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When to Step Up to a Blank Changer: Reading the CORiTEC 250i

By Dr. Marcos B. Pesci · July 25, 2026 · 24 views

There is a real gap between a benchtop mill and a production machine, and it is not spindle power. It is whether the machine can hold a queue.

The 250i Loader PRO+ configuration

The imes-icore CORiTEC 250i in Loader PRO+ trim is built around a 6-fold automatic blank changing system, with 4 blank holders and 6 magazine holders. One processing station acts as the rotary/swivel axis. It runs 5-axis simultaneous machining and processes both wet and dry.

Material range is the widest on this list: CoCr, titanium, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, wax and PMMA.

Hardware

High-frequency spindle, 1 kW, up to 60,000 rpm
Automatic 10-fold tool changer with interchangeable tool magazine
Blank holder for 98 mm blanks
230V — confirm your electrical service before ordering

The honest threshold

At $46,009.62, this machine is roughly 3.6x the price of an entry benchtop dry mill. Do not step up for capability you might use. Step up when one of these is already true:

You are turning away metal work. Titanium and CoCr frameworks carry margins that zirconia does not, and outsourcing them hands that margin to someone else.
Your machine is the bottleneck, not your designers. If discs are queued waiting for spindle time, a blank changer converts backlog into overnight output.
You need wet and dry without compromise. Not a compromise platform — a machine specified for both.

What the changer really buys

Blank changing is unglamorous and it is the whole point. Every automatic load is a technician interruption that does not happen, and every unattended hour is production you are not paying labor for. For a lab running 5 days of steady volume, that is typically where the machine pays for itself — not in any single heroic case.

Note: this item is not eligible for return or exchange. Confirm configuration, voltage and CAM compatibility before ordering.

Go deeper — full comparisons and specifications

These landing pages carry the complete side-by-side data, configuration options and current offers:

iMES iCORE at US Dental Depot — the CORiTEC range, loader options and service.
Dental Milling Units Compared 2026 — every mill we carry, ranked by capability and price.
Milling Requirements — power, air, extraction and space before you order.