I have enjoyed this thread.....reading about the good and bad.
It regularly reminds me that my much older, but totally professional/commercial Quad machine is a better solution for me. I really want these smaller, newer, and low-cost machines to work, but the limitations in the real world seem like they cost way more than you save on the initial purchase. I now have about $12k in my machine total - but it has very little limitations and it is quite reliable. Tons of feeders, 0201/01005 capable, 100+ parts in the machine, on-the-fly side vision, etc, etc.
The Quads, however, will not last forever. The maintenance effort and costs are on the rise. Just hoping that something like the Neoden will be a suitable replacement.