS 40-taper Direct Drive Spindle with Oil-Air Lubrication and Spindle Oil Chiller, providing power, speed, superior surface finishing, long spindle life and thermal stability. A rigid box-way construction in the Z-axis on the MV 800H offers superior rigidity and cutting performance. A heavy-duty 41,888 lb. MV 1600 machine construction is designed for exceptional cutting performance on large, diverse, complex parts
    The New MB 650U 5-Axis Machining Center will also be on display. Designed for high accuracy, 5-axis simultaneous machining of complex parts, the MB 650U significantly reduces the need for multiple setups. Equipped with standard linear scales on the X, Y, Z-axes, rotary scales on the B & C-axes, and thermal compensation results in stable, high precision part production. The MB 650U has a 25hp BIG-PLUS 40-taper 15,000 rpm Direct Drive Spindle with Oil-Air Lubrication and Spindle Oil Chiller for long spindle life.
  • VisionGauge Second Generation Digital Optical Comparators are drop-in replacements for traditional optical comparators and work directly with CAD data and don’t require costly overlays or templates. The advanced CAD AutoAlignTM and CAD Auto-Pass/FailTM tools eliminate operator error and can automatically collect complete electronic documentation including measurements, statistics, and pass/fail results, and produce a high resolution image of the part with its CAD overlay, directly on the shop floor.Extended Travel Digital Optical Comparators 700 Series and 500 Series will be shown, each featuring a new, larger, high resolution 53" single monitor. The 700 Series has a 24” x 24” x 24” envelope and tilt and rotary axes based in a trunnion configuration, accommodating parts weighing up to 100 lbs. VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparators are much faster, more accurate and easier to use than traditional optical comparators.