The control is pretty easy, somewhat basic, but very very solid.
The best way to describe it is that it's like Brother hired all the Fanuc engineers who aren't virgins married to their multimeter - C-00 is logically laid out, descriptive of what options are available, and doesn't have silly pitfalls and bizarre labels. It isn't perfect, but if you've run any CNC machine before, you'll be hunt-n-pecking with it in an hour, decent within a week, and very comfortable in 2-3 weeks.
- All your setup happens in the Data Bank, where work offsets and tools are set up. Changes made to the data bank are finished with a "completion mode" soft key that asks you to confirm what you've done before you exit (there is a YT video or two on this from Yamazen Dallas). Setting tools and work locations is very straightforward. My only wish is that there was a Split function on work offset input, just to make it a bit easier to manually set the center of stock and the like, but with probing? Who cares.
- Program memory is quite flexible and easy to use - hit Mem, type in a program number, hit enter and you're done. You can easily list programs, and they do let you set up folders if you want. Since I have my laptop next to the machine, I really only have 1 or 2 active programs at a time and they are always numbered 1001 or 1002 or sometimes 1003.
- Your machine will be set by Yamazen with a bunch of programs for your probe system (assuming you got probing). These act as pre-configured wrappers to call the macros that drive the most common probing applications. Programs 1-22 are for tool setting (O0001 sets tool 1, O0002 sets tool 2, etc.) Program 22 is for you to edit on the fly by changing a couple of numbers in the macro call to set off tools sequentially (1-7, for example). 700 series programs fire off spindle probe macros - you manually position the probe and call up 707 to do a single touch .25" down in Z to set G54 Z, or program 701 does a single touch in X+ to set G54 X. A handful of other programs in memory in the 8000 range are master programs for probing routines or calibration. Yamazen provides a nice manual for their spindle probing and you can do all the common stuff. You can tweak these and get the machine to do exactly what you want (I modded the tool macros to air blow while moving to save time, and it calls the tool by pocket, but sets by actual tool number, since they can be different).
- Before the machine arrives, snag this $23 USB powered WiFi box from Amazon (
Amazon.com: TP-Link N3�� Wireless Portable Nano Travel Router - WiFi Bridge/Range Extender/Access Point/Client Modes, Mobile in Pocket(TL-WR8�2N): Computers & Accessories) and a short (~24") Cat 5 eithernet cable. The control is Linux with full networking capabilities under the hood, and Yamazen can set your machine up with WiFi and BrotherCom software. It's pretty great! Do work with sales and get your BrotherCom software before the installer arrives (it's too big to drop in an email, and Brother won't let it out on the internet as an easy download for some reason, so they need to bring a USB stick with them). It's super amaze to be able to quickly post out a tweak to a program, throw it to the machine via WiFi, and literally watch the code text update on the machine - all with no wires connecting them.
- My only gripe is the lack of a decent MDI, it's a blemish on an otherwise amazing machine. I do mostly prototype and low run work, so lots of setups, tool swaps, and probing funky stuff. The Brother MDI is a single line affair that can only execute 1 line of G-code, no macros, and no G65 subprogram calls. That means all probing, tool touch offs, or basic automatic maneuvers (like moving the table to a loading position) need to happen through programs. I've come to terms with this by setting up a couple of scratch programs I can get to quickly, but it is monumentally stupid. In my old Robodrill, I had programs mapped to custom G-codes to do all sorts of tricks very quickly (probe a tool, move a tool to the install/remove position, split offsets, etc). None of that is possible on a Speedio. Oddly, the control makes it very easy to map a macro program to a custom G or M code, and it has a parameter to allow these to "Run in MDI." This would solve my problem, but it was added relatively recently and doesn't seem to work. I'm hoping this gets solved soon? Brother is just now getting into job shops/prototype use (after 30 years as production workhorses), and the infrastructure you see in the control says they are working on this. If you're doing a couple of parts a week or even a part a day, it's no big deal (I did 5 parts and 12 setups yesterday for a prototype... so that's why I'm frustrated enough to be vocal about it).
- Since I griped, let me go back to the praise and say some very cool things - Brother is constantly improving these machines and adds pretty significant enhancements via updatable firmware. For example, you'll see threads from Drinkwater griping that High Accurace Mode B won't cut helical moves. That was solved with firmware and now Mode B works perfectly through anything you throw at it. I'm assuming my MDI gripes (at least the custom G/M code function) will be up and running soon-ish. Brother gives a shit about machines in the field and listens to customers. Yamazen has been an extraordinary help and has fantastic support.
