Hi everyone. Hope everyone is staying safe. This is our production update for September.
If you are reading this because you are planning on ordering a machine, I ask that you please read this update carefully as will provide important information and answer many of the common questions you may have. To be frank, we’d rather be working on building your machines as fast as we can rather than answer questions that can be answered here. I will try to provide as much information for our customers here and update this post over the next few weeks as well.
For customers who have already ordered a LongMill
We are currently shipping machines out as quickly as possible. You can follow our progress here: https://forum.sienci.com/t/list-of-shipped-machines/1215/210
If your machine was ordered but you do not see it posted on the list, please wait a few days for it to be updated.
For customers who are ordering a machine now/planning on ordering a LongMill
As of time of writing (Sept 9, 2020), we are nearly sold out on all Batch 3 machines. I have updated our ordering page to show the current stock availability for LongMills.
If you order a machine that shows “in-stock”, the lead time is 6-8 weeks.
If you order a machine that is “backordered”, the estimated lead time is 8-12 weeks.
We require full payment for every LongMill order. This is to ensure your spot in line. You can cancel at any time before your machine ships.
Commonly asked questions
Is there any way to skip the line/get my machine faster?
No. To keep things fair for all of our customers, we ship all orders based on when they were ordered. There are no exceptions. The only way to get a machine faster is to order one sooner.
Does it make a difference in when I get my machine if I pick it up?
The only difference it will make will be that you will not have to wait for the shipping/transit time for the machine to ship. Typically, machines take around 1-3 days to ship within Ontario. Otherwise, there is no difference.
When do you charge my card/take payment for my order?
Your card will be charged at the time you place your order. This is to ensure your place in line, purchase parts ahead of time, and have the most accurate estimates on production and delivery.
How can I cancel my order?
You can cancel your order with no penalty any time before your order ships. Please contact us through our website or email us with your order number and a request to make a cancellation. A refund will be processed through your original method of payment.
To start, I’m happy to announce that machines are being shipped out now. We’ve sorted through all of the hurdles with v-wheel-gate and getting all the other parts in. As the time of writing, we are getting v-wheels from multiple different sources to keep machines going out the door.
So machines are going out the door now, and we are working to get through our backlog.
Lead times for LongMills
Lead times for LongMills is currently 6-8 weeks.
To answer some common questions:
When is my card charged?
Your card is charged as soon as you place the order.
Your store says that the LongMill is “in-stock”. Does that mean that my machine will ship sooner than the 6 week lead time?
Although we have machines “in-stock”, due to the time it takes to pack and assemble each kit, there will still be a wait time.
We are still working on ramping up production to fulfill orders more quickly, however, due to high demand and the waiting list we are working through, it looks like it may be some time until lead times will get shorter.
Right now in the middle of August, we’ve sold around 70% of our batch of 500 LongMills, and I am working on building Batch 4 (another 500 machines). I am estimating that we will be out of stock on Batch 3 by the end of September (*UPDATE* as of Sept 9, we are out of stock on Batch 3). Please check newer updates for info about production). Batch 4 will likely start shipping around the middle to end of October.
We are working hard to get machines out the door as quickly as we can while making sure we keep our quality standards high. I am also considering the safety of our workers as I am refraining from hiring additional in-house staff to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Shipping times
There is currently a general slowdown in shipping times globally. Although most shipments come within the typical times, we have had a couple of orders that have been either lost in transit or take around 2 weeks to get from our shop to the customer. I would ask that customers please take into account that shipping times may be slower than usual due to COVID-19 when considering a purchase. If you need help with an order that has been delayed or lost, please contact us here:https://sienci.com/contact-us/
It seems like most delays are coming from Southern states and Southern California.
Improving customer support
We now have Zendesk set up! That means that if you contact us through our web forms, you can have your questions and queries answered more quickly!
We get hundreds of emails a week. If you are looking for info and want to help us get away from the computer, the large majority of questions can be answered through reading our FAQ: https://sienci.com/faq/
Hi everyone, here’s a new production update for our LongMills. If you are planning to order a machine I would recommend reading this post carefully as it will provide more info on when you should expect to receive your order.
