We're finally looking to get out of our Opti-Vue 401 and head patternless. I do all the work myself and have had great success for the last 10 years, but it's time to move on.
A friend suggested the Santinelli 7070 (factory refurb?) and I'm curious what anyone has to say about this model. We won't be purchasing new and our budget is around $10-15K. We do plastic, poly and hi-index - no glass.
Thank you for your advice. It's great to have the experts around. :)
Hi Icare,Originally Posted by icare
I especially love the 7070 but also have several models to choose from.
Please look at this thread to see what we do:
http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...shment+process
Thank you,
Santinelli IMO is the best choice for ease of use and quality of cut. And the best polished edge in the business. A bit slower than other wet edgers, but I'd rather have precision and slow than second and third cuts and fast.
With that budget, you should be able to pick up a refurb LE9000 which I would chose over the 7070 (a friend's practice just picked up a factory refurb LE9000-SX for around $14K if I recall correctly directly though their Santilelli rep). Although the 7070 is a great edger and will be on the lower end of your budget whereas the LE9000 will stretch your budget a bit.
Last edited by Audiyoda; 09-05-2007 at 11:48 AM.
The 9000 that Santinelli was selling for 14K was the LX model not the SX. There is a huge difference as the LX does not groove and safety bevel but the SX does. I cannot count how many people called me and quoted Santinelli as selling a 9000SX at 14K. It was simply not true. It was a very easy mistake considering nobody looked closely at the L in front of the X.
Also that price was for the edger only. There are a lot of necessary add on prices. "pumps, tanks, installation, training, blocker, blocks....etc....etc....
I have the LX and SX models available, but I still favor the durability and proven quality of the legendary 7070.
:cheers:
Isn't the "SX" still a 7070 ? I'm confused.
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
I've owned 4 7070's, so you could say I'm a bit biased.
I am sorry Johns,
Here are the models :
1. LE7070
2. LE7070SX
3. LE9000LX
4. LE9000SX
5. ME1000
The 9000SX is a very popular and expensive edger which includes a safety bevel and groover function. The 9000LX was not very popular since it has the same functions as a 7070. When Santinelli recently started the 9000 for 14K promotion. It was specifically for the LX version. Needless to say, it created quite a buzz in the industry because nobody really caught the "LX" in the advertising.
I'm not looking for a review, just wanted to know the differences.
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
Ibraham,
Interesting fact,
Our #1 selling edger is the 7070 by far, and we offer all manufacturer models. Most of these 7070 sales go to previous 7070 owners like yourself. I would conclude that the customer satisfaction rate for this edger is very high. That owner loyalty combined with support from V.S.I. is a perfect match. It is no wonder that we sell these edgers as if they were the most current model.
No doubt the 7070 is a popular model - I would guess because even as a second (maybe early third) generation patternless edger it holds it's own against many current models. And as VSI has proven, they refurb easily and effectively.
I never liked how Santinelli marketed that LE9000LX - it was originally apart of their all in one lab system that included a separate groover and handstone as apart of the package. But the LE9000SX is a nice step up from the LE7070 or LE7070SX - it's faster, requires less calibration to hold size, it's tracer has more trace points, it has more bevel options, more control over the safety bevel and as hard as it would be for most 7070 owners to believe, it's polish is better.
I've used both and my personal preference is the 9000SX (although I've used the 9000LX without issue having a groover and handstone in house at the time). But you can't go wrong with a 7070SX either - especially when looking at budgets and bang for the buck.
I agree completely although being an older lab guy myself, I dont need all the bells and whistles. Dont get me wrong, I sell a lot of 9000SX models and our customers love them.
I try to match up the right edger with the right owner while considering a budget. I get a lot of calls from people who have never edged in their life and have no idea how to decenter a lens, use a manual groover, Do a pin bevel by hand....etc...etc...
In these cases I always start out by recommending a 9000 series edger. It is a lot easier to train a newbie on this edger.
If I get a call from a seasoned veteran who has been using an old edgemaster for the last 25 years and cutting patterns with scissors.....I try to start with a Horizon III or a 7070. These people do not need all the bells and whistles and I could save them $5000.00 or more just because they have been happy with the edgemaster for 25 years.
Of coarse every situation is different and some people just have to have the best because they have no concerns about cashflow. That is when I recommend them to call my freinds at Santinelli to look at the ME-1000. That is hands down the best edger I have ever seen, if you can get by the price tag.
