Our Turnkey Process

Our Proven Turnkey Process gets you running automated production without the hassle and without needing your own applications engineers. From concept, to implementation, to after-sales support, we have you covered.

  • 30 MINUTE DISCOVERY MEETING

    • About Us
    • About You
    • Your Parts
    • Our Solutions
  • FREE TURNKEY PROPOSAL

    (Understand your needs & make an automation plan)

    • Full Process Design
    • CAD Mockup
    • Proposal Pricing
  • IN HOUSE BUILD & TEST

    (Engineer & manufacture; process testing)

    • Process Design Finalization
    • Program Template Generation
    • Complete Build & Test (Off-Site)
    • Process Video Demonstration
    • Onsite Install & Testing
    • Customer Training
  • ON-SITE INSTALL & TRAINING

    (Implement at your site & train your staff)

  • TECHNICAL SUPPORT & ADVISORY

    HARDWARE SALES & SUPPORT

    ADDITIONAL TURNKEYS & AUTOMATION

    • Complete Technical Support
    • Complete Hardware Support
    • Additional Hardware Sale
    • Additional Turnkeys & Projects
    • About Us
    • About You
    • Your Parts
    • Our Solutions
    • Full Process Design
    • CAD Mockup
    • Proposal Pricing
    • Process Design Finalization
    • Program Template Generation
    • Complete Build & Test (Off-Site)
    • Process Video Demonstration
    • Onsite Install & Testing
    • Customer Training
    • Complete Technical Support
    • Complete Hardware Support
    • Additional Hardware Sale
    • Additional Turnkeys & Projects

CNC TENDING TURNKEYS: HOW IT WORKS

See how our process works beginning to end to take your current manual machine tending and fully automate it for automatic and lights-out production!

Our Guarantees

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.

Fast Implementation. Faster ROI.
Real Customer Stories.

Gimbel Automation’s in-machine automation is the fastest and most affordable path to return on investment. Read our customer stories here:

CJ Abraham | Precision Product Development

"IN THE SAME WAY I OPTION EVERY MACHINE WITH A PROBE... EVERY MACHINE I BUY WILL [GET] A GIMBEL GRIPPER"

Matt Blackwell | Blackwell Engineering

"WE MAINTAINED TOLERANCES WITHIN +/-0.00"... GIMBEL AUTOMATION'S SOLUTIONS DELIVERED FLAWLESSLY."

The Gimbel Advantage

1. FAST ROI CNC AUTOMATION

  • Our solutions are almost always 10-times more cost-effective than Robots, Cobots, or Pallet-Systems
  • With our solutions, parts go in as raw stock blanks and come off of your machine finished and ready.
  • We've made programming incredibly easy with our Program Generator and Macro Templates.

2. FULL-SERVICE TURNKEYS AVAILABLE

  • We offer Turnkeys & Semi-Turnkeys where we prove out the entire process beginning to end for you
  • We work entirely around your part, your machine, and your existing stock.
  • Unlike many other Automation Vendors and Systems Integrators, CNC Machine Tending Automation Solutions is all that we do.

3. PROGRAMMING IS EASY

  • Automatically generate one-op programs using our Online Program Generator
  • All of our products are built from the ground-up exclusively for In-Machine Automation, so programming is far simpler than other systems
  • No complex robotic or systems integrations - just easy-to-understand G-code programmed with our pre-existing systems and templates.

ALL OF OUR SOLUTIONS: AN OVERVIEW

This in-depth webinar provides a complete overview of who we are, what we do, and all the productions & solutions we offer.

