[gixxergary]

Havent found alot of information on this machine. It appears priced very very reasonably. ( Genos L250E) I know this is the entry level machine in this size, but how will it stack up against its competitors? I also know the quality of the LB line is outstanding, so did Okuma just come out with a lower quality economy line to compete with Haas pricing, or is there more to this machine?

Any input would be greatly appreciated, as we are still looking for another spindle. We were going to get an ST20 haas, but the pricing has risen dramatically since our last purchase, so we may be looking to switch brands.

Thanks in advance,
Gary

[underthetire]

"GENOS L machines are high-quality global machines perfectly suited to the times with simple machine architecture and rich variety of combination specifications."

= Taiwan or China built. Probably took over for the ESL line is my guess, those were made in Taiwan by Tatung I believe. They still ran pretty well, but thats how Okuma will compete with Haas.

[budgieW]

Genos is the latest name, Globally this machine is also known as Soarer/L370/Tatung

[danohpsp]

I just saw this machine up close at a Robert E. Morris open house. I was actually pretty surprised at the pricing, and the machine itself had some really nice finish and quality. This machine is made in Taiwan. Even the high end version of the machine with Y axis is very reasonable for the price, and I have a feeling that it's not even going to be in the same league as the Haas. I just keep reading horror stories about Haas, but I don't own one so I can't verify this. The sales guy kept emphasizing that these units are back ordered for a couple of months, so either they are really popular or they did not import enough of them. Three really nice things about this machine is that they they all have a nice flip out tool probe, they have a 2" through the spindle diameter Prex motor type spindle and you get 6000 RPM on the main spindle. I believe the sub is 4500 RPM but I am not 100% on this, and the sub may be and a bit smaller in diameter. Rapid feed rate is around 787 inches/min, which is around 2/3s the speed of some higher end machines, but about the same as a Haas. The pricing is probably better because for one it does not use a Fanuc control. It has a pretty cool Windows based Okuma control that has some really nice features and a convenient touch screen that is really approachable. There are some differences in the control then the way fanuc works, which is what I am most familiar with. The demo guy told me that the control does not use the U W V letters for incremental moves, which is a feature I take for granted on the Fanuc 31i control. You have to go into incremental mode using G91 and use X Y Z letters like you would on some brands of milling machines (like Yasnac controls). Also, you can not index the turret unless the turret is sitting on one of the software travel limits or you issue an over-ride command to index in the working area. In order to hit the software travel limit in either X or Z you do not issue G28 (return to home) as G28 is used for some other function. You just tell the machine to move in X for example with some large diameter, and the machine moves to the X software limit without making an error. Once you get to the limit, then you index. Also, the touch screen will only let you do functions that don't actually make movements in the machine. In order to issue a command that does a movement (like a tool probe touch off) you have to hit an actual physical key, and the function key purpose on the touch-screen turns like a light green color in order to direct the user about this safety feature. Because the control is Windows based, you have two USB ports on the front of the panel that you can plug in basically any USB device like a caliper and use the hand tool output to adjust the offsets. Internet Explorer is on there too, I guess I could check my email and make some stock trades while running some parts! All of the program editing must be done in what is like a background mode. You have to "activate" or load the edited program into the working memory to reflect your changes. You can't just flip into edit mode (like on a fanuc) and edit the code directly. I am not sure about this feature as it seems slower to me, but it is a good safety feature and it takes very little time to do the program activation. The benefit of this feature is that you can modify your code while the program is running in the machine in the case where you want to optimize or change a particular movement, which can be very useful. You can do math right in the program a lot like the Fanuc 31i, but the answer is not in the code, the actual equation stays in the code. It's weird because it looks like "G0X2.0-.125" is a valid line of code (which would be the same as G0X1.875). I can see this feature being a problem due to bad data entry. On a Fanuc this like would cause an error. The line could of been G0X2.0Z-.125 but the operator fat-fingered the Z key on the keyboard, which could cause some serious problems during program execution. I think the Fanuc method is better just because of this reason. The machine has a decent 3D simulation mode so you can verify your program before running it which would solve the fat finger problem. To my surprise, the control does not have a conversational program writing feature. You have to write the code line by line or buy another piece of software to do it on a PC. I really lean on the conversational entry on my Nakamura WT-100, so I would actually miss this as Fanuc Manual Guide is quite useful once you get to learn it. For an entry level lathe though, the control has some pretty solid features and the touch screen is super easy to use. Menu navigation is a breeze. With the touch screen I felt like I was running one of those high end sewing machines rather than a lathe, pretty cool feeling. I was not sure if a touch screen was a gimmick or not, or even a good idea in a shop where coolant is everywhere, but it is really quick and useful. The touch screen worked flawlessly, but I wonder for how long and if the touch screen measures pressure some other thing. I can see dirty coolant fingers getting all over this thing unless you keep your hands clean while operating the machine. I like to keep clean hands and often use disposable latex gloves while running the machines, but most other operators are not this disciplined. The machine at the demo had a Royal 16C collet adapter on the main, no sub and no Y axis. Footprint is pretty compact considering how roomy the machine is in the cabinet (probably because the Prex motors are compact). I thought that this would be a super machine for my father to learn CNC on (as he is a brownie operator) because of all of the safety features that are included in the control which would stop him from doing anything crazy like indexing the machine right next to the turret. This machine's turret I believe is 12 position and it does not rise when indexed (like some of the Haas units).

Well that is my take on the machine, good luck.

Dan

[Skink]

What is the cost for the base machine and the cost with live tooling?

Sounds like a decent machine!