Please note that if you already placed an order, the lead time that was indicated on the website is accurate to your order at the time of purchase. For most people June 22, 2020 to July 2nd at 11AM, the estimated lead time is 4 weeks.For folks that placed an order before the 22nd, we are waiting on a batch of aluminum rails to arrive (probably sometime today) to start shipping remaining orders next week. People who place an order for a LongMill may need to wait a little longer as we clear our backlog of orders.
Over the past week, our average number of LongMills sold per day has more than doubled since the previous week. To account for the jump in day to day sales, we need to update our lead times to reflect the change.
We will update our lead time to 6 weeks for new orders to ensure that we have enough time to build high-quality kits to our new customers and provide enough time for potential delays. If you are looking to get a LongMill and want to get it as soon as possible to place an order sooner rather than later because:
You will be closer to the front of the line on receiving your machine, as we ship in order of when the purchase was made
It helps us plan out longer-term production to give us more time to prepare materials, equipment, and labor
I will also note that you may cancel your order any time before your order ships with no penalties/questions.
We are away this Friday
Happy Canada Day everyone!
For our international friends, today is a statutory holiday in our country. We will be in the office today but we will be taking this Friday (July 3) off to ride moose, hunt for polar bear eggs, drink maple syrup, and shovel the snow off our driveways.
We may not be available for pickups and shipments, emails, and calls on this day. We will be back to work on Monday.
In celebration of Canada Day, here are some cool projects to share!
Hi everyone. it’s Andy here to provide a new update for LongMill production. As mentioned in the last update, we’ve seen continual growth in LongMill sales which has been a lot faster than we expected. I want to take a moment to thank all of our customers who’ve been sharing their positive experiences with the community and helping us grow.
We expected to run out of machines at the end of July, which was our estimate back April based on what we expected our sales to be at during that time. However, it appears we will be running out of stock on Batch 2 in the next few days.
Lead times
We are nearly out of stock on the current batch of LongMills, with around 30-40 machines left. Ikenna, our operations manager, has told me that he expects that we will likely run out of machines by Thursday (correction, we have now run out of stock a few hours after the time of writing, another 20-30 machines will be available in the first or second week of July).
That means for the rest of the machines in stock, you can expect a lead time of around 1 week, and the following orders will have a lead time of around 3 weeks.
We expect to have around 500 more LongMills in stock by the end of July. We will ship machines based on the order of which they were ordered, and we will ship machines as they become available. We will provide a more detailed update on the availability and shipping times over the next few weeks.
If you want to order a LongMill and want it as soon as possible, I recommend ordering one as soon as possible so that you will be first in line for a machine once we run out of stock or you can get one of the ones that are still remaining.
For parts and end mills, we currently have plenty of stock, so you should expect these items to ship typically within one business day.
Shipping times
Also as mentioned in our last update, due to COVID-19, shipping times may be a little slower than usual. For the most part, we have seen that shipping times are a little faster than it was a month or two ago, but I would still expect that shipping for some customers may be a little bit slower than normal.
For most customers, I would recommend that you expect to have shipping times take 3-5 extra days.
If you prefer to pick up your items, we are still offering pick ups on our dock but we are not allowing visitors inside at the time.
It’s Andy here. If you’ve read our blog, you guys will know I like to post updates about the company and the milestones we’ve had. This past April has been an incredibly busy time for us, especially with adapting to life with a global pandemic going on and a boatload of new orders coming in during this time.
Because of all the craziness I haven’t been able to post as much as I would like to, but we are continuing to adapt as best we can. Here are some updates.
Lead times
April brought us more than double the number of orders than March. Ikenna and the rest of our team have been working hard to ship machines out as quickly as possible, and as we go into the month of May, we don’t see signs of stopping.
As far as shipping goes, we have been able to get most LongMills out the door within a week of when they are ordered, and we are currently working on some new ways to improve our speed and efficiency of getting machines out the door.
Shipping delays and slowdowns
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an overall slowdown in the courier system. Packages sent through UPS and Canada Post have been slower than usual to be delivered. We have typically seen most packages impacted by 2-3 days, with Canada Post seeming to be more delayed than UPS.
Rest assured, our courier companies have been very responsive on helping us with shipments at this time and are doing their best to keep up with demand.
Here’s what you should know about shipping at this time.
Packages no longer require signatures and will be left at the door.
If you have customs duties from UPS, pay-at-the-door services may be suspended. You should receive an email or call about duties and taxes. This only applies to orders above $800USD.
