I find this post amusing!
The best machine does not exist, they all break and are all no reliable, they all cost a big amount of money in maintenance, training and installation.
Plus at the end they are useless if you don't know what to do.
Not because you know how to drive a car you know how to drive a F1.
Same with this kind of machine, if you are a dental technician stop trying to open freaking milling center that will run bankrupt anyway within 2 years.
Go back to school bench, learn CNC machinery and then, think about it.
A real milling machine will cost you 250K plus installation, plus special electricity output, your building will need to be in a light industrial zoning place with probably higher taxes, you will need some installation for liquid and also specific high-end air pressure system. On top of that, you will need some other machine shop equipment to load or unload your blanks, you will even have to design your own blank holder to optimized everything. After you will need some very powerful computer with very high cost software that nothing is explain how they work, you need 3-4 years of school to learn how to use this kind of software to program milling path.
You will need 1 employee to run the software, 1 to run the machine 1 to repair the machine etc etc etc.
Before you reach the volume to be break even you will probably be bankrupt except if you do have millions of $ to spend over 3 to 5 years. You will have also to develop all geometry for every damn 400 implant brand, just that will take you over 5 years to get all of them with 1 to 2 engineers doing only that. To be able to develop them, you will need to buy original part from all implant company that cost a LOTS of money.
Not enough to convince you to avoid this?
Well let's get to scanner, you will probably buy a 3shape or Medit or an Imetric but you will use scanbody, right there your are outdated. These work, but are limited and lower the end precision of your product. If you want to be a real milling center like few out there (not sure we reach 10 in the whole world seriously) you will need to be able to scan the analog itself on the model.
As soon as you wont be able to do an implant platform your customer will go elsewhere and you might lose him.
I mean, seriously, there couple of industrial milling center out there and a big bunch of lab that think they are milling center, why 1 more? Your only argument over all of them will be pricing. NO!, good service is not an argument we are many offering excellent customer service for real, some small and even some big ones are doing amazing feats to give a unique customer service trust me and ask around many names will come out.
So at the end you will need to do the price battle, trying to sell an implant bar at 399 or 499 USD $ to compete with the other milling centers, you will not make your number and you will find it hard.
It a known fact that my bars and abutment are in the high price range and funny it is, i almost double my volume year after year even with milling center offering 50% lower prices then mines, why? Because we are doing that for over 15 years and we have invest in this kind of machine to offer (in my opinion) the best quality in the market and dental technician are all about quality as far as i learned working with you guys!
Never seen any painter in my life that loved working on a cheap canvas. And yes Canvas can cost a lots of money for quality, but will make the art unique.
So, what is the best machine? Define your needs. Axxys seem to sell very good machine for a low volume for your own use. Willemin-macodel are probably among the best for custom abutments but definetly very expensive and very hard to use. Mikron, DMG, etc are probably best for bridges and bars.
Ohh did I miss to tell you, the best abutment machine is the worst for bar and the best for bridges and bars is bad for abutment?
yeah, that true.
Another point, milling from pre-milled blank is bad. Yes people do it, the problem is the way you hold the blank you put pressure on the actual hex of the future abutment and you "twist" it in matter of microns and at the end if you compare with an original "off the shelf" yours will be very bad. That why swiss turn kind of machine are the best since they mill the hex every time.
ohh boy, i forgot to talk about CE mark and FDA, and etc.
And not least, do you know how much is a "micron"?
I am asking cause giving lecture for 10 years now, i ask this question at every lecture I give, around 2% of dental technicians in all the lectures I gave knew the answer. And no, they are not stupid, it just not something you learn and need to know when you do dental technique!
But it is something you have to know on your first day when you are doing machinery.
Hope this help. seriously, i am not here to say I'm better, neither to stop your dream. You want to open a milling center i will be behind you for real. I don't mean new competitors, that free market. Just think twice either you or everyone reading this post.
One of your colleagues said it, outsource! Keep the focus on your ART, your training, your certificate on the wall of you lab. Learning a new job it hard. doing 2 job in same time is so complicated! Few have achieved it and succeed, not saying you cannot be one, I am saying that some of the best and biggest lab in the world don't even own a single machine!
Best