I have a 17 yr old Cuisinart at home that is still going strong. I purchased a half dozen KitchenAid food processors for work 5 yrs ago and then again 4 yrs ago and was very happy with them. I don't know if all of these were pre Hobart design switch or not. After seeing the same Cooks Illustrated test results that chickadeead posted about, I recommended the KitchenAid to a friend about a year ago and she's very happy with it. Consumer Reports in 2006 also favored the KitchenAid 750. It's gotten so tricky these days to figure these things out. IMO If you're not a heavy user and aren't doing dough's, the KitchenAid would work well for you. If you do need a heavier duty unit, Look at the Cuisinart and the Magimix. Was excited to learn about the Magimix from jkom51. I'm always interested in this sort of thing and did look at some of the reviews for the Magimix. It gets really great reviews, but the following cons were mentioned: 1. A little bulky and heavy 2. Parts aren't all dishwasher safe (must read fine print in manual) and it is a little hard to clean. Best of luck with your decision!

I have both, a basic model Cuisinart made in Japan and a Robot Coupe made in France. Both vintage. Both machines are heavy duty and should be able to handle any duties required in the home. Interestingly the parts from the Cuisinart fit and work on the Robot Coupe but not vise-versa. I suggest that all parts and blades be washed by hand. Do not place these parts in the dishwasher. The heat of the dishwasher drying mode will weaken the plastic of the parts. Also be careful when twisting the lid on and off the bowl to prevent the locking/power engagement pin from breaking. Most importantly DON'T DROP IT! If you have a machine with a malfunctioning locking/power engagement pin you could manually depress the button using a pen or knitting needle. Be careful though as you no longer have the safety measures of the power engagement pin to protect you. The question about 3D printing your own bowl....This is not a viable solution for many reasons including: the plastic used has to be food safe. The bowl needs to be strong enough to handle the torque and stress of day to day use. And the plastic needs to be able to handle heat especially if you use the machine to puree hot items. Finding parts for these machines is difficult. Take good care of them and you should be enjoying your smoothies etc. For many many years. Happy cooking!

I have a Cuisinart custom 11 that i have to hold to work, the lid is cracked alittle so I bought a new Cusinart 14 cup but didnt open it. Does anyone think the newer one is superior to older one....thinking I should have just gotten replacement part.

Hubby loves potato pancakes and also cole slaw & carrot salad. I used my Cuisinart for 25 years, nearly every night, for shredding and it was great. After it broke, I ended up replacing it with a KitchenAid FP, which I also love. It is an 11-cup model AND features a mini-processor inside of the regular one. So, unlike Cuisinart, which would require that you purchase a separate machine for mini-size work, such as chopping garlic and the like, mine was an all-in-one deal. It is hard to describe, so you should do a Google search and take a look at some pics. We have been very happy with it and like the others, I use it and then throw it in the DW. L