DealersEdge Professional Forums

Those of you that have the BD Laser Machine, How many cuts or keys have you cut with the same bit and how do I know when the bit is bad (what signs to look for), other than the life monitor? We have cut over 320 keys (600+cuts) without any problem on the same cutter. Of course the machine says the life of the bit cutter is long gone -240 keys. I spoke with BD laser support and they just suggest monthly calibrations as a preventative maintenance. They also seemed blown away with the amount of keys we have cut and said , "Keep doing what your are doing, because you doing it right." I still would like to know what signs to look for if there are any. Will the bit just break or will there be signs of wear and tear?

We've had ours about a year but can't tell you how many cuts because the dang thing has broken down, broken cutters, broken bits, been calibrated and updated and come close to being set on fire (by me!)

We set up an original in house part number. that way we bill out $20 per key and can track each sale with the DMS

We have around 200 cuts on ours, the only thing that has broke so far is the tracing bits.

We have cut over 200 hundred of the double sided keys with each bit. You will hear it sound different when it gets worn to the point it needs to be replaced. The company tells you that you only get between 100 and 150 out of each one, but we have gone way past that. Our machine works good but it sounds like they never lubricated the thing when it was built, alot of groaning from it. All I know is we didn;t have one until all this recall crap started and I am really glad we got one in time.

camaroman wrote:I am really glad we got one in time.

Yeah... I feel ya there. We got ours and then they went on back order.... Thankfully .. it has helped us pave the way to pay for our machine..

camaroman wrote:We have cut over 200 hundred of the double sided keys with each bit. You will hear it sound different when it gets worn to the point it needs to be replaced. The company tells you that you only get between 100 and 150 out of each one, but we have gone way past that. Our machine works good but it sounds like they never lubricated the thing when it was built, alot of groaning from it. All I know is we didn;t have one until all this recall crap started and I am really glad we got one in time.

We usually get about 150-175 before we change ours. However, the cutter life indicator on ours is pretty much down to nothing after about 30 or so keys.

Is replacing cutters part of their warranty, or must you pay for these when you change them?

Get your wallet out. LOL Salty little things too, you would think they are dental tools or something.

Boy they go out of their way NOT to tell you that.......