Our ice machine broke.. we were crushed .. So my husband decided to purchase this stand alone Ice Machine .. we love it even better .. I like the ice better .. it is soft not hard and I like the circular style cubes it makes .. We can still put it through our freezer .. to make crushed ice if we want  to .. And it blends great in our smoothies .. 
So really our ice machine breaking was a blessing .. in the end ... We are well pleased