One of the things that I admire about Ed is his focus, commitment, and passion for delving into the technical side of the things that he does, and the LongMill was no exception. Please meet Ed, our second beta tester for the LongMill MK2.
About the beta testing program
Just as a quick intro about the beta testing program, at the end of last year, we recruited three different people of different backgrounds and skill levels in our area to test the LongMill MK2. At this point, we were at the final stages of our development for the MK2 and were looking to iron out the rest of the kinks to finalize the production of a few of the parts. All beta testers paid for their machines, albeit with a small discount. Each beta tester volunteered their time and space to observe and interview them at each step of the process as well as testing prototype and production parts as they were made to update their machines.
Working with Ed
It was fantastic to work with Ed in the beta testing program. Especially during the early stages of testing, he provided us with lots of thoughts and feedback on the engineering design, especially in terms of improving the accuracy of the machine with regard to the process of setting it up and assembling.
Did this project in Fusion 360, which I personally consider one of the most advanced hobby CNC software available
This project also includes tiling, which is also a fairly advanced technique, especially because it requires a lot of thought to position the material when the dimensions of each component matter.
Requires parts to slot together accurately, and to do that, Ed took the time to make dozens of test boards to find the perfect fit, each marked down with the measurement, settings, and bit size.
Made all of the parts with the machine supported by rickety saw horses, not a stable base as we typically recommend our customers to use.
This project gave some additional perspective on the limitations and possibilities of how accurate the machine can be, and what sort of things we can do to improve the accuracy overall, especially for technically challenging projects.
It is wonderful to continue to see Ed work on technically challenging projects and see how capable the LongMill can be in the hands of someone so technically capable. I also admire his drive to jump straight into the deep end in terms of what a CNC machine can do and come out with some amazing projects and knowledge to share. If you want to see some of his other projects, make sure to check them out on the Forum.
May has been a pretty rough month, dealing with some QA issues and other manufacturing delays. Overall, we’ve been able to keep time to ship to time to order for LongMills down to about 1-2 weeks for most customers at this current time, but we’ve faced some challenges in keeping production moving smoothly.
This is our June 2022 production update. We’ll touch on some news from May and talk about stuff to expect in June.
Visiting Andy McTaggart, one of our beta testers
Current lead times
Lead times currently are 1-2 weeks on MK 12×30 and 30×30. Our lead time is mostly affected by when our newest batch of Y gantries will arrive. We are expecting them to be ready for coating by Thursday and come back to us at the start of next week.
*UPDATE Jun 3, 2022* Our new batch of Y gantries have arrived today and have passed QA inspection! We are packing up machines now to ship and should have things continue to go out!
Our mini-saga of Y gantries
About two months ago when we first started manufacturing the new batch of 1000 Y gantries, our manufacturer jumped the gun and started producing new plates before we provided the new revision of plates. Due to this, we needed to recut another 1000 Y gantries with the new revision and keep the old version in storage for use in the future potentially. Because there were already quite a few other parts getting processed at the time, the overall time for us to get the materials down to the coating shop was unaffected.
It took another week and a half to get everything coated, but just as the finished parts were loaded up onto the truck, the pallet fell, causing many of the plates to get damaged. We received a partial order of undamaged parts (X gantries, Z gantries, front and back feet, and controller box parts), but unfortunately, all of the Y gantries were damaged and needed to be fixed.
In the meantime, we continued to fulfill orders with the remaining number of gantries we had on hand. However, at the current time of writing, we are out of Y gantries.
About a week later, we received the fixed Y gantries, but then we ran into another issue.
We had changed to a new process of drilling and tapping holes, which referenced the center bearing hole to cut some of the smaller holes on the plate. Previously, we were laser cutting all of the holes, but we switched to the CNC method to speed up the process and automate the tapping process.
Although we are investigating the incident, it we suspect that the workholding was not done correctly on this batch of parts, causing all of the holes to be slightly off from where they need to be.
Initially, we did find that 1/3rd of the plates had the holes in the correct place, but after doing further checking we found that the tapping angle of the threads was also dramatically off, and none of the plates were able to be used.
Thankfully, our manufacturer which we’ve worked with for the last 6 years has been working hard with us to rectify the issue and implement new processes to eliminate this issue in the future. We’ve also sent a few of the members from our manufacturing team to set up another tapping cart and make a new batch of gantries as quickly as possible. At the time of writing, I’ve been informed that we’ve just finished 500 Y-gantry plates and will be shipping them to be coated on Thursday.
We’re currently working with our coating manufacturer to get this batch of parts to get coated as soon as possible and are looking at sometime next week when we’ll be able to get them.
