Looking to pull the trigger on a compact Brother Speedio this month.
I'm part of a small non-profit engineering team (5+) doing full-size humanoid telepresence robotics; we need to control our leadtimes as we have tight schedule arcs. Plan is get small/medium 1-off parts done in-house and outsource large/high-qty parts.
Space is limited because we haven't yet committed to the cost and geographic-cascade of a dedicated workshop. The garage door is standard-small; 2.4m (94in) wide by 2.1m (83in) high. The floor is tight, wall-to-wall; 2.7m (106in) wide by 5.8m (228in) deep. With a small space like this I have to consider the direction at which the forklift can carry the machine as that constrains install positions (even the forklift width can matter).
The smallest Speedios (floor area) seem to be the S300X2 (1.08m X 2.46m) and M200X3 (1.28m X 3.87m), with the next size-step up adding S500X2 (1.56m X 2.2m), M300X3 (1.52m X 3.87m), F600X1 (1.8m X 2.47m).
Workholding interface is a key factor. The SX2/FX1 (3-axis) machines have conventional tables (600mm X 400mm). The MX3 machines (5-axis) have a ISO702-4 #5 round-nose (140mm dia M200X3, 170mm dia M300X3) for the turning spindle.
Question 1: do we prioritize the versatile machining+turning of the M200X3 and accept limited workholding (most of our parts are small) or prioritize the flexible workholding-area of the S300X2 and accept the base 3-axis machining?
Question 2: do we have enough space for any of the 3 bigger machines?
Options we like:
Dual Contact (Big Plus) 16K rpm Spindle
Manual Pulse Generator (MPG)
Tool Setter/Breakage Detector
Automatic Oil, Automatic Grease
Top Cover (standard on MX3)
Mist Collector
Head Coolant Nozzles
Chip Shower (required on M200X3)
Higher-Capacity ATC (standard on MX3)
Coolant Thru Spindle (CTS/TSC), Cyclone Filter (unsure)
LED Light (unsure, how quality are their LEDs)
A Axis Clamp (only on MX3) (unsure)
High Accuracy Mode BII
Spindle Airflow solenoid (unconfirmed avail) (can be added manually by installing to on-machine PLC)
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Reference Links:
MX3: Specifications | M300X3/M200X3 | Machine Tools | Brother
SX2: Specifications | S700X2/S500X2/S300X2 |Machine Tools|Brother
FX1: Specifications | F600X1 | Machine Tools | Brother
M200X3 workholding: https://youtu.be/bBbO5KbelQw?t=21
M300X3 turning: https://youtu.be/P09hd8SRpWU?t=8
I'm part of a small non-profit engineering team (5+) doing full-size humanoid telepresence robotics; we need to control our leadtimes as we have tight schedule arcs. Plan is get small/medium 1-off parts done in-house and outsource large/high-qty parts.
Space is limited because we haven't yet committed to the cost and geographic-cascade of a dedicated workshop. The garage door is standard-small; 2.4m (94in) wide by 2.1m (83in) high. The floor is tight, wall-to-wall; 2.7m (106in) wide by 5.8m (228in) deep. With a small space like this I have to consider the direction at which the forklift can carry the machine as that constrains install positions (even the forklift width can matter).
The smallest Speedios (floor area) seem to be the S300X2 (1.08m X 2.46m) and M200X3 (1.28m X 3.87m), with the next size-step up adding S500X2 (1.56m X 2.2m), M300X3 (1.52m X 3.87m), F600X1 (1.8m X 2.47m).
Workholding interface is a key factor. The SX2/FX1 (3-axis) machines have conventional tables (600mm X 400mm). The MX3 machines (5-axis) have a ISO702-4 #5 round-nose (140mm dia M200X3, 170mm dia M300X3) for the turning spindle.
Question 1: do we prioritize the versatile machining+turning of the M200X3 and accept limited workholding (most of our parts are small) or prioritize the flexible workholding-area of the S300X2 and accept the base 3-axis machining?
Question 2: do we have enough space for any of the 3 bigger machines?
Options we like:
Dual Contact (Big Plus) 16K rpm Spindle
Manual Pulse Generator (MPG)
Tool Setter/Breakage Detector
Automatic Oil, Automatic Grease
Top Cover (standard on MX3)
Mist Collector
Head Coolant Nozzles
Chip Shower (required on M200X3)
Higher-Capacity ATC (standard on MX3)
Coolant Thru Spindle (CTS/TSC), Cyclone Filter (unsure)
LED Light (unsure, how quality are their LEDs)
A Axis Clamp (only on MX3) (unsure)
High Accuracy Mode BII
Spindle Airflow solenoid (unconfirmed avail) (can be added manually by installing to on-machine PLC)
---
Reference Links:
MX3: Specifications | M300X3/M200X3 | Machine Tools | Brother
SX2: Specifications | S700X2/S500X2/S300X2 |Machine Tools|Brother
FX1: Specifications | F600X1 | Machine Tools | Brother
M200X3 workholding: https://youtu.be/bBbO5KbelQw?t=21
M300X3 turning: https://youtu.be/P09hd8SRpWU?t=8