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!

Sue, please be careful with that slicer blade - I got a nasty cut from mine! You might consider soaking the whole top in HOT, soapy water - perhaps it will loosen. If that doesn't work, try taking it to a hardware store and asking them to help - they are very good with helping folks in a pickle - ACE hardware is my favorite place to get things fixed, and they don't charge for services or advice!

I have an ancient Cuisinart DLC7PRO and am trying to decide whether to buy replacement parts or buy a new food processor. Does anyone have a favorite replacement parts site? Ones I have looked at say that replacement parts don't reliably fit the older units because they were not standardized from year to year even though the model number stayed the same. Do the old slicing/shredding discs fit the newer units? I know the fps some with more discs now than they used to, but I have some extras that it would be nice to hold onto. Does anyone have any additional thoughts about capacity, Kitchen Aid vs. Cuisinart, etc.?

I do have that food processor, and I store it on a shelf in the butcher block table that I got from IKEA, which holds my electric meat slicer. I use the meat slicer a lot more than the FP, but I need the FP for when I make hummus or bean dip, which is about twice a month. I do like that the slicer blade is adjustable so that you can dial whatever thickness you want, but I still seldom use it - only when I am making huge quantities of sliced vegetables, which is almost never. (For slicing pickles, I use the meat slicer.) I use the FP to grate potatoes and onions for latkes, and I do not make those that often. For cheese grating, I prefer to use my Kitchenaid grater attachment, as it is much easier to clean, and the mixer has to live on the counter anyway. It has a place in a corner that is otherwise inconvenient, but it is perfect for the mixer and its attachments. When I puree stuff in the FP, I put plastic wrap over the top before I put the lid on, and that way the top does not get dirty. The bowls are definitely bulky to store, and I do not have excess storage in my kitchen. If I am chopping small quantites of vegetables for a deviled egg or deviled turkey, I use my Kitchenaid stick blender chopping attachment. It is the right size and will chop without pureeing. I do not put anything into the Cuisinart unless I want it pureed, as it will not do a coarse chop or even a mince. It does a great job of pureeing, however, and I need it for that. Lars