Methods Machine Tools, Inc.

The FANUC RoboCut iE Wire EDM series features a new power supply for accurate and efficient cutting performance in challenging materials, the company says.

Methods Machine tools offers the Feeler line of VMCs, which are manufactured by Fair Friend Group.

Methods Machine Tools’ Nakamura-Tome Super NTMX multitasking turn-mill machining center features dual, 24-tool ATC magazines.

Methods Machine Tools (Sudbury, Massachusetts) has announced that it is now the exclusive North American importer of Fair Friend Group’s (FFG) Feeler line of machine tools.

Although automated manufacturing cells typically consist of standard products such as CNC machine tools, robots, pallets and cell control software, almost all of these systems rely on inventive concepts developed for the particular application. These "good ideas" often account for the outstanding productivity and flexibility of these systems. This article looks at several of the "good ideas" that characterize a cell comprised of seven wire EDM units and a robot on a rail transfer unit.

Methods Machine Tools’ Nakamura-Tome Super NTMX multitasking turn-mill offers dual 24-tool ATC magazines. Full five-axis milling capability via a Fanuc 31iA5 control is said to provide high precision and accuracy for manufacturing complex contoured components in large or small volumes for the medical, aerospace and similar industries.

Designed for small-lot production of complex parts, Methods Machine Tools’ Matsuura five-axis VMCs feature Cublex technology. This technology integrates turning and grinding functions into a single, high-performance milling platform to deliver speed, power, accuracy, increased tool capacity and multi-process machining capabilities, the company says.

The six 30-taper machine tools in one Northeastern shop are used for more than just drilling holes and performing secondary operations. The small-footprint equipment is also used to machine parts complete from titanium and other challenging materials.

Methods Machine Tools’ JobShop Cell is designed for job shops with small to medium lot sizes. The fully integrated production cell combines the drilling, tapping and milling capability of a RoboDrill VMC with a fully interfaced Fanuc six-axis robot for automated loading and unloading.

“Given the economy we’re in right now, the solid number of attendees and their high level of interest in KIWA-Japan machines indicates that our series of Demo Days was a success,” says Scott McIver, chairman and vice president of product development at Methods Machine Tools Inc. Methods, a supplier of precision machine tools, is the exclusive importer of KIWA-Japan HMCs and VMCs in North America.

Migrating from short-run jobs and prototyping to tackling complex defense compartment components during the past few decades has kept business humming at Proteus Manufacturing. However, increased business led to new production challenges. With a single Kiwa HMC from Methods Machine Tools that can perform the work of three of the shop’s other machines, Proteus has realized substantial cycle time savings and incorporated “lights-out” operations.

The compact Kiwa-Japan KH-41 HMC is 60. 2" (1,530-mm) wide and can handle a variety of workpieces, providing an ideal entry-level factory automation solution, the company says. The HMC has a full rotary B axis and can be installed in the same space as a vertical machine.

The Fanuc iMed wire EDM is designed for continuous production of parts such as aerospace components, medical instruments and implants. It uses brass wire (0. 004" to 0.

The entry-level Nakamura-Tome TW-8 multitasking turn-mill center from Methods Machine Tools is said to reduce cycle times. An opposed, two-spindle, two-turret construction allows the centers to perform like two single spindle machines within a compact footprint, the company says. The system features a Fanuc 31iA control that offers standard conversational programming.

The heavy-duty Fanuc RoboDrill eco VMC offers high-speed milling, drilling, tapping, deburring and chamfering. The machine is named for its ecological spindle that returns energy to the machine in the intervals between cutting. It has a working cube of 19.

The Nakamura-Tome multitasking turning center is said to offer 100-percent stock-on turning and machining that virtually eliminates lost productivity from tool changes. The Super NTY3 has three turrets, each with a Y axis—all in a relatively small footprint (109. 45" × 77.

Automated, lights-out production has enabled this manufacturer to take on a large number of low-volume jobs for various industries. With a wide variety of work, minimizing setup times is key to the shop’s success. Multi-pallet, four- and five-axis Matsuura machines supplied by Methods Machine Tools have enabled the shop to not only keep setup times low, but also meet customer demand for nearly error-free production runs.

Having implemented robotic systems in the sheet metal side of its business, this Nevada-based shop wanted to obtain similar automation systems for its CNC machining operations. The Fanuc JobShop Cell from Methods Machine Tools has reduced both costs and cycle times on one of the shop’s most important jobs.