If your order is going to a commercial location that is known to be closed, it may either be held at a post office for pick up or sent back to the sender. Please note that local post offices may be closed or have reduced hours. We recommend shipping your orders directly to your home or residence.
Tracking information may be slower to update at times.
We will continue to offer pick-up during business pick-up hours (10AM-4PM) Monday to Friday. Orders will be placed on our dock for pick-up in Waterloo ON.
Batch 3 is in production
With our current rate of orders, we expect stock for Batch 2 of LongMills to run out by July or sooner. We are currently working on building inventory for Batch 3 so that we’ll have machines ready to go as soon as we can once we run out of Batch 2.
We’ve also added additional racking to our space to accommodate larger batches of inventory and help us smooth out our operations and give us some additional space for new products and parts to come down the line.
We still aren’t 100% yet but we are working on getting there!
Growth in our very active commuities
It’s been awesome to see a lot of growth and great vibes on our Facebook Group and Online Forum. In the last 30 days, we’ve seen over 4400 comments, posts, and reactions on our Facebook group and over 28,000 views on our Forum, which is amazing. Many of these interactions involve sharing tips, ideas, and assistance to users.
It’s also awesome to see several of our beta testers and many of our senior users continue to welcome newcomers and help them get their machines set up. Our team has continually been impressed at the quality and detail we’ve seen in customer projects, especially first-time projects.
Updates to the LongMill Resources
We’ve been continually updating our LongMill Resources. A quick thank you to our customers who’ve sent us compliments as well as feedback on our resources. We’ve been working with our friend Aleks (https://agontarz.com/) to update the resources and assembly for the last couple weeks. If you don’t already know, Aleks helped us make the highly acclaimed Mill One Assembly Manual. You should expect to see changes happen over the next few weeks!
One year since our Kickstarter…
On April 25, 2019, we raised over $400,000 for the LongMill. It has officially been a year since then and we have now shipped over 600 machines to more than 30 countries. Over a million dollars worth of LongMills have now been sold. We are excited to see what our next year brings!
We have started shipping orders! Customers should be expecting emails and tracking info from us soon. Please be patient as we get through our backlog.
Orders from Dec and January should be shipping this week and next week, and orders from February and March should ship by the following week.
We will be shipping all orders for LongMills, all order numbers will be fulfilled.
Pickups
We will be getting in touch for customers who have opted for local pickups.
If you are unable to arrange for a pick-up due to the coronavirus, please contact us for other arrangements.
Control box replacements
There are three or four customers that are waiting on replacement control boards. These will ship out in the next few days.
Assembly for LongMill V2
There are some small variations between LongMill V1 and V2 that have been documented in the assembly manual on our online resources. Most changes are very minor and both processes for assembly on the V1 and V2 are the same. However, if you require clarification or are stuck on assembly, please contact us and we will update the assembly manual.
As covered in the last production update, we have been waiting on the remaining batch of parts to arrive. As of current, we have the full balance of parts with the exception of the control boards. We are expecting the control boards to arrive by the end of the week.
Next steps
As mentioned in the previous update, our goal has to pre-pack and prepare as much as we can so that we can ship everything out as quickly as possible once the control boards arrive.
We have completed packing and preparing for all backorders, and I have provided training to start assembly and testing to build and assemble the rest of the control components to everyone who is part of that process.
GRBL Firmware update for CNCjs
A couple of people have reached out about the connectivity with CNCjs for the gcode sender with our controller. I have since created a new version of the firmware which will be flashed on all new LongMills going forward. Those LongMills will be compatible with CNCjs. I have also been emailed by one of the developers of CNCjs to inform us that they have updated CNCjs to properly connect to the program for older versions of the LongMill as well.
Current users and new users should be able to connect to CNCjs with no issues. There have been no other changes to the firmware so if your machine is working fine, there should be no reason to update your firmware. However, if you are interested in the firmware update process, you can check out the guide here: https://sienci.com/dmx-longmill/grbl-firmware/
LongMill lead times for new orders
We will not be updating the current 8-10 week lead time for new orders until we can confirm that the boards have arrived and we are shipping machines at a consistent rate. However, I expect that by next week I will be able to provide a new updated lead-time estimate. Please note that orders will still be shipped based on the order in which they were made.
We know that there are lots of folks eagerly waiting for their LongMills. Here’s an update on the production for the LongMills.
