most accurate key duplication machines?

[lockpicker69]

hi

no reply from godzilla wonder where he went to ,anyway going to look at a used framon 2 over the weekend ,i like the after sales customer care at framon allthough buying used i dont think i qualify. but this site is worth a look at for anybody intrested

http://www.andrewslock.com/pdf/framon.pdf

[zeke79]

I have a used framon DC300 and their support of that machine has been just as good as the support of my framon 2D I bought new. Any problems or questions I have had have been resolved promptly for sure.

Their customer service is light years ahead of HPC. Though to be honest I could probably provide the same level of customer service HPC does all by myself from home.

[Raccoon]

Regarding the first post: Really any duplicator that is calibrated can do the job accurately. It does help if the lock is present for testing (on site) just to make sure.

But even the most copied-of-copied keys can be duplicated if you have a pair of calipers handy to get a baseline measurement to compensate. If the 99th generation duplicates are well-made duplicates (not too rounded), then cutting them extra shallow (or even extra deep) should make it balance out.

I wouldn't place "accuracy" as a defining feature when looking to buy a duplicator. I'd worry more about how quickly they can be calibrated-- even on-the-fly.

[zeke79]

I wouldn't place "accuracy" as a defining feature when looking to buy a duplicator. I'd worry more about how quickly they can be calibrated-- even on-the-fly.

I have to totally disagree. You are saying in that statement that if I can adjust my ilco 008 mini mite in 4 seconds I should use it over a silica bravo because it takes a minute to calibrate?

The flaw with that whole idea is that you will NEVER have to adjust that silica for anything other than cutter wear. The 008 on the other hand is another story all together.

Buy the best machine you can afford. If your machine consistantly produces keys within .001" then you can almost guarantee that ANY working key that is brought to you WILL produce a working duplicate. I have fought junk duplicators in the past and they are nothing but a pain no matter how quickly you can calibrate them. Worst part of all is you never trust the key when using these flaky machines UNTIL you insert it into the lock yourself and it turns smoothly.

[Raccoon]

I guess I'm inexperienced with cheap duplicators then. I don't expect them to have loose tolerances, just difficulty in calibrating for blade wear or working on worn keys.

[zeke79]

There are alot of factors that play into the accuracy of a machine Raccoon. Yes that 008 I have will duplicate a key but there are problems with the duplication. First problem is that due to the arc the feed carrage swings in, the root cut of the key is on an angle which somtimes produces keys that turn smooth in one direction but not another. THe second issue is how much pressure is used to feed the keys into the cutter. This can have an effect on your duplicate.

I personally prefer automatic machines simply because they always repeat the same feed pressures and thus yield the same key every time. If I use mine manually I have to be really concious about what I am doing or I end up with a key that is cut too shallow or to deep.

There is nothing wrong with price shopping for a machine. There are those little gems out there in every product line that just do better than they should for thier cost. Just make sure you buy the best machine for what YOU are going to do. For the hobbiest, a cheaper machine will do as you have quite a bit of time to fiddle around getting a good key. In a shop with a customer waiting for you is a whole other story. If I could justify it, I would own a new silica bravo automatic. Right now though it just doesnt seem like a viable option since I have my ilco 040 that cuts consistantly to around .001" Everytime I take a key out of it I know it is going to work as well as the key I duplicated. That is all you can expect from a duplicator.