Review: RUPES BIGFOOT MILLE LK 900E by Mike Phillips

Ronin47 said:
Actually the opm is more important as it corrects faster than the Makita which has higher rpm but lower opm. Throw on a gear driven doesn’t dictate cut but the higher the opm’s the more the cut. I think the Mille does 14 opm’s per rpm, higher than any other gear driven. Todd can verify this.
Click to expand...

The movement between the pad and the paint is what creates cut. To figure out which machine has more cut you have to take into account the RPMs and then, how much real movement there is in each revolution. The orbit adds movement but in order to know if that movement adds enough to be greater than the movement provided by the Makita's 790 RPMs and 8.7 omp's per rpm.

The other thing to take into account is the Rupes larger backing plate. The bigger plate will provide more movement on the outside edge. The edge of the 6 inch pad moves 18.84 inches per revolution and the edge of the 5 inch pad moves 15.7 So, the makita's 790 RPMS and 5 inch pad make 12,403 inches of movement before we take into account the orbits - about nine per revolution. The Rupes on the other hand with the 6 inch backing plate and 535 rpms makes 10,079 inches of movement per minute, again, before we take into account the opms.

9 orbits of 5mm makes about 4,800 inches of movement per minute so we can add that to the 12,403 and we have 17,222 per minute for the Makita.

14 orbits of 5mm makes 4629 inches of movement per minute and again, we add that to the 10,079 and we have 14,709 per minute for the Rupes.

LET ME SAY THIS RIGHT NOW -- the formulas I used for this aren't correct, I don't know exactly how to calculate the travel of the pads against the paint taking into account the two movements - the rotations and the orbits at the same time - but I used the same methods for each machine, so while the math may not be exactly right, I have good confidence in the conclusion. The Makita cuts faster.

That said, if I were just starting out and had to pick one - the Rupes, without any hesitation because it spins the same direction as the rotary and if I didn't know how to run a rotary I'd be getting used to the way they move by using the Rupes. Also, if I already knew how to run a rotary, all that muscle memory and skill I'd developed would translate right to the Rupes. It might be slower, but in the end, it has the difference that matters.

I'm not going to give up my Makitas to switch because I've been running them since 2002 and have that movement wired. When Rupes comes out with the new Mille, the one that spins 800 to 850 and has the grip on the top that would make that work - I will buy that.

RSW
 
BTW, Mike.

Did you notice that because the Mille is more effective out on the edge you got a better result in tight places and didn't have to reach for a different machine on posts etc.?

RSW
 
Fantastic write up Mike, thank you. :props:

After carefull consideration & thoroughly reading your veiws on the RUPES Mille a few times I ordered one last week & I should've had it arrive late the same week but due to the Christmas rush, my parcel has yet to arrive.
Being that I'm in New Zealand & we have had the RUPES Mille available to purchase for a few months now I have been a little cautious without reading alot of reviews here on AGO but your review eased my mind somewhat.

Quick question for you Mike.

Q - Like the long throw RUPES Bigfoot machines, is there minimal downward pressure required or like the Flex 3401, shall there be some pressure applied?

Again Mike, thank you for a great write up. :props:


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:
 
Just a quick question before I place the pre order,is the Mille only available with the one length cord and not the longer HD cord? Any insight would be appreciated,as I usually use the longer cord on my machine polishers.
Thanks
 
Mike@ShineStruck said:
I wonder if id's be easy to replace the phillips screws with Allen style head screws..
Click to expand...

In my opinion it would make it a lot easier and safer to swap backing plates.

The key of course would be to have a perfect allen wrench, not one that has been rounded.


One thing for sure - it takes some strength to remove thes Phillips screws by hand, thus my recommendation to ONLY use a Phillips screwdriver in PERFECT condition or you will round out the slots. The last thing you want to do is to have to drill out one of these machine screws in order to slip in an easy-out and try to remove one the hard way.




RSW said:
BTW, Mike.

Did you notice that because the Mille is more effective out on the edge you got a better result in tight places and didn't have to reach for a different machine on posts etc.?

RSW
Click to expand...

Yes and I believe that is for two reasons working together.

it's the shorter stroke or orbit stroke length plus the gear-driven aspect that makes it easier to do correction near edges.


With a long stroke free spinning tool, as the outer edge of a pad hits anything it tends to cause the pad to stall out.

In my RUPES how-to book

300_4_book.jpg




On page 55, I created a term called,

The Ghosting footprint and the actual footprint

Here's page 54 and 55

ghosting_0001.jpg



Down just to the right of my thumb is this section...

ghosting_0002.jpg




When you look down at a 21mm, 15mm or 12mm long stroke orbital polisher - if you look carefully you'll see two perimeters... the outer perimeter is the ghosting footprint as there is not 100% pad contact 100% of the time. The inner perimeter is the actual footprint and there is 100% of pad contact 100% of the time.

ghosting_0003.jpg




I'm not very good in PS so here's the best I could do using the images already in the book.

ghosting_0004.jpg







I guess when if a person write a book and can't find a term to describe what they see then they can make it up as they go. At least that's what I do.


:)
 
BucboyInPa said:
Just a quick question before I place the pre order,

is the Mille only available with the one length cord and not the longer HD cord?

Any insight would be appreciated,as I usually use the longer cord on my machine polishers.

Thanks
Click to expand...


Both the Mille and the new RUPES rotary only come with 29' cords from the RUPES factory. So you're good to go...

I actually took a picture of the Mille with the cord full stretched out - just forgot to process and share the pictures. So here you go...

Look carefully - see the cord?

Mille_0041.JPG




Now I've cropped out the fluff...