Of course, to add to the issues for this month, the second batch of repaired driver boards for the laser still has issues. We are waiting on another batch of drivers from another manufacturer that should be arriving this week.
48×30 MK2s and Extension Kits
We have now started packing and prepping the parts for the MK2 48×30 machines and the Extension Kits. We are waiting on the production for the wiring and Y gantries to be done over the next couple of weeks, but progress on those is moving along on time and we are still on track to ship in July.
Parts that are being processed currently include:
Extended X rails
Couplers
Lead screws
Drag chains
ACME locking nuts
Delrin nuts
Bearings
Parts to start packing include:
MK1 to T12 Delrin nut adapter
Wiring management parts
Wires
Y gantries
At the current time, we starting packing and processing the new kits. Once we get the wiring and Y gantries we’ll have full kits ready to go. Here are our rough estimated delivery times:
Y gantries: 3rd week of June
Wiring: 2nd week of June
Although production of these parts is coming along fairly smoothly so far, I am currently expecting the resources for the assembly to be one big hurdle to get through and may make a big impact on the timing of shipments. Of course, we don’t want to delay shipments, but we also don’t want to hand the product over to the customer without proper instructions on using it. We will put out more updates on the timing of shipments as we continue to develop the resources for the 48×30 machines.
So far, our beta testers have been using the extended version of their LongMills with lots of success. If you want to see Dana, who’s had his extension kit for testing for the last little bit, check out the video below:
Wrapping up the beta testing program
We just finished filming our last beta tester’s interview this past weekend. It’s been such a great journey to follow along with each user to see how they grow and learn to use their machines.
Our last beta tester interview will be posted in about 1 week from now.
If you want to see the interviews, please check our playlist here:
Bittele has let us down again and in turn I feel like I have let you the customer down. The 200 drivers we received from Bittele were thoroughly tested and were found to be 1oz boards again. We waited a long time for them to rectify their first mistake and have the components moved from the old 1oz boards to new 2oz boards but again we received 1oz boards.
How we tested this:
1oz copper drivers can only provide about 2.5A or 4W of optical laser power and those are the exact values we found when testing these new drivers
Next we took samples from 2oz copper boards, 1oz copper boards and the boards we just received under a magnifying tool and we found they match the copper from the 1oz copper. (Top – 1oz copper, middle – boards we received, bottom – 2oz copper)
Next we did a 4 point measurement test to get a more solid comparison with the 2oz copper boards, 1oz copper boards and the boards we just received. These measurements so the clear difference in a 2oz copper driver and the ones we just received.
Our last test was to guarantee the issues we saw came from the copper and not any components, so we took a 2oz pcb and we swapped all electronic components from the boards we received to the 2oz pcb and this driver worked perfectly. This showed us that the parts were fine and it is 100% a 1oz copper pcb
What are we doing about it?
As you know, we decided to order drivers from Makerfabs just in case anything like this happened. We did, they have shipped 200 drivers and they are currently going through customs clearance in a local sorting facility. We have provided POA this morning and have our invoices ready to be provided as soon as they are requested from us. The estimated delivery date in June 1st but DHL has a tendency to drag customs clearance, so I will be on the phone with them multiple times a day until we get it cleared.
We will go through the same testing process above to make sure they are true 2oz copper driver pcbs and we will ship as soon as they pass testing. Andy pointed out that as soon as those Bittele drivers failed their first test I should have taken a day to update you all, I will make it a point to delivery even the worse news in a more timely manner. We are in the same situation here as I am not happy until you have received your LaserBeam orders and I will not stop working until I get it done.
Hey everyone, the assembly videos for the LongMill MK2 are now live on our Youtube channel. To watch the videos, please visit our Youtube playlist. These assembly videos provide just shy of 5 hours of viewing content, which goes through the nuances of assembling your machine.
Of course, if you get tired of Chris’ commentary, we have an excellent instruction manual as well.
A few weeks ago, Leandro, Scott, and I went over to visit Dale and interview him about his experience with the LongMill. It was a fantastic and fun trip for all of us, especially spending time with a fun character like Dale. Here’s our interview!
About the beta testing program
Just as a quick intro about the beta testing program, at the end of last year, we recruited three different people of different backgrounds and skill levels in our area to test the LongMill MK2. At this point, we were at the final stages of our development for the MK2 and were looking to iron out the rest of the kinks to finalize the production of a few of the parts. All beta testers paid for their machines, albeit with a small discount. Each beta tester volunteered their time and space to observe and interview them at each step of the process as well as testing prototype and production parts as they were made to update their machines.
