Methods Machine Tools
Machinery : Special Purpose : Tool
We combine best-in-class precision machine tools, automation solutions, engineering expertise, and lifetime service. Our focus on importing the highest-quality machine tools and machining equipment, automation, and engineering solutions, along with application expertise, is the reason many customers in numerous manufacturing sectors trust Methods to be their long-term business partner. With over 300 experts serving customers in regional technical centers located in nine cities across the United States, Methods Machine Tools can offer the solutions and service you need, whenever and wherever you need it.
Assembly Line
CNC builders look to software, machine-health data, customization and modular design
The adoption of on-machine components follows the development of more and more sophisticated hardware and software for better machine-to-machine communication. Increasingly, components are using multiple protocols, facilitating deeper communication for easier access to more in-depth data. Customers of systems integrators like Methods Machine Tools want solutions for faster and more specific data collection from any protocol, in order to boost production with predictive maintenance insight.
“The emergence of data as a tool to enable real-time decision making on the shop floor is evolving how companies run and maintain their machines,” Parenteau says. Whereas old alarms signaled the presence of an issue, detailed diagnostics can instead tell operators precisely what the issue is. For example, rather than just letting an operator know how much cutting fluid is in the tank of a CNC machine, more advanced on-machine components could tell someone the viscosity and temperature of the fluid. That information can be used to improve machining processes and resolve minor issues before they become costly problems. Coolant flow is another variable that is closely monitored in CNC machine tools, as it can have a direct impact on shop productivity or part quality, he says.