What is the shallowest Brother S3/5/700xd1 installation you can get away with?

[crossthread82]

All,

I'm looking at getting two S500xd1 with 27k spindles and the 100L coolant tank. The area these machines would sit backs up to a wall and I have about 9ft from my aisle way to the wall (~110in). Is that going to be enough room behind the machine? I can't have the machine stick out any further into the aisle, I'm already pushing it. If it is enough room can I get away with the 150 or 200L tank? (I optioned the 100L since its smaller.)

Thanks

 

[DavidScott]

I have a 650 about 20" from a wall. I can still get in the cabinet but it makes getting the chips out a bit difficult and cleaning the tank a real PITA. 150 liter tank.

Now that I am in my shop the back of the door is 19.5" from the wall. There is enough room to work in the cabinet, but the coolant tank is really in the way. I have it this way so I have 28" from the front of the machine to a wall. A Harry Homeshop chip auger with a remote coolant tank is in my future.

 

[GiroDyno]

I'd be concerned about getting chips out if you don't have a conveyor back there.
Aside from installation you likely won't need to get into the electrical cabinet fir a very long time...

 

[Finegrain]

My S700 with 150L tank is 18" from the shop wall to the back wall of the coolant tank, 30" from the wall to the back of the cabinet. I can get into the cabinet OK, but it's not pleasant:



Regards.

Mike

 

[Vancbiker]

I get that sometimes you gotta what you gotta do, but putting electrical cabinet access less than 3 feet from a wall is an OSHA violation. Also a PITA in the event a tech or even yourself has to do some work in there.

 

[DavidScott]

crossthread82, I strongly suggest doing time studies on how much time the 27k spindle will save you over the 16k. I have the 16k spindle and generally run out of feeding headroom before spindle speed. When working with small cutters you often need the paths to be within .002"-.005" or so deviation, which requires using an accuracy mode, which really slows the machine down when doing path changes, not just corners. I was really surprised/disappointed in how little time I saved going from 10k to 16k with the same chiploads as I learned how to use my new machine. This is whether I am cleaning out a corner with a 1/32" mill, chamfering edges @ 500ipm, or engraving with a .05" ball mill. In Brother's defense, it puts much less stress on the machine so I do expect it will decrease wear and tear.

 

[crossthread82]

If my napkin math is correct it would leave me about 28-30" from back of cabinet to the wall. So should be similar to what Finegrain showed above. So I may be able to swing for the 150L tank. I understand that It'll be kind of a PITA but its either this or nothing unfortunately. A chip conveyor would be nice but they seem kind of bulky and I don't have the space in between/beside the machines for the chip bin.

 

[Ox]

I get that sometimes you gotta what you gotta do, but putting electrical cabinet access less than 3 feet from a wall is an OSHA violation. Also a PITA in the event a tech or even yourself has to do some work in there.

Well, if someone is puting this in their garage, OSHA isn't in the pigture.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Vancbiker]

Well, if someone is puting this in their garage, OSHA isn't in the pigture.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Umm, yeah, that’s sorta why I said “sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do”.

I don’t know if the OP is planning this for his garage or employer. Since the discussion started with installing 2 new machines it doesn’t feel like a one man show starting out in a garage. Could be, but not mentioned yet.

Guess my post is as much conjecture as yours.

 

[gustafson]

My S700 is narrower than it is deep and I have it at a right angle to the aisle. It could have been slammed up against the wall that way but I didn't need the space

 

[Garwood]

The question should not be "How close to the wall can I put a Brother?" It should be "Do I hate myself enough to put it less than 3 feet from the wall?"

 

[2outof3]

The S500 is kind of a square. You can always turn it 90 degrees. You just need to change out the side panel screws with thumb screws and give yourself enough room to get your arm in. No real tech needs from the side.

 

[Ox]

2/3 lives!


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[crossthread82]

Umm, yeah, that’s sorta why I said “sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do”.

I don’t know if the OP is planning this for his garage or employer. Since the discussion started with installing 2 new machines it doesn’t feel like a one man show starting out in a garage. Could be, but not mentioned yet.

Guess my post is as much conjecture as yours.

You'd be correct in assuming this isn't for my garage lol. However based on reasons that I can't disclose we get to bend some of the osha rules slightly. Our shop sorta looks like you used the nest function in your CAD software to fit everything in like a big jigsaw puzzle.

The question should not be "How close to the wall can I put a Brother?" It should be "Do I hate myself enough to put it less than 3 feet from the wall?"

I guess I'm going to have to hate myself lol. These machines would replace two machines that are also a nats hair away from the wall. So the PITA learning curve won't exactly be a blind side. Just want to make sure that what I'm picturing in my head is actually do able, with the understanding that it isn't 100% ideal.

The S500 is kind of a square. You can always turn it 90 degrees. You just need to change out the side panel screws with thumb screws and give yourself enough room to get your arm in. No real tech needs from the side.

That would be a good solution, however with our current layout if I turn the machines sideways I won't be able to access the front to run them. I could compromise and get a single s700 and turn it 90 degrees, but since it would be replacing two spindles I'd rather replace them with two spindles.

 

[DavidScott]

I got 2 rotaries, a spindle probe, and a tool setter so there was a bit to install in the cabinet. The install techs said it was fine and that my offer to move it forward to give them more room wasn't needed. With the coolant tank behind the machine access is a lot harder but not to the point of moving it.

 

[hi-fly-cnc]

I suspect you really really want the bigger coolant tank? Especially if you get CTS... Bigger tank means more room for chips and slightly less frequent emptying...

They are quite light machines and you could skate them out easily if you really needed access (say new electrical work)

 

[gustafson]

IF you gave us more specifics on your space you might get better answers.

 

[crossthread82]

IF you gave us more specifics on your space you might get better answers.

The depth from the aisle to the wall is 110 inches and the spot is about 15ft wide. So that's enough width for two s500's w/ approximately 18-24" in between the two. The righthand side of that area is boxed in by another machine, but the left hand side is open to another aisle way. So getting behind in between the wall isn't a huge pain. Currently two Hurco VM5i's reside there.

 

[crossthread82]

I suspect you really really want the bigger coolant tank? Especially if you get CTS... Bigger tank means more room for chips and slightly less frequent emptying...

They are quite light machines and you could skate them out easily if you really needed access (say new electrical work)

Since we were planning to get 27k spindle CTS isn't an option. So tank size is mostly boiling down to what will fit, though yes I would prefer to have the larger tank, just for the sake of getting the larger chip pan.

 

[Wsurfer]

I would only add...
If your doing aluminum with that small tank, your going to spend a lot of time back there shoveling chips given the rate the Brother can spit them out.