I was really shocked when I talked to the santinelli folks at the AOA meeting about the 9000lx special. The guy almost wanted to slap me for even considering it. I realize sales people are often "unique" in their approaches, but talk about turning me off to the company entirely.
I get the feeling that most consider santinelli to be very over priced, and these deals kind of put them in line with the other guys. So if the stuff rocks, good deal I suppose...
Now thats funny!!!
Spending big $$$$ on advertising a product only to talk you out of it.:hammer:
Today I actually talked someone down to a more affordable edger because I felt it was a much better fit. I am more concerned with saving the customer a lot of unnecessary expense.
Buying an edger from an edger salesman is a lot different than buying an edger from a company with over 200 years combined experience edging lenses in the field.
Does the 7070 have a blocker built in, or is a seperate blocker needed?
I'm looking at a 7070SX that a friend wants to sell me for $5k as a back-up edger.
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
Yes the 7070 requires a seperate blocker, The Nidek CE-1 is usually standard with this edger.
If possible you would want to set this backup edger up with the same blocking system as your full time edger.
That's what I was hoping, but my full time edgers (Optronics 7E & AIT Combimax) both have the blockers built in. They're nice, but I'm not sure I can layout on them to use on the other edger.
I'll have to check it out. Do you have any ideas?
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
Johns,
Do you use the same blocks for both of your edgers?
I think you are really pretty set for a backup already:D
I love the 7E edger and the Combimax is a great backup to that.
If you really want a third option, you could pick up a used ce-1 and blocks for the 7070 for only a few hundred bucks.
Its also a great idea to have a backup manual blocker anyway, in case your automatic blockers go down.
I really do want a third option. My edgers are at 2 different offices, and when (if) one goes down, we have to transport the jobs 20 miles away. This would solve that problem. What's a ce=1?
A back-up blocker would be a good idea.
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
OK...now I get it. Those edgers are not in the same room.:hammer:
The Nidek CE-1 is a very basic manual blocker that was sold with the 7070 edgers and is an option for 9000 edgers. Its a decent little blocker that takes up very little space. I am assuming that you would put it in the AIT office because your 7E is new. What style blocks are you using now?
I'll have to check.
Thanks for the info...
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
Sorry Johns, I should have quoted the original poster's question in my post. :hammer:
Thanks for your thorough replies, all.
A few questions:
What is the difference between the LE7070 and the LE7070SX and are both readily available?
Can I retrofit my ol' SPEEDY blocker to accept the Santinelli blocks?
How is an edge roll achieved in most modern labs? Do any of these new edgers incorporate the ability to roll the edge?
I'm enjoying this discussion and am learning rapidly with everyone's help. Thank you very much.
The 7070SX version has a built in memory function, a 2 pump system, and its a bit faster. I like the 2 pump system because it is a lot cleaner. The memory function is great if you do a lot of P.O.F. jobs. And the speed is a factor if you do a large quantity of work. Both versions are readily available.
Yes, you can retrofit your speede to take Santinelli blocks, or sometimes retrofit your 7070 with a chuck to match your speedy.
Rolling edges is still a craft. I havent seen an edger do that yet. Lets not give them any ideas:bbg:.
[quote=OpticLabRat;204199]I agree completely although being an older lab
If I get a call from a seasoned veteran who has been using an old edgemaster for the last 25 years and cutting patterns with scissors.....I try to start with a Horizon III or a 7070. These people do not need all the bells and whistles and I could save them $5000.00 or more just because they have been happy with the edgemaster for 25 years.
Oh, come on! ARE there any 25 year old still-working Edgemasters?:D
I had one of those and the bevels were so horrible that I ended up putting all flat wheels in it and used it for rimless only.
But it really was excellent as a boat anchor.:D:D
DragonlensmanWV N.A.O.L.
"There is nothing patriotic about hating your government or pretending you can hate your government but love your country."
[quote=DragonLensmanWV;204329
Oh, come on! ARE there any 25 year old still-working Edgemasters?:D
I had one of those and the bevels were so horrible that I ended up putting all flat wheels in it and used it for rimless only.
But it really was excellent as a boat anchor.:D:D[/quote]
Actually there are still quite a few edgemasters and grand marks out there. Its amazing!!! I even get a few calls from people who request them.:hammer:
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