I have had my Brother S1000 now for just over 6 months. It was installed in October of last year and I thought I would follow up on my experiences so far with the machine. I just looked while the machine is running and it has 168 hours of operation time. Barely broken in! (12hrs of that was spindle break in program!)
Experiences with the machine:
So far I have loved the machine. It is FAR more machine than I need right now for my business, but I bought it with the intention of growth and plan on using the machine to leverage that growth. The monthly payment is terrifying (I have never had debt for my business as a rule) and I have had a few sleepless nights because of it, but the machine has always cranked out the work I give it with gusto.
The whole experience has been a steep learning curve, this was MY first new machine purchase. I have been involved in several new machine purchases, but only from the shop machinist side. This experience was a real surprise for me, mostly it pointed out my ignorance on many levels! Two previous new machines I experienced came in from the manufacturer, were wired, leveled, and were ready to run. The Brother came in as a blank slate, the options were added and installed, and since I have been tweaking the machine in with changing (or wanting to) change different parameters and small features. Since I have learned, the previous company I worked at, all of those little details were part of the PO. Parameters and features were all set from the factory, the machine was setup and run, tested and proven on the factory floor before shipping. Guess you can do that when your a multi billion dollar company
As everyone knows these machines are lightning fast. I still cringe when I start a program from yesterday and press go for the first time at rapid of 5. Now that I have become accustomed to the machine.... 3 is boringly slow. Tool life has been pretty fantastic, but on the flip side about 90% of my endmills in the cabinet are now useless because they simply won't hold up to the feeds and speeds that I want to run. It is also now MUCH MORE evident the quality of a tool. In my old CNC, you could throw about anything in it and get a repeatable part. Surface finish sucked all around, so it did not really matter if it was a meltin or a CGS. I ran a small job a month or so ago that the CGS endmill I was using would give a beautiful surface finish, for about 4-5 parts, sometimes a brand new endmill wouldn't cut for crap. Once the surface finish started to go south I would replace the endmill, the cutting edges were still sharp as a new tool to touch.
This has also been a steep learning curve for speeds and feeds. I thought I was pretty good and now I feel like a complete amateur again. I am lost wandering around experimenting, trying this and that, grasping at straws trying to dial in certain tools. I use HSM Advisor on many of my setups but at times am shocked and bewildered at the feeds and speeds given at times. Both ways, sometimes it seems WAY too slow, sometimes WAY too fast. Sometimes I ignore the advisor, sometimes I ignore the manufacturers recommendation, typically I use whichever is faster
One aspect I would like to report on which isn't a complaint, but really more of a "here is my experience" is the relative accuracy of the machine. I do not want anyone to get hot and bothered about this, it is just my observation. For a job shop, if your doing one piece work, with high accuracy, it can be challenging to get good results. Part of what I have been dialing in is the accuracy between pieces. I often find that between jobs the offsets vary to try and get a good part. So for example, for the first job tool 7 has a length offset of -.0007" to get the part to correct dimension, the next job it might be -.0035, and the next it might be -.0002. Same goes for diameter offsets. What I have been struggling with, and trying to determine cause, because it really throws me for a loop, is the differences are repeatable and CONSTANT. For that first job that I had -.0007" offset, if I run 10 or 100 of those parts, ignoring tool wear, the offset will stay the same. If I remeasure a new tool, that offset will stay the same and be consistent. If I run the machine for 10 hours, and the shop is 85 degrees and come in the next morning shop is 65 and press go, part is perfect, no variance.
So for most of my products, I knock out two or three pieces quick to adjust offsets, tossing the $1 or $3 worth of scrap in the bin is no big deal. But when I have a customers $500 piece of A11 in the vise, it is a different story. When the tolerances are a tight, it can be a bit nerve racking. Holes always seem to be on size once adjusted, location can be a bit of an issue if the tolerances are tight.
When I got the machine, I had been told to get the BrotherComm software. This is absolutely an amazing, and simple, piece of software. I have days where I run 10 to 15 different setups and parts, and post out the programs, sometimes with changes, can be upwards of 30 times a day. This software should be industry standard! Literally drag and drop, BOOM the program is on the control.
