Learning step one.

[user name]

Thanks Charles. Im in no hurry for sure. If get my hands on money, theres already a list of places it could go not including a mill. Its easy to get anxiety trying to make business decisions, but Ive thrown stupid money at toys before..so the way I see it, its no more money than another car and it will certainly be put to better use than one.

If I were to make a decision right now...VHF.

 

[charles007]

Imes Icore 250i comes with wet option from the get go and runs around 37k still cheaper then the Roland.

Plus the cost of the CAM Tyler

 

[Glenn Kennedy]

Charles, my understanding is the annual maintenance fee for SUM3D is optional. If you choose not to buy it after the first year the software continues to work with the last update. Some resellers divide the annual fee into a monthly or quarterly fee but either way it is optional.

Can SUM3D customers or resellers confirm this? Also, not to get too off topic do you feel the software improvements are worth the fee you pay? Just curious.

 

[zero_zero]

It is optional. ..the software will work without updates no problem. Unless there's a major improvement coming in the subsequent versions I don't believe it's worth the upgrade for the average user...it's quite stable/bug free as is... The catch is that you won't have support if you don't pay the maintenance fees...so better learn the software in the first year while you got support or pay the ~$2k/yr afterwards. ..

 

[charles007]

Glenn, one of our friends, and a dln member that bought a Roland had the choice of paying for the update and continuing to get updates, or not paying the fee, and the software reverting back to the point where he bought the Cam the first year with the first years of updates, and you lose support at some point I think ? Hope I used the correct words. e no sense to him or me...
I'm sure he will chime in soon and explain in detail what the policy is with Sum3d..

 

[cadfan]

mma

Thanks Charles. Im in no hurry for sure. If get my hands on money, theres already a list of places it could go not including a mill. Its easy to get anxiety trying to make business decisions, but Ive thrown stupid money at toys before..so the way I see it, its no more money than another car and it will certainly be put to better use than one.

If I were to make a decision right now...VHF.

I have a VHF take a look at the 240 i mes and go with sum its on 4 achs the best every insertion achs is separately driven and with the lolipop tool you can reach undercuts as well.Try the same with DS cam ( Wieland mini) you fail
The 240 is a horse in germany the same price than the vhf plus camsoftware and the VHF Software is cheap very limited maybe the new is better.The workroom is complete encapsulated with micro touch off 10 times toolchanger 4 for Zi 3 for pmma and wax and 3 for what ever.Wet option for the future maybe they work on a hard option for milling nem and ti too the spindle must have enough power iff milling e-max.VHF is milling nem now with the mini and e-max with the 5 achs mill too so why not possible with the 240 and why not ti with wet option and why not pmma faster with wet .With sum you can update but its no must the first year is included following are 10 % of the softwareprice per year and i can say in the first year they made a few things. Your 240 will run in ten years i am not sure if my vhf ore any roland will do this because of their cheap construction.Al the VHF brands jensen and so on that comes cheaper get your money later with their closed cam material concept, than you go better with zirkonzahn they know how to mill and which material is better but both have the fingers in your pocket the only difference zz knows what they do.VHF and Roland are only cheap mill producers with only very limited dental background.

 

[user name]

I appreciate everyones knowledge and opinions. Thanks. Like I said, all options are on the table. If I thought the VHF was the way to go yesterday, that doesn't mean Ill think the same today. As far as an Imes...it sounds like more of a Mercedes for sure. Im stiil along way from a decision. Much, much learning to go.

***...give us an update on your machine progress please.

Other than going to Chicago, which I may not be able to do...how have you all gone about making your decision? Just on paper? networking? videos? Roll the dice?

Let me throw another variable at you. Vibration. I own my building, its small and in a residential setting, not heavy commercial, not heavy traffic, but we sometimes get a big trash truck or plow etc, that I can feel vibrate as it goes by. What haveyou done to isolate your mill? I was thinking a couple thick slabs of granite with a layer of good quality foam squished in between. Dumb? Not needed?

 

[zero_zero]

I dont think is necessary for a small mill, it seems that rigidity doesn't play a big role when cutting wax or Zr... the Roland mills are built more like printers but still perform well.. But if you worried about vibration... place 4 tires on the floor filled with sand, then put a sturdy table on top. People who play with holographic photography have similar setups... check their forums...

 

[NicelyMKV]

Username, send me a file if you like and I will mill it on my Roland with Sum3D and let you see what you think? I am not a milling center, just willing to let you see for yourself? No charge Zenostar. A1 or A2 would be nice lol

Jason

 

[user name]

That's generous of you. I sent PM.

 

[Tomcds]

User, if you decide this is the road you want to take don't over look the imes 240i. We purchased the 240i through DAL DT Technologies and just finished up 2 1/2 days of on site training with their installation technician Kaleb. He broke it down for us and walked us through each step until we were confident we could do it on our own. As far as the 240i I couldn't be more impressed with it. I never thought we would be up and milling so quick, I had that thing running all day today. I researched like crazy before we purchased and read all the opinions here on 4 vs 5 axis. While there are valid arguments on both sides the common sense choice for us right now is a 4 axis. There's room for a 5 axis mill right next to the 240i when the time comes. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. We were asking ourselves the same questions and looking at the same mills you are now, but I'm happy we ultimately purchased the 240i. Best of luck to you.

Hi Toast, I am looking into buying the 240i and I was wondering if I could talk to you and get your opinion on your setup? If you want to and have time please message me. Thank you.

 

[LucentDesign]

Tyler, do you have the 250i? I'm days from buying one, just looking for any feedback on this machine.