I need some feedback on a mori lathe.

[DODGERFAN]

Hi guys,

We are looking at getting a new lathe as the work load is getting pretty deep.

Does anybody have a Mori Seiki NLX 3000 lathe with a Celos control?  Give me some pros and cons

if you can.  Please and thank you.

[rstalcup]

I had an NLX2500 with Celos

My recommendation would be stay away from it.....huge learning curve with that control 

[DODGERFAN]

Thank you sir.

[MIL-TFP-41]

We have 3 NLX2500 twin spindle machines.

Mechanically they guys like them better than the older NL series...not as sensitive to temp changes from what they say.

The Celos thing does take some getting used to. The first generation of software sucked. Plain & simple. Something like loading a program into the control was a royal PITA. They have come a long ways since. I still don't like them as much as a "conventional" control, but a the end of the day it will run the machine reliably. The code is identical, we use the same post for the NL's and the NLX's. Same can be said for the our Fanuc based NH5000 and the Mitsubishi based NHX4000 celos. Same post. The most frustrating thing about the control is the touch screens don't seem to be as responsive as I would like. Like typing for example. Other times the screen can be overly sensitive.

 

[DODGERFAN]

We are an all mori shop. We have had nothing but trouble with the service dpt. My boss was looking at NLX 3000 but wasn't sure about the control. Im trying to steer him in the Okuma direction. I've got him looking at LB series machines right now. I hope we go that direction. I have more than 20 years experience with OSP controls and love them.  Okuma LB25 would be a good fit for the work we do. 

Thanks for the feedback guys. 

[mkd]

I've got my second call/case number in with mori on an old Sh633. First one I got a call from a good applications guy, but after deciding to do service call it seem to have slipped through the cracks.

second call: I made the mistake of telling them it's not "pants on fire" urgent.

haven't heard from them since.

Okuma service has been much better.

[DODGERFAN]

3 hours ago, mkd said:

I've got my second call/case number in with mori on an old Sh633. First one I got a call from a good applications guy, but after deciding to do service call it seem to have slipped through the cracks.

second call: I made the mistake of telling them it's not "pants on fire" urgent.

haven't heard from them since.

Okuma service has been much better.

I got the boss looking at the sweet thing. https://www.okuma.com/lb4000-ex-ii

Im an Okuma guy thru and thru. I've been running them for over 20 years and programming them for 6 or 7 years.   Crazy millman can attest to that.  I really hope he pulls the trigger on it.  Big bore spindle 40 HP motor. BRING IT!!!!

[gcode]

1 hour ago, DODGERFAN said:

I got the boss looking at the sweet thing. https://www.okuma.com/lb4000-ex-ii

Im an Okuma guy thru and thru. I've been running them for over 20 years and programming them for 6 or 7 years.   Crazy millman can attest to that.  I really hope he pulls the trigger on it.  Big bore spindle 40 HP motor. BRING IT!!!!

I'd pick Okuma over Mori all day long

[crazy^millman]

1 hour ago, DODGERFAN said:

I got the boss looking at the sweet thing. https://www.okuma.com/lb4000-ex-ii

Im an Okuma guy thru and thru. I've been running them for over 20 years and programming them for 6 or 7 years.   Crazy millman can attest to that.  I really hope he pulls the trigger on it.  Big bore spindle 40 HP motor. BRING IT!!!!

Sure thing I remember someone bringing you into the programming office to teach you Mastercam. This real crazy guy who keep trying to get you to program the Integrex also. 

Different control than Moro, but think they will adjust with no issue. They will have to get us to no homing of the machine. 

[DODGERFAN]

32 minutes ago, 5th Axis CGI said:

Sure thing I remember someone bringing you into the programming office to teach you Mastercam. This real crazy guy who keep trying to get you to program the Integrex also. 

Different control than Moro, but think they will adjust with no issue. They will have to get us to no homing of the machine. 