A few recommendations I would give to Brother, as a small shop, Job Shop, type:
Applications/machine setup training time. Typically with your Brother you get two days of training. I got basically one day, the office I use was horribly short staffed because most of their techs were out doing installs, several in other regions of the country. The applications engineer that is the head of the service department actually came down, as a favor, to do my training and get me up and running. What I really would like from Brother to offer, is some classes or training time on the finer points of the machine. How to better utilize the technology the machine has to offer. I feel like right now I am in the second grade using the machine. I know there is a ton of capability there, I don't know how to use or implement it. I would love to be using tool break detect, in process probing, better using the Accuracy modes, which I have come to find out DO affect part geometry even at lower feeds and speeds. While many would say, that is YOUR job, and I do not disagree, at a big shop we had people that did all these aspects as a part of their job. For me, I have to find the time to fit LEARNING about this stuff, before I can implement. With my old machine, that wasn't much of a problem. I had TONS of time while the machine was running to learn about something and implement it. With the Brother, it is SO fast, I rarely have time to accomplish much. This forum has been CRITICAL to learning and developing. So while I will probably beat up my office for another day of training, it would be GREAT if Brother offered a 1 day, 2 day, 3 day class for owners to learn about various topics.
Another improvement that I would like to see on the Brother is tool cleanliness. As noted above, I only have 168 hours of operation and yet, my tooling already has noticeable marking from debris being clamped in the spindle with the tool. I would really like to see the spindle blow the tool off as it comes OUT of the spindle to remove coolant as well as before it goes IN the spindle.
For someone that does a LOT of setups compared to run time, the Renishaw probing is lacking. The programs provided are nice, I wound up re-writing different programs for various common functions I use on a regular bases, but keying through the program to rapidly setup a piece is time consuming. The interface that Mazaks, Doosan's, and others have, are a lot quicker, even though I know they run off essentially the same program.
My only real complaint that I REALLY REALLY do not like about my Brother is the table. I have no idea what they make these tables out of, but it is more like aluminum than steel. I have scratched and dented this table more than any machine I own. I can take a shop towel and wipe chips off of it and put scratches into the surface. Dropping a SMALL part from vise height will put in a ding that needs stoned out. Tightening a tailstock or fixture down will disrupt material at the clamping point. I am considering putting in a subplate just to protect the accuracy of the table. At least I can swap the subplate out!
A few other operational comments.
Blaser Blows.... do I need to say anything else?
I went with Blaser because that is what my local Yamazen office uses, and after finding out that Semi-Synthetic and Synthetic coolants "void" the warranty, I really did not have any other options in mind. When I first started running the Blaser I was pretty happy with it. I have run machines dry my whole life but was looking to forward to having coolant for the first time at my shop. I was pretty happy with it until the first time I tore down my brand new Orange vise and found it rusted and pitted. And then I took my stop off the table and found a darkened and discolored mark where my stop was. Then I found my Kurt rusted. When my sales person came out and took pictures and samples, the response was, they have never seen anything like it before. They wound up sending me a different grade of coolant that is supposed to be better, and for the $300 a 5gal bucket it had better be gold!
When I first bought the Brother, during install the tech found an alarming issue. When my air compressor fired up, it dropped the voltage to where the Brother would alarm out. I bought what was convenient and available. A two stage Kobalt, "US MADE" air compressor. I was really happy with it when I got it, quiet, really dry, it worked well. 6 months later, it had gotten so loud I had moved it out to the garage. The oil in the head was BLACK with silver flakes. LOTS of silver flakes. Oil was dripping out from the head from the rear shaft seal. I was just waiting for it to grenade (I was kinda wishing it did). I thought what the hell, and called up the Kobalt warranty hotline. Fully expecting a line of BS. They said NO PROBLEM, call this company and they will take care of it. The service guy drove 45 minutes to my shop and installed a BRAND NEW pump head. He recommended not having the air compressor in the cold, and more frequent oil changes. I had to laugh, the paper work I got with it said to change the oil yearly. He asked how often I ran it... probably average 20hrs a week. He said, ok, change your oil every 3 months. 3 MONTHS! So if I actually USE the air compressor I need to change it every 3 months! He just laughed and said that these compressors were meant to air up tires once a month, pump up a bike tire, or basketball.
I want to wrap this up by saying that I absolutely LOVE my Brother. I have had ZERO issues with the new Brother, something that cannot be said for the Dodge 2500 I purchased last July I am excited to push MYSELF to the limit, as I am really holding the machine back. It has absolutely been kicking my butt, staying ahead of me programing, sourcing, quoting work, supplying material and tooling, the thing is an animal. With any luck, at the end of this month I will secure my FIRST contract for supplying a customer with a part long term. I couldn't have done it (and made money) without the Brother. I still walk into the shop and smile when I start it up, and I do not think I will EVER get over the look on someone's face the first time they see it run at FULL speed.