As far as components go, all parts for the LongMill are currently in the shop being packed now with the exception of two of the components because we are waiting for them to be delivered.
Control boxes
Control boards
We currently have a partial batch and waiting for the balance to be delivered for
TB6600 drivers
Power supplies
There has been a ton of changes we have made to our production to improve the quality and speed of our packaging and assembly, as well as to reduce the chance of errors. We are also working to ensure that we can ship machines as quickly as possible once our inventory is fully stocked again.
Control boards and boxes
We’ll start by talking about the current bottleneck in our production which is with the control boards and the control boxes.
The control boards are currently delayed by two weeks. We are currently having them assembled in China, and due to the coronavirus, factory workers did not start work again until the 17th. I have been told that the boards are expected to complete production and ship next week. All of the PCBs have been made, but we are waiting on the assembly to finish.
In the meantime, we have tested and checked the first batch of drivers to be installed into the control boards so that they are ready to go as soon as the boards arrive.
Control boxes are also in the process of being made. We have made significant changes to the design to 1) decrease assembly time 2) improve durability 3) add mounting holes for mounting to your table. The first 200 sets of parts for the control boxes were completed yesterday and have been delivered to be powder coated. We currently have the first 150 acrylic top panels completed as well, with the remaining expected to be finished at the start of March.
From batch 1, our biggest bottleneck in production has been in the assembly of the control boxes. With the new design, assembly is significantly faster and easier, reducing the bottleneck.
I am expecting this to increase our overall speed in which we can ship machines and get machines into our users sooner.
Aluminum rails, drag chains, and lead screws
Unloading the first shipment of rails from the vanDylan working on packing rail sets.
Here’s Dylan diligently putting together rails into sets. We are now packing all rails, drag chains, and lead screws into one package to simplify our packaging and process.
This was one of the most time consuming and physically demanding parts of our packing process from the last batch, but we have been able to greatly speed up the packing by using a custom made stand that eliminates the need for two people to wrap the rails together.
Gantries and sheet metal parts
We have received all the gantries and other sheet metal parts ahead of schedule, and have started the packing and assembly for these parts.
Currently, we have all 400+ Y-axis gantries packed and on the shelf ready to go, and many of the Z-axis motor mounts packed as well.
Esteban assembling XZ gantriesCompleted gantries
Here’s Esteban putting together the gantries for the X and Z axis. We do this process in house as it can be tricky to get the proper alignment in the linear guides, as well as due to the chance of losing the ball bearings if the linear guide block comes off the rail. Esteban and Jeemin, two students working at Sienci Labs this term, designed and assembled a new jig design (amongst many others being used in production currently) to help align and assemble these gantries.
With the new jig and the threaded holes in the linear guides that were not on the previous version, we have been able to reduce assembly time significantly as well. We currently have around 96 completed assemblies, so just over 300 more to go!
3D printed parts
With the new filament material, improved part designs, and upgraded components on our 3D printers, we have dramatically increased the efficiency in 3D printing. Currently, we have 34-35 printers online churning out parts.
New aluminum extruders
One major upgrade was to the extruders on the Ender 3s. We had done so much printing on the machines that the tensioning arm for our printers were completely worn through.
Worn through parts
Other changes include using magnetic PEI sheet beds on all Ender 3s that helps us remove parts quickly and easily, as well as continually improving our print slicer settings to increase print strength and quality.
There have also been some small changes to some of the 3D printed parts to improve the fit and finish of the parts as well (seating nuts, sliding rails through, etc.).
3D printed parts pre-packed
To speed up our packing process and improve our organization, we now will pack all of the 3D printed components into one separate box (as shown in the photo).
Power supplies, fasteners, and Z-axis motor mount plates
Power supply, fasteners, and Z-axis motor mount plates prepacked
We’ve packed and put the power supply, fasteners, and z-axis motor mount plates into another box to pre-pack and prepare for shipping.
We also had all of the fasteners pre-packed and labeled with their size at the factory, to speed up packing and make the assembly process easier.
NEMA 23 stepper motors
One of the most time-consuming part of our packing process has been to wrap and pack the NEMA 23 stepper motors. We’ve now pre-packed all of the motors in cartons in foam, along with the wires together to eliminate this step.
All stepper motors nicely packed
They also have our logo laser engraved on them along with whether they are threaded or not threaded as well, also eliminating us needing to label them as well.