The theme of visibility in manufacturing finds expression in numerous ways at this shop. One of the most conspicuous is the use of plasma displays in strategic areas to summarize the company’s performance as reported by its shop control/data-collection system.

The FANUC DDR/B from Methods Machine Tools is a rotary fourth axis designed specifically to complement the speed and versatility of the FANUC RoboDrill VMC. By eliminating the positioning delays of traditional rotary tables, it reduces part cycle times. The fourth axis can unclamp, rotate 180 degrees and reclamp in less than 0.

Methods Machine Tools is now the exclusive North American importer of HMCs and VMCs from Kiwa-Japan, a machine tool builder headquartered in Nabari, Japan. The Kiwa line of machining centers and spare parts are available at each of the seven Methods Technology Centers and Methods distributors located across the U. S.

The Nakamura-Tome WY-250 multi-tasking turn/mill center from Methods Machine Tools features an opposed two-spindle, two-turret construction with upper and lower Y-axis capability for milling and drilling simultaneously on both turrets. It also has a Super Mill drivetrain that produces high horsepower and torque for

This shop specializing in small-scale parts says successfully machining tiny features into tiny workpieces is less about technology and more about technique.

The PCD Edge system allows the profiling of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutting tools using a Fanuc iD series wire EDM machine. The system consists of programming/probing/cutting software; a microfinish power supply/generator for cutting PCD; a Hirschmann rotary axis; a machine-mounted Renishaw probe; and a tool clamping system.

According to the company, the Super NTY3 multitasking turning center offers stock-on turning and machining that virtually eliminates productivity lost as a result of tool changes. Three turrets, each with a Y axis, allow complete turning/machining/finishing in one pass to reduce cycle times.

Fanuc has redesigned its iD series wire EDMs. Available from Methods EDM, the machines are designed to delivery high cutting speeds and accuracy as well as quality surface finish for the production of orthodontic braces, joint replacement components, surgical knives, needles, clamps and other medical instruments.

The PCD Edge System is said to allow quick and precise profiling of PCD cutting tools using a Fanuc iC series wire EDM. Available from Methods EDM, the system consists of programming/probing/cutting software, a micro-finish power supply for cutting PCD, a Hirschmann rotary axis, a Renishaw probe (mounted on the EDM) and a tool-clamping system.

More unattended machining was one of the benefits of this shop's move from four-axis to five-axis machines.

This collection of hole making-technologies offers some new, unusual and overlooked ways to make holes in machined parts. One of these tools might be the solution you're looking for. All of them will help you rethink your approach to hole making.

With twin spindles and four turrets, the Nakamura-Tome WTW-150 is said to turn even complex precision parts relatively quickly, all in one setup. Independent slides, 13 controlled axes, equal left and right machining and 48 stations of flexible tooling are some of the product’s features.

The multi-tasking Nakamura-Tome Super NTJ turning center completes multi-face angular machining and contour milling in a single setup, eliminating the need to refixture the part on another machine to perform secondary operations. Features include a 5,000-rpm, 20-hp left-side spindle; a 5,000-rpm, 15-hp right-side spindle and a dodecagonal 24-station lower turret for both left and right spindles.

Maier CNC Swiss turning centers provide start-to-finish machining (simultaneous turning and milling/drilling) in one operation. ML ProLine machines are available in five different series with configurations ranging from four axes with up to 11 tools to 11 axes with up to 30 tools.

The additional rotary milling axis on these machines allows them to complete many types of complex parts in a single setup, but these machines have gained a reputation for being difficult to program. Today’s CAM software, however, eases the programming challenge significantly.

These shop founders focused on what they knew rather than what they had heard about economic conditions when they established their business in October 2000. Their knowledge included the conviction that wire EDM could become the shop’s primary machining process.

This contract shop is committed to difficult jobs. The shop often takes on a job without knowing how the part will be made.

This shop doesn’t know what parts it will machine tomorrow, but it has a good idea who its customers will be well into the future.

To manufacture large quantities of similar parts, a Georgia machine shop has found that wire EDM is the ideal process.

This shop finds the process practical, productive and predictable, an indispensable technology that supports all of its manufacturing capability.

Efficient use of labor is a primary goal of unattended machining. To successfully reduce process intervention, all of the manufacturing disciplines must participate. Accomplishing this requires detailed pre-process planning, which is the key to optimizing machine, material and manpower resources.

“Smart” machine tools. Spindles reaching 60,000 rpm. Affordable robots for load/unload.

A shop discusses some of the ways that EDM solves problems and creates opportunities in parts manufacturing. Wire EDM, ram EDM, and small-hole EDM all play a key role.