Brother SPEEDIO S300X2

The Brother SPEEDIO S300X2 is a discontinued 30-taper vertical machining center with 300 × 400 × 300 mm (11.8 × 15.7 × 11.8 in) of travel over a 600 x 400 mm (23.6 x 15.7 in) table. It came with a 10,000 rpm BT30 spindle as standard, a 14 or 21-tool magazine and Brother's CNC-C00 control. Brother no longer offers it new.

The table is twice as long as the X stroke, and that shapes how the machine is used. The spindle can only reach a 300 mm (11.8 in) window of the 600 mm table length, so the extra length is fixture space, not cutting envelope. The envelope suits small parts in a vise or a compact fixture centred under the spindle, not long parts or rows of fixtures.

The spindle fitted matters a great deal on a used S300X2. Three were offered: the standard 10,000 rpm unit and optional 16,000 and 27,000 rpm spindles. The 27,000 rpm version also raises the maximum tapping speed from 6,000 rpm to 8,000 rpm, which helps on small threads in aluminium. The listed rating is 10.1 kW for 10 min and 7.1 kW continuous. A dual-contact spindle and coolant through the spindle were both options, so check the machine rather than assuming either is fitted.

Tools can be up to 160 mm (6.3 in) long, 110 mm (4.3 in) in diameter and 3.0 kg (6.6 lb) each. Brother's tool-change figures, in seconds, are 0.7 tool to tool and 1.3 chip to chip. Rapids are 50 m/min (1,969 ipm) on X and Y and 56 m/min (2,205 ipm) on Z, with cutting feed up to 30,000 mm/min (1,181 ipm).

The machine weighs 2,200 kg (4,850 lb), stands 2,497 mm (98.3 in) tall and covers 1,080 x 2,463 mm (42.5 x 96.9 in). It runs on AC200V and needs 45 L/min of air at 0.4 - 0.6 MPa. Against the Speedio S300Xd1, which shares the travels and table, it uses the CNC-C00 control instead of CNC-D00 and is lighter, the Speedio S300Xd1 weighing 2,350 kg (5,181 lb).