05/14/2025
Last month, welcomed a Hermle C250 into the shop. The Hermle is simply an amazingly accurate and capable machine. The addition was mostly geared around workflow optimization and specialization. The Hermle will complement the existing Speedio W1000Xd1, and phases out our S700X2 with a 4th axis.
The workflow optimization aspect is easy. Of the parts that require machining on many or all sides, the Hermle can do it with amazing efficiency. We can reduce the number of operations and setups required. This overall saves a good chunk of time, and also opens up a lot of new options. While the S700 had a 4th, it was still a tight fit in Z. The Hermle opens up some more room for larger pieces.
With the previous pairing of machines, the capabilities of them had a decent overlap. They used the same tools, so could run certain parts on either. The 1000 just had a bigger table. The only specialization was if the part used the 4th axis.
With adding the Hermle, it used different holders than the Speedio, so meant reviewing what would be run where and more clearly defining a standard tool library. I think in reality, specializing what parts and ops run on which machine simplifies it greatly. Standardize WCS/presets, table setups, and you can expand the setup to that machines strengths.
Take flexures. OP1 is the bottom and its puck interface. OP2 is the 5 other sides. OP2 makes complete sense on the Hermle, it can do all 5 sides at a time. With it can really hone finishing passes and all. For OP1, the W1000 makes sense, since if I fill its table, I can run 8-10 at a time and get a nice batched cycle time out of that.
Outside of just these efficiencies, making parts run faster or in fewer steps only does so much. I’ve also been spending time on other workflow optimizations, which can get more into at some point.
