Economical Automation Solution for High-Mix, Medium-Volume Jobs
With the updated JobShop Cell PRO, Methods Machine Tools offers manufacturers a multiaxis simultaneous vertical machining center with multiple end-of-arm and infeed/outfeed options. The efficiency-enhancing cell can be immediately shipped.
Posted: March 7, 2021
Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA) has reconfigured the JobShop Cell PRO, an automation solution featuring Fanuc’s RoboDrill D21SiBadv vertical machining center (VMC) and a 6-axis robot, to save manufacturers even more time. Multiple pre-engineered end-of-arm and infeed/outfeed options accommodate a wide range of high-mix, medium-volume machining applications.
A Fanuc 6-axis robot is housed in an aluminum enclosure that allows the VMC to be placed on the left or right side or in a twin cell with two machines. In the twin cell, two side-by-side machines with a Fanuc robot entering from the side of each machine gives operators full access to the front of the machines for tool changes, offsets and maintenance. Removable panels on the common enclosure allow for infeed and outfeed options including conveyors, drawers, and lazy susan-style pallet systems as well as interfaces for vibratory and other bulk feeding solutions.
The high-speed VMC offers multiaxis simultaneous machining with a 10,000- or 24,000-rpm BBT-30 spindle. Customers may choose a 3-, 4- or 5-axis machine and standard hydraulic or pneumatic workholding options. The machine features 1.3-second chip-to-chip tool change and 1.5g acceleration/deceleration. Fanuc’s 31i-B5 Nano CNC controller provides extremely fast Fanuc servo serial bus (FSSB) high-speed processing.