FAQS

  • Since our systems are only 8-14% the cost of typical automation systems, our systems typically deliver 10x faster Return-On-Investment than competing systems.
  • In-Machine automation works using the "robot" you already have: your CNC machine. By leveraging the ATC inside of your machine, no external robotics or external systems have to be integrated.
  • In addition to selling hardware, we offer Full-Service Turnkeys and Semi-Turnkeys allowing us to guarantee a complete production outcome, rathre than just selling you hardware.
  • Robots and cobots have to be programmed manually or semi-manually, even with integrated systems. This makes these systems cumbersome to implement, especially for companies without their own full-time applications engineers. Unlike robots and cobots, our In-Machine Automation systems are incredibly easy to program using our Program Generator and programming templates.
  • We guarantee Custom Turnkey ROI within one year on any of our installed operational systems – meaning that we will NEVER install or build systems that won’t save you money.
  • We guarantee that your intellectual property will stay between you and Gimbel Automation – your parts will stay under NDA through the entire Turnkey Process.
  • We guarantee that if our System isn’t the best for you – we will point you in the correct direction. While In-Machine Automation is incredibly powerful, it isn’t always the right choice for every application.
  1. Determine the relevant operating costs of the CNC Machine you’re automating, including the number of operators currently running the machine, average annual pay per employee, and relevant overhead.
  2. Multiply the number of operators by average wages, and add any overhead costs. For instance, for a two-shift operation, this could be [2 Employees] multiplied by [$65,000 each per year] plus $25,000 in relevant removable overhead.
  3. Calculate the cost of the Displaced Labor and the eliminated relevant overhead.
  4. Calculate any additional cost saving; for instance, better employee and custom retention, lower risk of safety incidents, etc.
  5. Divide the Turnkey System cost by the annual cash flow figure (which is a total of Displaced Labor and Additional Cost Savings). For almost all Gimbel Automation Turnkeys, System ROI is between two and ten months.
  1. We design, manufacture, and sell a variety of cost-effective in-machine and external automation products, such as CNC Spindle GrippersPneumatic WorkholdingVacuum Grabbers, and Automation Pallets, which you can purchase right on our website or through one of our many distributors.
  2. We make an external loading cell that is a replacement for Robot/Cobot/Pallet-Loading, called the Conveyor-Loading System. This is available either standalone or as a Turnkey Install.
  3. We offer Full-Turnkey and Semi-Turnkey Machine-Tending Automation Services. A Full Turnkey involves our team coming on site and handling everything involved in the automation process for you. A Semi-Turnkey consists of our team designing, building, and testing an entire automation workflow at our location only. You then do the install with our detailed documentation and support.
  • In-Machine Automation differs from traditional CNC Machine Tending Automation in one key way: there is no complex robotics or pallet-changing system to buy or integrate. Instead, we leverage the robot you already have: your CNC Vertical Mill.
  • This is achieved with CNC Spindle Grippers or Vacuum Grabbers that load into your machine spindle and tool-change in the carousel just like a regular tool. This has the secondary benefit of making all programming local to the machine and executed by the machine’s control, and we’ve completely automated the process of generating this machine g-code using our Macro Templates and Program Generator.
  • In addition to removing the complex process of the machine integration, these systems are about an order of magnitude more cost-effective than Pallet-Loading or Robotic Machine Tending System.
  • We offer a full suite of Turnkey and Semi-Turnkey services - in fact, Turnkeys comprise the majority of our business and are a key differentiator between us and competing automation systems.
  • We typically start by reviewing your part and current process in-detail, and then create a mockup and detailed proposal for your review. Once you approve our proposal, we begin the Turnkey process. During a turnkey, we prove our the entire process, including CAD/CAM, fixture design, gripper fingers, and softjaws for you. We provide video validation of the turnkey operation before moving on to shipping the system (semi-turnkey) or going to your site to install (full turnkey).

We have two locations in Los Angeles, California, totalling roughly 11,000 square feet. In our Production Facility, we do "dirty" manufacturing processes such as Waterjet cutting, Powdercoating, and Beadblasting. In our Production/Showroom Facility, we manufacture hundreds of different part numbers, offer live in-person demos, and do R&D on future automation systems.

  • Of course it depends on the complexity of the part, the machine, and the implementation, but we have provided standard lead-times for our "average" turnkey projects below:
  • Two-Op 3 Axis Part Turnkey: A typical two-operation automation turnkey takes 4-6 weeks.
  • One-Op Part Turnkey: We usually have customers self-implement one-op in-machine automation, but can accomplish turnkeys in 2-3 weeks.
  • Conveyor Loading System: Our CLS units are built to order, which typically takes 4 weeks for a standard build. Installation typically takes one or two days.
  • Of course it depends on the complexity of the part, the machine, and the implementation, but we have provided standard cost "averages" below for reference:
  • Two-Op 3 Axis Part Turnkey: A typical two-operation automation turnkey costs around $12,000 for the hardware and $7,500 for the turnkey.
  • One-Op Part Turnkey: A typical one-operation automation turnkey costs around $5,000 for the hardware and $4,500 for the turnkey itself.
  • Conveyor Loading System: Our CLS units are built to order, which typically takes 4 weeks for a standard build. Installation typically takes one or two days. Base CLS pricing starts at $20,000, with fully-optioned systems ranging from $25,000-$45,000.

Discover How Gimbel’s CNC Machine Tending Automation Can Transform Your Production

THE GIMBEL AUTOMATION TEAM

  • Our Los Angeles team is fully vertically-integrated, including Engineering, Manufacturing, and System Integration.
  • Schedule a demo at either our Showroom or Production facilities in Los Angeles totaling 11,000 square feet.
  • We know how to run production - come see us run our own production using our automation systems on our equipment: two three-axis verticals, a three-axis gantry mill, a five-axis vertical, a five-axis waterjet, and fourteen 3D printers.