What are the best Zr mills out there in your opinion?

[KentPWalton]

I was just curious to see what everyone's opinions were on what are the best Zr mills out there today. 4 or 5 axis mills will be fine. Wet or dry. Just curious to see what everyone says.

 

[eyeloveteeth]

too generic of a question... correct answer is what environment are you thinking of....


questions like this are akin to .... "what's the best computer out there?"

 

[KentPWalton]

Production environment. Accuracy? Tool life? Learning curve for the mill and software? Spindle life? Any machines that someone loves or hates?

 

[CoolHandLuke]

simply cannot go wrong with iMes 450i in that case.

 

[KentPWalton]

Have you heard anything about the 250i?

 

[CoolHandLuke]

yes. it is simply a smaller version.

i see no reason to downgrade, especially as the 450i can straight mill titanium and cocr. with the 250i you'd be milling wax to cast or press, this adds steps to the process and makes it take longer. the 450i saves that time and aggravation, at the cost of floorspace and a higher cost machine.

250i is the same caliber machine from coritec. there great. but for a true lab catering to many many clients, the 450i makes a lot more sense.

 

[eyeloveteeth]

i think it's very hard to justify 1 450i.

again, what is the lab size? how many units do you want to produce a day, what types of restorations are you doing... etc etc...

in terms of learning curve, that is also a loaded question because a competent person will find delcam and sum3d all easy to use.

In terms of accuracy, yes, the more expensive mills will be more accurate. There is apparently better accuracy with wet milling as well over dry milling (even zirconia). Jager spindles are tough, but again, depends on which model jager you get for the mill.

Tool life depends on what you are cutting, depends on the strategies you use...etc etc...

i love all machines...as long as it is the right tool for the job.

 

[KentPWalton]

I know that the 450i can mill Ti. and the 250i can't. But what about if I really don't need to mill Ti. Is the 250i as good as the 450i?


There again, I understand there might be different strategies set up by different resellers. So the tool life will be different from reseller to reseller.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

well then you need to articulate exactly what it is you want to mill.

typically these little mills arent designed for super capacity output so if you want to mill a variety of materials and strategies, even though the 250i is capable of it, you should look at something a little larger and more capable.

the spindle and tools all depend on how frequently they are used, so gauging the quality of output from machine to machine again is not a function of how capable it is, but how much use you give it.

thats why i say you just can't go wrong with the 450i. ini all likelyhood you will never bring the machine to max output, which makes it a much longer lasting tool for any lab.

you don't buy a prius to drive from Seattle to Fiji. that would be ridiculous. the same with the 250i; it is the prius in the equation.

if you run your 250i at its maximum output for a long time, it will die faster. you wouldn't do that to a handpiece, so don't think like that for a mill.

buy a bigger mill than you can use. initially it will last longer, and by projection you can grow with it when you get good at it. not so with the 250i or its smaller brother.

they are for people who only cater to one dentist. two max. not a mill that any lab with a hundred doctors can use.

 

[Vazone]

I have one 550 and 240, in month or so I'll have 250 unit. I'm already check it in milling it mill much faster than 240, so 250 is a great solution for small lab and good as second and more for milling center. It's much more powerful than roland. With more possibilities than Rolland it can mill wet and have stronger spindle! so if you really need mill small amounts of preformed ti abutments I think it possible on 250 it's take much longer but possible if you really need it. Shure usualy it for soft materials, but... For zr its great!

 

[Vazone]

How many copings you plan to mill in a day?

 

[KentPWalton]

well then you need to articulate exactly what it is you want to mill.

typically these little mills arent designed for super capacity output so if you want to mill a variety of materials and strategies, even though the 250i is capable of it, you should look at something a little larger and more capable.

the spindle and tools all depend on how frequently they are used, so gauging the quality of output from machine to machine again is not a function of how capable it is, but how much use you give it.

thats why i say you just can't go wrong with the 450i. ini all likelyhood you will never bring the machine to max output, which makes it a much longer lasting tool for any lab.

you don't buy a prius to drive from Seattle to Fiji. that would be ridiculous. the same with the 250i; it is the prius in the equation.

if you run your 250i at its maximum output for a long time, it will die faster. you wouldn't do that to a handpiece, so don't think like that for a mill.

buy a bigger mill than you can use. initially it will last longer, and by projection you can grow with it when you get good at it. not so with the 250i or its smaller brother.

they are for people who only cater to one dentist. two max. not a mill that any lab with a hundred doctors can use.

I'll only be milling Zr for now and for the future. I'll only be milling 20-50 units a day.

 

[eyeloveteeth]

well in that case best bang for the buck is still the Roland. I know plenty that have done fine with the wieland mini as well.

 

[Marcusthegladiator CDT]

Sironas' MCXL is the most efficient, cost effective, versatile mill on the market today. And will continue to be the leading dental cadcam mill in the future.
NOT!

 

[Marcusthegladiator CDT]

well in that case best bang for the buck is still the Roland. I know plenty that have done fine with the wieland mini as well.

I still haven't heard any complaints about Rolands' mills...

 

[eyeloveteeth]

I still haven't heard any complaints about Rolands' mills...

unable to do wet milling?

but yeah, MCXL is the way to go. Actually saw the prototype next gen...kind of interesting

 

[Marcusthegladiator CDT]

unable to do wet milling?

but yeah, MCXL is the way to go. Actually saw the prototype next gen...kind of interesting

For the price, not milling wet is A OK. Most just want to mill their zirc anyway. The price of custom abutments is passed off to the Dr. anyway. But since most labs are still building lots of PFM's, I guess it is a downside that they cant mill their framework...

 

[KentPWalton]

I still haven't heard any complaints about Rolands' mills...

Any thoughts on the belt driven spindle?

 

[Glenn Kennedy]

Any thoughts on the belt driven spindle?

Smoother, quieter and if you crash the tool by mistake you loose a belt not a spindle or motor.

You can look at machines as a collection of pieces and parts or as an engineered system. The DWX-50 was specifically engineered to mill wax, PMMA and zirconia quickly and efficiently. After extensive testing by 3M it is also approved for LAVA Ultimate.

With over 1000 DWX-50's in use producing over 10,000 restorations at some of the top labs and high volume milling centers it has proven itself as a workhorse. Easiest to set up and use, a 2 year parts and labor warranty backed by our US based team.

 

[KentPWalton]

Smoother, quieter and if you crash the tool by mistake you loose a belt not a spindle or motor.

You can look at machines as a collection of pieces and parts or as an engineered system. The DWX-50 was specifically engineered to mill wax, PMMA and zirconia quickly and efficiently. After extensive testing by 3M it is also approved for LAVA Ultimate.

With over 1000 DWX-50's in use producing over 10,000 restorations at some of the top labs and high volume milling centers it has proven itself as a workhorse. Easiest to set up and use, a 2 year parts and labor warranty backed by our US based team.

What about the accuracy vs a screw driven spindle?