Parker, to touch on your comments, that's exactly what I was told before I saw an RPM. And we had our RPM for only a few months before I really got to see an Anatol that wasn't an entry level machine up close. I walked away from that Anatol wondering what exactly, besides the side clamps and bimba chopper cylinders that were identical. The guys that designed the RPM no doubt had a lot to do with the Anatol machines at one time hence some of the "similarities" but you can tell the RPM was taken further in some areas and all though there are similarities they are as different as they are alike. The machines are as different as a Progressive Falcon and a Tuf Javelin. The Falcon and Sportsman are more similar than an RPM and Stratus in my opinion. Not trying to knock it but the RPM is substantially beefier in most areas. And it's obvious that air lines and fittings are not cheap. The AC motor design is similar on many of the new machines out but that's like saying that all cars are the same since they have four tires and doors that open and close the same. The areas that most of these presses are similar is because sometimes the best way to do something has already been done and there is no sense in engineering something differently just to be different, or unique. I personally like the pin drive servo system better than the clevis fork design on the Anatol and other servo machines, but I wouldn't be able to tell you why it was better or even if it is, I just prefer the engineering behind the pin system and it just looks more sound to me. Obviously I'm nothing more than a wannabe garage engineer so take the fact that I like the pin servo system more than the more widely used design on the Anatol, M&R, Pteeex and Progressive with a grain of salt. And the Anatol and RPM do incorporate membrane switches for control on the print head and main control panel (not noting the new Anatol Aries control which I do love). But there is a lot of differences in the control panels and what they can do. Trust me from a printer's standpoint, the Anatol and RPM are very different and so much so that when I left the shop that had the stratus, I was very happy with our choice and it reinforced a lot of things that I thought I had already known from doing all the paper research I did before we pulled the trigger.
I agree with you Darryl that they do have a lot of machine for the money. They have features galore when you think about it but it always comes back to the little things, the attention to detail that usually has unintended consequences. Just look at what has happened just by using cheap air lines and fittings. I have always heard that finding a replacement part for a press that is just a few years old is problematic. I remember seeing 5 stratus machines for sale on DS, all around the same year and specs that were at the same shop. The shop printed tote bags or something but the point of this story is look at the base of the machines, more specifically the air filter & air oiler system and also the lift cylinder and tell me what you see.
And these might not have all been the exact same year, but I seriously doubt they are more than18-24 months apart. And the 4th & 5th ones in the back likely have a completely different design in those areas too.
