I have been sitting and watching the Roland discussion and the “build
it yourself” discussion unfold. I Have a little experience in each of
these areas and am a constant user of multiple mills.
I know both Jesse and Ernie…it would be wise to pay close
attention to what they say. Yes…they both are selling something,
but I understand the reasons as WHY they are selling these products.
I can sum it up in a few words for you. QUALITY, DEPENDABILITY,
LONGEVITY. They both use these products to make their living. Jesse
operates a Service Bureau…so he needs dependable and accurate
equipment.
I started out with a Sherline mill. I built it myself. The
maintainence on it was constant, to say the least. I had the money
in my pocket to buy a Revo mill, but when I found out how software
dependent they were, kept the money in my pocket and bought a
Modelmaster Mill CNC 1000. That was three years ago. It paid for
itself the FIRST year that I had it. It runs sometimes all day long
4 to 5 days a week and I have never had one bit of trouble with it.
It is a rock solid piece of equipment. As luck would have it, I
inherited a Revo via working out of a store that owns one. It is a
nice piece of equipment but there are very few things that I can’t do
on my Modelmaster that the Revo can do. Most of that has to do with
the advanced tooling and special features of the Revo. (The Revo has
had service issues)
There are a lot of people who seem to like this Roland machine. It
will do most of the normal things that need to be cut by the average
user. To me, the JWX 10 is not something that I would want to own.
The smaller units (they do make smaller units than the JWX 10) are
just toys, in my opinion. I sure would not want to depend on one of
these things for my income stream. The JWX 40 is a nicer unit.
However, what makes the product viable is NOT the mill itself…but
the tooling that comes with it. There is no way that I would even
consider this mill without the Protowizard software and fixtures.
That is what really makes this mill a viable option for some people.
Everyone that I have talked to that has the bigger Roland unit really
is happy with it. It does cut waxes very nicely.
Unfortunately the Roland mills have not really been on the market
long enough to withstand the test of time. They have really only been
on the market for a few short years, so no one can yet give an
experienced opinion as to weather these are going to still be working
in a few more years, or if they will wear out. Modelmaster on the
other hand has a very solid track record. So does Minitech. They make
a very nice mill too…but I would rather have the Modelmaster
because I think that it is constructed better, and believe that the
service, if you ever need it, is better too.
A local jeweler recently bought one of the Modelmaster Micron mills
bundled with Artcam software and I have had the chance to work with
it too. It is very solidly constructed, and is a nice unit. His has
the little enclosure on it and is very quiet. This particular mill
does not have a tailstock installed on it…and I love and use my
tailstock constantly. I would be lost without it. I am told that a
tailstock can be fitted to the Micron, and I would most definitely
suggest that option. I am impressed with the Micron from Modelmaster.
It is a solid little machine, and I believe it will easily last many
years. Given the choice between the Roland, and the Micron though, I
would personally opt for the Micron…even if it cost more up front.
David