Working with Dale
It has been so fun to work with Dale. Just as a background, we would consider Dale a “superuser”. Dale initially had the LongMill MK1 in his shop that was used regularly for his side business. You might also recognize him as a very helpful and active member of our Facebook Group as well.
Because we knew how much he was using his MK1 and how long and intricate many of his projects were, we knew that Dale would really put the MK2 through its paces. And this happened to be true, especially as he took this opportunity to transition from working a job for someone else and transitioning to working full time for himself.
As someone who’s more focused on building, engineering, and selling CNC machines, it’s really satisfying to meet people like Dale who’ve gone from working a regular 9-5 and being able to work for themselves and express their creativity in their craft using our machines.
Dale is now also beta testing the extension kit on his original MK1 machine. We’re looking forward to all the new creations that’ll be coming down his pipleline!
After a very long wait, we finally have our first set of LaserBeam drivers that have been shipped to us today and we are excited for them to arrive so we can test, assemble and ship orders.
In order to save time we had Bittele begin shipping partial orders as they were completed. Our first partial order will be 135 drivers that were shipped express earlier today and expected to arrive Friday 20th. If they arrive on time, I will test each driver over the weekend so we can begin assembly and shipping orders next week. I will work as many hours as needed to ensure 135 orders are shipped by Friday 27th.
There are currently 165 LaserBeam orders in the queue and we will be receiving more partial driver orders before the end of the month in order to finish fulfilling the queue of orders.
Going forward, over the next few weeks we will receive another 265 drivers (not including this first 135 drivers) and another 400 drivers from MakerFabs. This gives us enough stock for the rest of the year, which gives us time to continue to streamline the supply chain, make more informational laser videos, start posting replacement parts on the shop and design other products around the LaserBeam ecosystem.
As always, we appreciate the support and patience.
A common query we get here at Sienci Labs is “What should I order with my LongMill?”. We’ve created a new step-by-step configurator to help customers figure out what they should be ordering with the LongMill. The LongMill MK2 Configurator covers all of the add-ons and toolings that we feel are relevant for someone getting set up with a new machine, as well as providing better info and transparency of what each item does.
Why this matters to us
One of the interesting results of being in control of how the order page looks on our website is that it influences the purchasing decisions of our customers and changes what is and isn’t easily visible to the customer. The consequence of this is that most of our customers purchase all of the add-ons we have on the product page, even though some of these items may not be needed for most beginners.
For example, we typically do not recommend beginner users to use or install inductive sensors until they have gained some experience using the machine. For the dust shield, we also don’t feel it is required for most customers. However, more than 50% of customers choose these options as default. Although it means more money in our pocket at the end of the day, we would prefer customers to be able to purchase the things they need and have the best experience possible.
Another result of this layout is that there are some confusion and order changes that happen, as we don’t list all of our add-ons on the product page. For example, we have our regular touch plate on the list, but not our AutoZero touch plate. Many customers have ended up getting in touch with us to change their regular touch plate to the AutoZero touch plate. With an improved system like the configurator, we can lay out more options and give people the opportunity to compare their options more easily, as well as reduce the overall clutter of the page.
We’re hoping that this improves overall customer and ordering experience, while better informing customers on what they need with their machine.
Depending on the reception of the configurator, we may implement it on other products, like the LaserBeam and LongMill Extension kits. If you have any thoughts or feedback, feel free to reach out and let us know!
Hey everyone, here’s our May 2022 production update.
Overall production continues to move along smoothly and machines are going out the door at a good pace. In a good way, we don’t have too much to report on.
Lead times for LongMill MK2 12×30 and 30×30 orders
We’re excited to be getting through the rest of the queue on the LongMill MK2 12×30 and 30×30 orders sooner than expected. Patrik and the rest of the packing crew have now pushed out over 400 machines over the last four weeks, and are expecting to complete the rest of the queue sometime next week. This means that new orders should ship in 2-3 weeks placed today.
Incoming materials and production
Production has been moving along slowly without part shortages. Once the queue is complete, we are expecting to have enough parts to pre-pack and ship another 70 machines with the gantries and steel parts that we currently have. Another batch of these parts is expected to arrive in about 2 weeks, so we believe that we’ll be able to continue packing and shipping as orders come. After these parts arrive, we’ll have plenty of material to keep us busy for the next 2-3 months.
It’s been a while since this has happened, but we’re now at the point where our production capacity is exceeding our demand, and our goal is to get things packed up and ready to go as more folks get their machines and word on the LongMill MK2 continues to spread.
