See CNC Machine Tending Automation. Running Live at IMTS.
Not a static display. A working cell. A full GripFlipGrip™ two-op automation cell is running parts on a Fanuc Robodrill all week at Booth #236253 in the North Building, Level 3 (Hall B, Automation Sector), right next to a live CoolantClear™ display. Reserve a 20-minute slot or walk straight over.
Not making it to Chicago? Book a live online demo instead
Bring Your Part to Chicago.
Leave With an Automation Plan.
Reserve a 20-minute slot at Booth #236253 in the North Building, Level 3 (McCormick Place, September 14 to 19). We'll walk your part through the GripFlipGrip™ cell running on the Fanuc Robodrill and show you exactly how in-machine automation fits your machine. No line, no pitch, just a working demo.
- Watch a full GripFlipGrip™ two-op cycle run live on a Fanuc Robodrill
- See CoolantClear™ clear coolant and chips on the live display
- Bring a part or a print and get a same-day fit review and automation plan
- Walk away with a custom ROI estimate based on your volumes and labor costs
Reserve Your Booth Demo Slot
Booth #236253 | North Building, Level 3 | Sept 14 to 19- 20-minute slots
- Skip the line at the booth
With a very small investment and no added floor space, we nearly doubled our CNC throughput."
Find us on the show floor
We're in the North Building, Level 3.
Booth #236253 is in the Automation Sector of Hall B. Open the live floor plan with our booth pinned, or follow the steps below from wherever you are in McCormick Place.
Gimbel Automation at IMTS 2026
Booth #236253North Building · Level 3 · Hall B
- SectorAutomation
- Hall hours10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily
- Across the aisleZimmer Group (236250), Schmalz (236244)
- VenueMcCormick Place, Chicago
The floor plan link opens the official IMTS map with our booth selected. Tap Directions there, or search Gimbel in the IMTS app, for turn-by-turn from wherever you're standing.
- Get to the North Building
All four McCormick Place buildings connect through the Grand Concourse. Follow the overhead signs for North Building / Hall B. North Building halls are open 10:00 am to 6:00 pm every show day.
- Take the escalators to Level 3 and enter Hall B
The Hall B entrance is at the Grand Concourse end of the hall, next to the connection to the South Building. Hall B holds the Automation, Gear Generation, and Abrasive Machining sectors.
- Follow the Automation Sector toward the far end
Inside Hall B, stay in the Automation Sector aisles (booths 2360xx to 2366xx) and walk about three-quarters of the way toward the far end of the hall. Rockwell Automation (236166) is in the row next to ours; MISUMI Americas (236650) and Universal Robots (236744) are a few rows past us.
- Look for the Fanuc Robodrill running parts at Booth #236253
We share a block with Roboflow (236261) and Weidmuller (236252), directly across the aisle from Zimmer Group (236250) and Schmalz (236244). If the Robodrill is cycling and there's a spinning CoolantClear™ display next to it, you're in the right place.
Trusted by industry leaders worldwide
What's Running at Booth #236253
Two live displays, one goal: show you exactly what your shop can run.
Full GripFlipGrip™ Automation Demo
A complete two-op GripFlipGrip™ cell running live on a Fanuc Robodrill: spindle gripper, AutoVise™ workholding, QuickFlip™ flip station, and part tray. Watch the machine load raw stock, machine Op1, flip, machine Op2, and unload a finished part with no operator and no external robot.
It's the same in-machine automation platform we deliver through Turnkey Direct℠, running on the same class of hardware you already own.
GripFlipGrip™ on a Fanuc Robodrill
CoolantClear™ in Action
Our CoolantClear™ rotary viewing windows are spinning on the booth display so you can watch coolant and chips clear off the glass in real time. Direct-drive, 2,500 RPM, no compressed air required, and it retrofits to the machines you already own.
Stop by, put your hand on one, and ask about introductory pricing at the booth.
CoolantClear™ Live Display
What's Running on the Robodrill: The GripFlipGrip™ Workflow
The engineering between raw stock and a finished part is the turnkey.
What you see running on the Robodrill is the finished product of our Turnkey Direct℠ process. Send us the real application after the show, not a generic equipment list, and we engineer and prove the complete load-machine-unload workflow for your part on your machine before anything ships.
- STEP file and part print
- CNC make, model, and options
- Raw stock and op sequence
- Annual volume and cycle target
- Process design, CAD layout, gripper and workholding selection
- Grippers, vises or modules, pneumatics, hosing, soft jaws, part trays
- GimCode™ tray logic, gripper paths, and machine-ready code
- Video prove-out on a test-bed CNC, then install, training, support
From Booth Conversation to Running Production
Your booth slot is step one. From there, our Proven Turnkey Process gets you running automated production without needing your own applications engineers: process design, in-house build and test, video validation, install, training, and support.
Booth Demo or Discovery Call
- Your Parts & Machine
- Live GripFlipGrip™ Demo
- Fit Review
- Automation Approach
Free Turnkey Proposal
- Full Process Design
- CAD Mockup
- Proposal Pricing
In-House Build & Test
- Process Design Finalization
- Program Template Generation
- Complete Build & Test (Off-Site)
- Process Video Demonstration
Install & Training
- Install & Testing
- Customer Training
- 3x 45 Minute Training Sessions
- Additional 3 Hours of Phone/Video Support
TECHNICAL SUPPORT & ADVISORY
HARDWARE SALES & SUPPORT
ADDITIONAL TURNKEYS & AUTOMATION
Every system is fully built and tested on a Gimbel test-bed CNC and validated on video before it ships, so what you saw running at the booth is what shows up on your floor.
