Brother Speedio S300X1

The Speedio S300X1 is the smallest three-axis machine in Brother's S300/S500 family: a BT30 drill-tap-mill center with 300 x 400 x 300 mm (11.8 x 15.7 x 11.8 in) of travel, a 600 x 400 mm (23.6 x 15.7 in) table and a 10,000 rpm spindle. Brother no longer offers the X1 generation as a current model, so the machine is mostly bought used today.

The odd thing about the S300X1 is that its table is twice as long as its X travel. The spindle reaches only 300 mm (11.8 in) of the 600 mm (23.6 in) table, so the extra length is room for clamps, a vise jaw store or a second fixture parked out of reach, not more cutting area. If the part or the fixture pattern needs more X, the Speedio S500X2 has 500 mm (19.7 in) of X on the same 600 x 400 mm table. The table is rated 250 kg (551 lb), or 300 kg (661 lb) with an option.

Spindle choice shapes what the machine is good at. The base 10,000 rpm spindle taps to 6,000 rpm. Options of 16,000 or 27,000 rpm were offered, and with the 27,000 rpm spindle tapping rises to 8,000 rpm. Power is 10.1 kW for 10 minutes and 6.7 kW continuous. Dual-contact tooling and coolant through the spindle were options.

Cycle time is where these machines earn their keep. The magazine holds 14 or 21 tools, and Brother gives the change times in seconds as 0.8 tool to tool, 1.4 chip to chip and 1.2 cut to cut. Rapids are 50 m/min (1,969 ipm) on X and Y and 56 m/min (2,205 ipm) on Z.

The tool length limit is short: 160 mm (6.3 in), against 250 mm (9.8 in) on the Speedio S500X2. Tools may be up to 110 mm (4.3 in) in diameter and 3.0 kg (6.6 lb). The machine stands in 1,080 x 2,557 mm (42.5 x 100.7 in), weighs 2,200 kg (4,850 lb) and uses 45 L/min of air at 0.4 - 0.6 MPa.