Experiences with the machine:
So far I have loved the machine. It is FAR more machine than I need right now for my business, but I bought it with the intention of growth and plan on using the machine to leverage that growth. The monthly payment is terrifying (I have never had debt for my business as a rule) and I have had a few sleepless nights because of it, but the machine has always cranked out the work I give it with gusto.
The whole experience has been a steep learning curve, this was MY first new machine purchase. I have been involved in several new machine purchases, but only from the shop machinist side. This experience was a real surprise for me, mostly it pointed out my ignorance on many levels! Two previous new machines I experienced came in from the manufacturer, were wired, leveled, and were ready to run. The Brother came in as a blank slate, the options were added and installed, and since I have been tweaking the machine in with changing (or wanting to) change different parameters and small features. Since I have learned, the previous company I worked at, all of those little details were part of the PO. Parameters and features were all set from the factory, the machine was setup and run, tested and proven on the factory floor before shipping. Guess you can do that when your a multi billion dollar company
As everyone knows these machines are lightning fast. I still cringe when I start a program from yesterday and press go for the first time at rapid of 5. Now that I have become accustomed to the machine.... 3 is boringly slow. Tool life has been pretty fantastic, but on the flip side about 90% of my endmills in the cabinet are now useless because they simply won't hold up to the feeds and speeds that I want to run. It is also now MUCH MORE evident the quality of a tool. In my old CNC, you could throw about anything in it and get a repeatable part. Surface finish sucked all around, so it did not really matter if it was a meltin or a CGS. I ran a small job a month or so ago that the CGS endmill I was using would give a beautiful surface finish, for about 4-5 parts, sometimes a brand new endmill wouldn't cut for crap. Once the surface finish started to go south I would replace the endmill, the cutting edges were still sharp as a new tool to touch.
This has also been a steep learning curve for speeds and feeds. I thought I was pretty good and now I feel like a complete amateur again. I am lost wandering around experimenting, trying this and that, grasping at straws trying to dial in certain tools. I use HSM Advisor on many of my setups but at times am shocked and bewildered at the feeds and speeds given at times. Both ways, sometimes it seems WAY too slow, sometimes WAY too fast. Sometimes I ignore the advisor, sometimes I ignore the manufacturers recommendation, typically I use whichever is faster
One aspect I would like to report on which isn't a complaint, but really more of a "here is my experience" is the relative accuracy of the machine. I do not want anyone to get hot and bothered about this, it is just my observation. For a job shop, if your doing one piece work, with high accuracy, it can be challenging to get good results. Part of what I have been dialing in is the accuracy between pieces. I often find that between jobs the offsets vary to try and get a good part. So for example, for the first job tool 7 has a length offset of -.0007" to get the part to correct dimension, the next job it might be -.0035, and the next it might be -.0002. Same goes for diameter offsets. What I have been struggling with, and trying to determine cause, because it really throws me for a loop, is the differences are repeatable and CONSTANT. For that first job that I had -.0007" offset, if I run 10 or 100 of those parts, ignoring tool wear, the offset will stay the same. If I remeasure a new tool, that offset will stay the same and be consistent. If I run the machine for 10 hours, and the shop is 85 degrees and come in the next morning shop is 65 and press go, part is perfect, no variance.
So for most of my products, I knock out two or three pieces quick to adjust offsets, tossing the $1 or $3 worth of scrap in the bin is no big deal. But when I have a customers $500 piece of A11 in the vise, it is a different story. When the tolerances are a tight, it can be a bit nerve racking. Holes always seem to be on size once adjusted, location can be a bit of an issue if the tolerances are tight.
When I got the machine, I had been told to get the BrotherComm software. This is absolutely an amazing, and simple, piece of software. I have days where I run 10 to 15 different setups and parts, and post out the programs, sometimes with changes, can be upwards of 30 times a day. This software should be industry standard! Literally drag and drop, BOOM the program is on the control.