Mille_0042.JPG




And now just the cord
This picture and the above picture are from the original pictures above...

Mille_0043.JPG





For comparison,

Mille = 29' cord from the factory

Makita PO5000C = 13' cord from the factory

FLEX XC 3401 VRG - 9' cord from the factory - shown is the HD version with a 25' cord


Mille_0040.JPG




Hope that helps...


Click here to pre-order the RUPES Mille gear-driven orbital polisher



:)
 
Looks like its time to try to sell the old Makita BO6040. Its built like a tank and never had a single issue with it. I got tired of the physical effort involved and my friend's Flex 3401 felt the same way so its kind of sat for years after I decided to go back to correcting with a rotary.
 
Almost had my RUPES Mille for a week now. :buffing:

I have polished out two vehicles with it so far, one being a Nissan Pathfinder with paint condition . . . . horrible to be honest. Severe water spots, swirls & enough RIDS to not be classed as "random". I used this as an experimental canvas to try the RUPES Mille system, utilising the various pads, polishes & compounds, & of course changing it up a bit with other manufacturers pads, polishes & compounds in differing combinations. All types of defects were destroyed in its path & a beautiful finish was all that remained.

One of the first things I noticed was how tall the Mille is & this is amplified if you stray from a thin pad too but all in all it is a taller machine & this didn't hinder performance any, even around & under wing mirrors wasn't any trouble at all.
Second thing that stood out was the speed. I knew it spun fast but a little surprised at first as to how fast.

Feel of machine in hand is nice & performance is right on point, so far the RUPES Mille has my tick of approval. :buffing:









Looking forward to working with the RUPES Mille some more tomorrow & into the future . . .


Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:
 
Aaryn,

The lighting in your shop looks impressive! Your photos really show how bright it is. Looks beautiful by the way.

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the Mille.

Bob
 
RSW said:
The movement between the pad and the paint is what creates cut. To figure out which machine has more cut you have to take into account the RPMs and then, how much real movement there is in each revolution. The orbit adds movement but in order to know if that movement adds enough to be greater than the movement provided by the Makita's 790 RPMs and 8.7 omp's per rpm.

The other thing to take into account is the Rupes larger backing plate. The bigger plate will provide more movement on the outside edge. The edge of the 6 inch pad moves 18.84 inches per revolution and the edge of the 5 inch pad moves 15.7 So, the makita's 790 RPMS and 5 inch pad make 12,403 inches of movement before we take into account the orbits - about nine per revolution. The Rupes on the other hand with the 6 inch backing plate and 535 rpms makes 10,079 inches of movement per minute, again, before we take into account the opms.

9 orbits of 5mm makes about 4,800 inches of movement per minute so we can add that to the 12,403 and we have 17,222 per minute for the Makita.

14 orbits of 5mm makes 4629 inches of movement per minute and again, we add that to the 10,079 and we have 14,709 per minute for the Rupes.

LET ME SAY THIS RIGHT NOW -- the formulas I used for this aren't correct, I don't know exactly how to calculate the travel of the pads against the paint taking into account the two movements - the rotations and the orbits at the same time - but I used the same methods for each machine, so while the math may not be exactly right, I have good confidence in the conclusion. The Makita cuts faster.

That said, if I were just starting out and had to pick one - the Rupes, without any hesitation because it spins the same direction as the rotary and if I didn't know how to run a rotary I'd be getting used to the way they move by using the Rupes. Also, if I already knew how to run a rotary, all that muscle memory and skill I'd developed would translate right to the Rupes. It might be slower, but in the end, it has the difference that matters.

I'm not going to give up my Makitas to switch because I've been running them since 2002 and have that movement wired. When Rupes comes out with the new Mille, the one that spins 800 to 850 and has the grip on the top that would make that work - I will buy that.

RSW
Click to expand...

Say your right on your math..that means Makita will be even more as it's actually 5.5 and not 5
You can get a 6in plate from Australia or just use a 21mm longthrow plate

But this makes sense.. when I installed a 3in BP on my PO5000C it seemed less powerful at correction speed than it did with the 5in..I just thought it was the Force pads being weak compared to low pros and thin pros
 
Mike@ShineStruck said:
Say your right on your math..that means Makita will be even more as it's actually 5.5 and not 5
You can get a 6in plate from Australia or just use a 21mm longthrow plate

But this makes sense.. when I installed a 3in BP on my PO5000C it seemed less powerful at correction speed than it did with the 5in..I just thought it was the Force pads being weak compared to low pros and thin pros
Click to expand...

Rupes makes a backing plate you can put on, you just have to be careful not to use the wrong hex head bolt. I used the old Makita bolt. What worries me about running a 6 inch backing plate is that it will put more stress on the machine. I'd be careful to watch for overheating.

RSW
 
You can get factory 6in for Makita over seas...next month they should have a factory 3in out
I was going to purchase a Kamikaze duetto plate, but I'll just wait for the factory plate
 
BucboyInPa said:
Thanks Mike, I knew I could ask and get the low down!
Click to expand...

Yeah I should have remembered those pictures showing just how long the cord was but sometimes it's hard to hit 100%


BucboyInPa said:
Order going in!
Click to expand...


Cool. Please be sure to share your thoughts after buffing out a few cars.



LEDetailing said:
Aaryn,

The lighting in your shop looks impressive! Your photos really show how bright it is. Looks beautiful by the way.

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the Mille.

Bob
Click to expand...


I agree, a well lit shop saves tons of time, makes work faster and easier and help you to identify paint defects when doing the initial inspection.



:dblthumb2:
 
have you tried the lake country force pads with the mille mike?
 
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