LongMill Extension Kits and 48x30 Machines are now available for order

andy · February 24, 2022, 6:01pm

Hey everyone! Order pages for the LongMill Extension Kits and the 48x30 MK2 machines are now available on our store! Please visit https://sienci.com/2022/02/24/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-longmill-mk2-48x30-and-extension-kits/ for a complete rundown, pricing, production details, about everything you need to know about our new products!

Extension Kits on an existing machine (LongMill MK1 or MK2): https://sienci.com/product/48-x-axis-longmill-extension-kit/

Upgrade on a pre-ordered LongMill MK2: https://sienci.com/product/upgrades-for-pending-longmill-mk2-orders/

LongMill MK2 48×30 Kits: https://sienci.com/product/longmill-mk2/

Denis · February 28, 2022, 10:40pm

I have the long mill 30 x 30 for over two years and bought some parts over those years and found the pricing reasonable. The asking price for the extension kit is way to high. Disappointed

andy · March 14, 2022, 4:18pm

Hi Denis, I would agree that pricing has gone up quite a bit over the last two years. However, due to significant increases in materials and other costs, we’ve adjusted pricing to accommodate for these changes.

Here’s an excerpt from our blog about this topic:

"There will be approximately a 20% price difference between the MK1 and MK2.

The price increase between the two versions comes due to several factors, both internally and externally.

The first reason for a price increase comes from the fact that the MK2 costs more to manufacture. Over the past two years, we’ve experienced price increases in nearly all parts and materials across the board. Although we’ve been able to keep our prices low as our scale overall reduced other costs through the power of economies of scale, we now produce a high enough volume of machines that any increases in volume have less of an impact on the unit cost of each machine. We also expect that prices for parts to continue to rise over time, and this price increase accounts for overall increasing costs.

The second reason is the demand and capacity that we can handle. At the current time, wait times for MK1 continue to be long and we expect that it will still take us a few months for us to scale up to handle the growing demand. This price increase is to help reduce overall demand as we continue to scale production up at our shop.

And lastly, we believe that the MK2 is simply a better overall machine. Although the improvements between the machines are generally incremental, we believe that the performance and quality improvements justify a slightly higher price tag."

gwilki · February 18, 2022, 2:55pm

This is a post from Andy about extensions for the Long Mill. Also included are some preliminary questions and answers.

If you have any questions, post them here and we will relay them to Andy.

Hi everyone! We are chugging along on the development, testing, and preparation to open up pre-orders for the LongMill MK2 48x30 machine and 48" Extension Kits for the LongMill MK1 and MK2s. I’ll be making a post to cover all of the details about these new products soon (just like for the MK2 machines All about the LongMill MK2 | Sienci Labs ).

We just started our initial testing last week and have had great results so far with the larger version of the machine.
If you have any questions about the 48x30 machine and Extension kits, please feel free to ask them below. I’ll share the answers in our FAQ in the post and try to cover everything the best I can.

Q. Are looking at a 48x48 as well?

A. At this current time, no. There are a couple of engineering and logistical challenges extending the Y axis. One of the biggest reasons is that it is difficult to purchase a 6ft x 6ft sheet which the machine would have to sit on at the 48x48 version. Part of the reason we chose a 48x30in working area is because the machine can sit on a 4ft x 6ft sheet (basically a cut down 4ft x 8ft sheet). To accommodate a 48x48 version, we would need to build a custom table as well, which is currently not a priority in development.

Q. Does this mean that we can assume we would need a 48x72 table? I was hoping the upgrade may fit on my existing table that is 48x60?

A. I think you could get away with a 62.5in table, since right now that’s what the estimated width is going to be, but I would say something that’s 70" or larger is going to work better to give you extra space for other stuff.

Q. Can i order now?

A. Pre-order pages are still in development and will be released sometime at the end of the month.

Q. Definitely interested, which axis has the extension? And are they full rail replacement?

A. The kit will extend the X axis from 30in travel to 48in travel. The kit comes with the whole full length rail.

Q. Can’t wait for the 48" upgrade kit, has the price been determined yet?

A. Pricing isn’t fully finalized but this is where we are for pricing:
The LongMill MK2 48x30 consists of a full LongMill CNC machine with a working area of 48in x 30in. This would be the kit to get if you don’t already have a LongMill and want to jump straight to the larger size. This kit will be priced at $2300CAD or $1800USD.

The Extension Kit provides the T12 Lead Screw, extended X-Axis Rail, Y-Gantries, drag chain, and wiring to increase the width of the machine. The base price for the kit will cost $650CAD or $520USD.

Users may need to purchase additional items to adapt their version of their machine along with the base Extension Kit.
For MK2 users, only the base extension kit is needed, as the MK2 XZ gantry and other hardware can be reused.
For MK1 users who wish to use their stock MK1 XZ gantry, an additional hardware kit to adapt the T12 ACME nut and drag chains will be needed and will be priced at $45CAD or $35USD.
For MK1 users who wish to upgrade their XZ gantry to the latest MK2 design, the XZ gantry assembly will be priced at $220CAD or $170USD which comes with a fully assembled XZ gantry assembly, aluminum motor mount, and Z motor.
MK1 users will not need the hardware kit mentioned above if they are using the MK2 gantry.

Q. So for the MK1 upgrades its 520+35 =555USD ?
I am not following the cost, how can it be that price when the XZ is only 170 which is 2 Y pieces + a Z motor

A. If you want to use the old MK1 XZ gantry assembly, yes, it should work out to $555USD. I don’t follow what you mean about the XZ is only 170. I think you might be referring to the XZ gantry assembly which consists of the machined aluminum z mount, MGN12 linear guides, coupler, spacers, and motor. If you want to upgrade the XZ assembly from the MK1 and the MK2 version, purchasing the MK2 XZ Gantry assembly would be the best option, which would be around $170USD.

Although overall both designs are very similar, the MK2 version of the XZ gantry puts the Z motor on top of the motor mount with spacers and couplers, similar to the X and Y-axis of the machine, simplifying assembly. The motor mount is also made from CNC’ed aluminum, which improves overall rigidity and precision in that area.

Both the MK1 and MK2 kits will use the same X rail extrusion profile used in the MK2 versions of the LongMill. This means that the kits will come with new Y gantries as well.

Once designs are finalized with the new versions, we’ll have the drawings and 3D models available publically.