The Math is Simple. The ROI is Insane.
Average shop results based on hundreds of deployed systems:
Your Expected First-Year Returns
For a Two-Op GripFlipGrip™ Semi-Turnkey Automation System, the same cell running on the Robodrill at the booth
Get YOUR custom ROI calculation at the booth, based on your exact parts, volumes, and labor costs
Every Day Without Automation Costs You $500-2,000 Per Machine
Join 1,175+ shops already running lights-out. See your ROI in 20 minutes.
Book Your Demo Now →Setup in Hours. ROI in Weeks. Running for Years.
Hear from our customers how simple, reliable automation with zero programming delivered payback in weeks and transformed their shops forever.
Brad Goddard
Revolute Machine
CJ Abraham
PPD LLC
“We chose Gimbel Automation to automate a small, intricate aerospace part with long cycle time, and it’s been amazing. The semi-turnkey approach let us hit the ground running while launching a new machine. The spindle grippers proved to be reliable, fast, and a very cost-effective alternative to a robot. We’re completely happy with the system.”
Brad Goddard
Revolute Machine
+178%
Spindle Utilization
2.1x
Revenue Per Machine
"The low cost of the gripper, plug-and-play ease of the solenoid kit, and simplicity of the two operation pallet meant that we could turn a Haas VF-2SS into a fully-contained, automated cell within a day for a fraction of the cost of integrating a cobot solution."
CJ Abraham
PPD LLC
177%
Output Increase
7.5 wks
ROI Achieved
Runs on More Than Robodrills
The Fanuc Robodrill at the booth is one example. The same platform runs on:
- Haas
- Brother
- Fanuc
- DN
- DMG Mori
- Mazak
- Smart
- Syil
- Okuma
- Matsuura
Our ROI Guarantee
We guarantee a successful automation outcome when we accept your turnkey. If we fail to automate your part through our Proven Turnkey Process, we'll refund 100% of your money.
We stand behind everything we make. All of our products can be returned for a 100% refund within 30 days of purchase (as long as you didn't crash them in the machine!). Spare parts and backup inventory are available on almost all of our products to keep you up and running.
IMTS FAQs
North Building, Level 3 (Hall B), in the Automation Sector. From the Grand Concourse, take the escalators up to Level 3, enter Hall B, and follow the Automation Sector aisles about three-quarters of the way toward the far end of the hall. We share a block with Roboflow (236261) and Weidmuller (236252), directly across the aisle from Zimmer Group (236250) and Schmalz (236244).
Open the live IMTS floor plan with our booth pinned, or see the step-by-step directions above. North Building halls are open 10:00 am to 6:00 pm daily.
Two live displays. First, a complete GripFlipGrip™ two-op automation cell running on a Fanuc Robodrill: a spindle gripper loads raw stock from a part tray into an AutoVise™, the machine runs Op1, the QuickFlip™ station flips the part, the gripper regrips and loads it for Op2, and a finished part is unloaded. No operator, no external robot.
Second, a CoolantClear™ display with rotary viewing windows spinning so you can watch coolant and chips clear off the glass in real time.
Walk-ups are welcome any time the show floor is open. A reserved 20-minute slot means an engineer is set up and waiting the minute you arrive, so you skip the line and get a focused review of your part instead of a general walkthrough.
Bring a part or a print and we'll give you a same-day fit review and automation plan.
In-machine automation uses the robot you already own: your CNC machine. A spindle gripper in the ATC handles the part, so there's no external robot, no safety fencing, and no added floor space.
Our systems are typically 8 to 14% of the cost of a robot or cobot cell, which is why customers see ROI in weeks instead of years. Programming is handled with our templates and GimCode™, so you don't need a full-time applications engineer to run it.
The Robodrill is one example. The same GripFlipGrip™ platform runs on Haas, Brother, Fanuc, DN, DMG Mori, Mazak, Okuma, Matsuura, Syil, and most other three, four, and five-axis vertical machining centers with an ATC.
Bring your machine make and model to the booth and we'll confirm fit on the spot.
It depends on the part, machine, and number of operations, but typical Turnkey Direct℠ projects look like this:
One-op turnkey: around $5,000 in hardware plus $4,500 for the turnkey, 2 to 3 weeks.
Two-op GripFlipGrip™ turnkey: around $12,000 in hardware plus $7,500 for the turnkey, 4 to 6 weeks from approved proposal to validated, ready-to-install system.
We guarantee ROI within one year on any turnkey we accept, meaning we will never build or install a system that won't pay for itself.
Your parts stay under NDA through the entire process as outlined in our Terms & Conditions, and if in-machine automation isn't the right fit for your application, we'll tell you and point you in the right direction.
Book a live online demo instead. We run the same part-and-machine review over Google Meet from our Los Angeles showroom, with live footage of the automation running on our test-bed CNCs.