I have post fot it already. X20.Z20.

Wonder where i got that?   LOL

And i did a few programs on that entegrex. Just never could pull off that crazy chamfer thing you were doing. 😛

[Brad Lisle]

I might be a little bias, but if your going to have to learn a new control, I would go with the OSP over Celos. Not to put Mori down, they do make a quality machine. I would still choose the Okuma OSP control over any other on the market.

[GoetzInd]

I would look at Nakamura Tome as well. Very nice machines.

Mike

[The Cathedral]

It's funny to me the problems you guys are describing with the Mori service and wanting to switch to Okuma. We're the exact opposite--an all-Okuma shop fed up with their service and switching to Mori.

Although to be fair the problem isn't Okuma itself, but the distributor.

[DODGERFAN]

Where is your shop located?

[DODGERFAN]

6 hours ago, Brad Lisle said:

I might be a little bias, but if your going to have to learn a new control, I would go with the OSP over Celos. Not to put Mori down, they do make a quality machine. I would still choose the Okuma OSP control over any other on the market.

I already know the OSP control, Celos.... Not so much.  😄

[The Cathedral]

45 minutes ago, DODGERFAN said:

Where is your shop located?

Toledo, Ohio

[Ewood42]

We have an NLX2500, runs all day and night with a bar feeder and part catcher. Works great for what we do with it. The Celos controls do have a pretty steep learning curve over, say, an old Fanuc control. But, once you screw around with it a bit you'll adjust. Personally I like how easy it is to customize the displays, and they're pretty easy to use once you get past how alien they are. I love the control on our NVX5080, but as stated above the touch screens do occasionally have sensitivity issues.

As far as service in general, it can be kind of hit or miss. We had DMG Mori automation install our first automated cell with a fanuc m10/12i robot for loading and a little mitsubishi for inspection. We have had issues with even getting info from the automation department (still waiting for them to schedule a visit to install upgraded parts they received over a month ago), but service department has been pretty solid for us for the most part. Although... we do have a few outstanding software issues that have been "forwarded to japan for review" 6 months ago and have not heard a thing from them on it. But, to be fair, the PLC in our NVX has been tinkered with quite a bit to get it to talk to all the other components in the cell.

[gcode]

14 hours ago, Brad Lisle said:

I might be a little biased

says Brad, the Okuma Applications Engineer 

[Matthew Hajicek - Singularity]

If you're getting feedback on a lathe you might need to get your servos tuned.

[Brad Lisle]

8 hours ago, gcode said:

says Brad, the Okuma Applications Engineer 

I did come from an almost all Mori shop if that counts

[DODGERFAN]

Thanks for all the replies fellers.  

Boss send a request for quote to okuma days ago, haven't heard from them yet.

[dmgdude]

On 3/9/2017 at 1:23 PM, DODGERFAN said:

Hi guys,

We are looking at getting a new lathe as the work load is getting pretty deep.

Does anybody have a Mori Seiki NLX 3000 lathe with a Celos control?  Give me some pros and cons

if you can.  Please and thank you.

I run a nlx 3000/700. It is an amazing machine with EXTREMELY intuitive controls. The downside however is that you need multi axis cam software to program it. I however do all of my programming through the conversational interface.  There has ben very few jobs that I could not complete through conversational. One of the main drawbacks is learning all of the querks. i cant tell you how many times i had to scratch my head cause the machine was not responding and it was so simple why after i did some small thing such as turn a knob or switch a mode.

[dmgdude]

Now, if you are a hardened old school machinist, you will hate this machine. If you are a young tech oriented individual you are going to absolutely love it.

I graduated in 2020. I got hired a month before I graduated at a job shop. In school we trained and ran on Haas. It took me a little bit to get used to my DMG but I hit the ground not just running but at full stride.

One day i may be making a set of gears, the next i may be making a high speed motor shaft. If you know how to lie to the controls you can get it to do damn near anything you want through conversational.