VMCs designed for medical components

Methods Machine Tools Inc. offers vertical machining centers designed for machining stainless steel, titanium and hardened tool steels to produce medical devices and components such as valve bodies and assemblies, probes, implants, dental tools and electromagnetic-interference shields. The company says its Fanuc RoboDrill Es provide high-speed milling comparable to larger machines, fast drilling and tapping, and high-speed deburring. Feedrates for these vertical machining centers are 2,362 in. per minute, rapids to 2,125 in. per minute, accelerations to 1.5 gravitational units and tool-to-tool changes at 0.9 seconds. The company says the machines have positioning accuracies of 0.0002 in. and repeatability of ±0.000080 in. Methods Machine says the Fanuc 3li-A5 Nano computer numeric controller can provide control resolution to 1 nanometer. The RoboDrill E is available in three sizes that can be equipped with 14- or 21-station tool changers and 5/7.5-horsepower, 10,000-rpm spindles or 2/5-horsepower, 24,000-rpm spindles. Options include fourth or fifth axes, coolant through spindle, a spindle measuring probe and laser toolsetters.www.methodsmachine.com