Some other general news
Our company is growing. We have a couple of new people joining our team in marketing, operations, and engineering! We’re also working on hiring new folks for software development and customer support.
The LongMill MK2 assembly video is being edited now and we are expecting it to go live in the next week or two.
Hey everyone, just wanted to let everyone know that the completed order emails with the tracking information issue from last week have been resolved and the site is operating as normal. Customers should now continue to be getting emails with their tracking numbers as their orders are complete and shipped.
If you had an order during this time period, we sent the tracking order manually as they were shipped. If you didn’t get one, please feel free to contact us. You can check if your order has been shipped and where it is in the queue with our Order Status page.
Customers with order numbers 39363 and higher, or orders placed after April 28th, should see the tracking numbers emailed as normal automatically.
Thank you everyone for their patience, we’re glad this has now been resolved.
So what happened exactly
It appears that starting from April 14th, completed order emails for some orders (specifically for the ones that are for LongMill MK2s) were not being sent. We were not aware of the issue until we returned from our long Easter weekend. Our current system has been set up to send emails in several different stages:
When we receive your order: an email is sent to the customer when the order has been created and successfully paid for. If there is an issue with your payment you will get a different email to notify you.
When we complete and ship your order: an email is sent when the order is ready for pick up (which comes with instructions and times that your order can be picked up) or has been shipped (which comes with tracking info as well as additional info about duties and taxes).
In some cases, there may be additional emails, such as for software licenses and if we need to notify you of packing status.
At first, we checked the status of different plugins of the site, as updates were done on different areas to see if there were any changes to the site between the 14th and 18th. However, there were no changes to the plugins during this time, and reverting back to older versions of the plugins for testing did not fix the issue.
First, we received some error notifications from the site, citing some issues with the software license system. However, the issue was still not fixed after testing with the system disabled and rolled back.
Next, we also started receiving error notifications in parsing code in the code used to generate the emails. At first glance, the HTML was correct and was code that had been used previously for a long time. However, we found that the PHP version was updated on April 14th, which may be causing issues with parsing HTML in this case. Removing this code has fixed this issue, and the emails are now being sent without the parsing error.
We have reverted the email to the same format as previously through another method for customizing emails, which we expect will help keep the system working in future updates.
Hey everyone, here’s just a quick update about the production here at Sienci.
By the way, we are having a livestream on Youtube tomorrow, if you’d like to be part of it, we’ll be live at noon (EST) on Friday April 22! This livestream will cover some of the development work happening at Sienci Labs as well as a bunch of stuff about the LongMill MK2.
Shipping
We’ve been working hard to get as many machines out the door as quickly as possible. Now, at the time of writing, we’ve just about shipped 250 machines. Our support team has been reporting that issues have been fairly low and comments about the machine have been overall very positive! If you’d like to follow along on our progress, feel free to check out our page here: https://sienci.com/order-status.
We’re expecting to keep up with packing as we are currently. Please make sure to stay tuned for more updates.
We’ve recently run into an issue (since April 18th) where shipping notifications for LongMill MK2 orders are not being sent. All other email notifications for orders (parts, bits, and other products) are being sent, and the only orders that are being impacted are the ones with LongMill MK2s. In the meantime, we are sending out the notifications manually, so please keep an eye out for them. We are continually working on fixing this issue, and if your order is showing completed on our Order Status page, please get in touch with us for the tracking info.
We suspect that there may be some bugs with the system as there was some updates that happened around this time. We’ll continue monitoring the emails being sent out so that we can keep folks updated as best as we can.
We are also experiencing some issues with auto-syncing orders with the Order Status page, so we have been updating it throughout the day. Please note that there may be a bit of delay day to day on the status of the items on the page until we fix the system.
Incoming materials
We’ve now reached the first 500 machines sold for Batch 6, which means that we are now about a third of the way through. We currently are stocking 1500 machines worth of parts, with the exception of the rails and the gantries. We initially ordered 500 sets of rails and gantries to start the batch and we’ve placed another batch of those parts to come in soon.
Materials for rails which were slated for early June arrival have been completed early and are expected to be delivered to us soon. Some will be here tomorrow and some will be here next week. This also covers the rails we need for the 48×30 machines and extension kits, which means that we’ll be starting prepping and cutting for those orders as well.
Gantry plates and feet are in production currently, and we are expecting all of them to be cut, formed, and painted at the start to middle of May. Once those parts are available, these parts will be used for machines for the next 500 units.
Initially, we were expecting to start shipping machines after the first 500 in June, but it looks like we’ll be able to chug along with production without interruptions.