A few recommendations I would give to Brother, as a small shop, Job Shop, type:
Applications/machine setup training time. Typically with your Brother you get two days of training. I got basically one day, the office I use was horribly short staffed because most of their techs were out doing installs, several in other regions of the country. The applications engineer that is the head of the service department actually came down, as a favor, to do my training and get me up and running. What I really would like from Brother to offer, is some classes or training time on the finer points of the machine. How to better utilize the technology the machine has to offer. I feel like right now I am in the second grade using the machine. I know there is a ton of capability there, I don't know how to use or implement it. I would love to be using tool break detect, in process probing, better using the Accuracy modes, which I have come to find out DO affect part geometry even at lower feeds and speeds. While many would say, that is YOUR job, and I do not disagree, at a big shop we had people that did all these aspects as a part of their job. For me, I have to find the time to fit LEARNING about this stuff, before I can implement. With my old machine, that wasn't much of a problem. I had TONS of time while the machine was running to learn about something and implement it. With the Brother, it is SO fast, I rarely have time to accomplish much. This forum has been CRITICAL to learning and developing. So while I will probably beat up my office for another day of training, it would be GREAT if Brother offered a 1 day, 2 day, 3 day class for owners to learn about various topics.
Another improvement that I would like to see on the Brother is tool cleanliness. As noted above, I only have 168 hours of operation and yet, my tooling already has noticeable marking from debris being clamped in the spindle with the tool. I would really like to see the spindle blow the tool off as it comes OUT of the spindle to remove coolant as well as before it goes IN the spindle.
For someone that does a LOT of setups compared to run time, the Renishaw probing is lacking. The programs provided are nice, I wound up re-writing different programs for various common functions I use on a regular bases, but keying through the program to rapidly setup a piece is time consuming. The interface that Mazaks, Doosan's, and others have, are a lot quicker, even though I know they run off essentially the same program.
My only real complaint that I REALLY REALLY do not like about my Brother is the table. I have no idea what they make these tables out of, but it is more like aluminum than steel. I have scratched and dented this table more than any machine I own. I can take a shop towel and wipe chips off of it and put scratches into the surface. Dropping a SMALL part from vise height will put in a ding that needs stoned out. Tightening a tailstock or fixture down will disrupt material at the clamping point. I am considering putting in a subplate just to protect the accuracy of the table. At least I can swap the subplate out!
A few other operational comments.
Blaser Blows.... do I need to say anything else?
I went with Blaser because that is what my local Yamazen office uses, and after finding out that Semi-Synthetic and Synthetic coolants "void" the warranty, I really did not have any other options in mind. When I first started running the Blaser I was pretty happy with it. I have run machines dry my whole life but was looking to forward to having coolant for the first time at my shop. I was pretty happy with it until the first time I tore down my brand new Orange vise and found it rusted and pitted. And then I took my stop off the table and found a darkened and discolored mark where my stop was. Then I found my Kurt rusted. When my sales person came out and took pictures and samples, the response was, they have never seen anything like it before. They wound up sending me a different grade of coolant that is supposed to be better, and for the $300 a 5gal bucket it had better be gold!
When I first bought the Brother, during install the tech found an alarming issue. When my air compressor fired up, it dropped the voltage to where the Brother would alarm out. I bought what was convenient and available. A two stage Kobalt, "US MADE" air compressor. I was really happy with it when I got it, quiet, really dry, it worked well. 6 months later, it had gotten so loud I had moved it out to the garage. The oil in the head was BLACK with silver flakes. LOTS of silver flakes. Oil was dripping out from the head from the rear shaft seal. I was just waiting for it to grenade (I was kinda wishing it did). I thought what the hell, and called up the Kobalt warranty hotline. Fully expecting a line of BS. They said NO PROBLEM, call this company and they will take care of it. The service guy drove 45 minutes to my shop and installed a BRAND NEW pump head. He recommended not having the air compressor in the cold, and more frequent oil changes. I had to laugh, the paper work I got with it said to change the oil yearly. He asked how often I ran it... probably average 20hrs a week. He said, ok, change your oil every 3 months. 3 MONTHS! So if I actually USE the air compressor I need to change it every 3 months! He just laughed and said that these compressors were meant to air up tires once a month, pump up a bike tire, or basketball.
I want to wrap this up by saying that I absolutely LOVE my Brother. I have had ZERO issues with the new Brother, something that cannot be said for the Dodge 2500 I purchased last July I am excited to push MYSELF to the limit, as I am really holding the machine back. It has absolutely been kicking my butt, staying ahead of me programing, sourcing, quoting work, supplying material and tooling, the thing is an animal. With any luck, at the end of this month I will secure my FIRST contract for supplying a customer with a part long term. I couldn't have done it (and made money) without the Brother. I still walk into the shop and smile when I start it up, and I do not think I will EVER get over the look on someone's face the first time they see it run at FULL speed.