Conclusion
Packing and production continues on and we are working towards getting machines out the door as quickly as possible. Based on our current pace and expected delivery time for the remaining components, I expect that we will start shipping machines early to mid-March.
Our current plan is to start shipping machines as soon as the control box and control board parts arrive and start to ramp up our shipping to 50ish units per week. This means that most of the backlog will ship near the tail end of March and folks that placed their orders in the past month may be seeing their machines sooner than the 8-10 week estimate, but please plan for those estimates to stay the same if you have any time-sensitive projects.
We do have a chance of shipping earlier still if the control boards arrive on time. From our experience with our powder coating company, they often can provide the parts sooner than their lead-time estimates, but I will provide estimates assuming that they stick to the lead times I have been told. If there are significant changes to production I will make sure to post them.
The Sienci Labs team enjoying a Friday lunch at our local BBQ joint
Hi everyone! I just wanted to provide a quick production update and let you guys know what we’ve been up to, as well as some things that you might see in your LongMill. Please note, we are working on making small changes that will improve the performance and ease of assembly of the LongMill. The changes mentioned in this post may or may not show up in the final production version.
We’ve been spending a lot of time the past week to get the parts prepared overseas and taking advantage of the economies of scale to make some small modifications to the hardware to improve performance and assembly for the LongMills. Here are some of those things:
Parts printing has started
We’ve been continuously been printing parts for almost two weeks now, fine tuning the settings on the parts and making adjustments if needed. We are starting with printing the middle Y axis rail supports and X axis rail brackets (Chris calls them “shoulders”), since the designs are finalized on those. Other parts that are being finalized for printing include the X axis motors mounts and the Z axis motor mount. We have asked our motor manufacturer to add threaded holes to the mounting face of the motors to make assembly easier, but we need to have the samples come in for us to make sure that everything comes together perfectly. Samples should arrive in the next week, so we should be able to see how that turns out pretty soon.
We are currently running our two Prusa i3 Mk3s about 16 hours a day. We have two Cetus printers that just went through some TLC so we will have those up and running soon. We are planning to grow the farm by an extra 4 to 8 printers once we finish up the calculations on print time and see how many we need to keep pace with orders.
Using an off the shelf aluminum router mount over a 3D printed mount
We’ve found a good option for an aluminum router mount to replace our 3D printed mount. This means that
We can save on printing time
Potentially secure routers better and with more rigidity (but we still need to test this)
Customers and builders can source the mount from multiple sources if needed
The exciting part of using this off the shelf router mount is that it comes in several sizes, making it easier and more secure to attach some of the larger routers and spindles. We will have to do some testing to see what the Z axis performance is like in terms of moving larger spindles (52mm to 80mm), but it is good to know that it is a possibility.
If we find that the performance isn’t as good, we will stick to printing our mounts. Test mounts are on the way and should show up in the next week and a half.
Taller Y axis plates and Y axis dust protection
We’ve gone and adjusted the height of the Y axis to allow for the LongMill’s Y axis to be flipped to the other side. This can help if you:
Want make the machine more narrow
Are worried about dust getting into the lead screws
Fit more stuff underneath the machine and cut thicker items
One downside of flipping the axis is that it is trickier to set up the drag chain along the Y axis. We’ve come up with another way to make a “shield” that works as well to help block dust.JUST A QUICK DISCLOSURE… all of the machines we’ve been testing and using have had no dust protection on the Y axis and have worked fine over all of the testing. We’ve concluded that this is just an optional precaution if you really want it.
The Sienci Mill One V3 comes with both major and minor changes to the Mill One V2 design. A special thanks to our customers, engineers, and community of makers who have helped by contribution ideas and designs that have made its way into this new iteration.
Please note: some of these updates have been iterative and may already be in place in your Mill One V2 machines. Please check your included Changelogs for more information.
Updates:
New two-part Y axis bed design. The Mill One now comes with a lower gantry plate on the Y axis with mounting points so that users can bolt on the standard size wasteboard (included in the kit) or make their own custom workholding solutions. The wasteboard design has been created to allow users to easily mill them at home out of any 1/2″ or thicker material. The two-part bed system is significantly more rigid.
New XZ gantry design. The addition of notches allows the Mill One to travel further along the X axis, increasing the total working area of the Mill One. ¹
