Börkey has been manufacturing products since 1851 and the company has a reputation of making one of the best key machines money can buy. My business has an HPC/Silca Locksmith #1 Key Machine in addition to a Börkey 954-3 for standard duplication so the Börkey Rexa 5, which was released in January 2022, has been a wonderful addition to my lineup. Börkey products are sold in North America by MBA USA.
The Börkey Rexa 5 features several upgrades over the 954-3, most notably the easy calibration features. (Photo 1) The Börkey Rexa 5 has a LED indicator light that engages when the depth adjustment button is pressed. The LED indicator and associated depth adjustment spindle make precise calibration of keys a breeze compared to the 954-3 which requires manual depth adjustment via the provided hex key. Other features the Börkey Rexa 5 has are a removable debris tray, a built-in LED flex lamp, and a built-in plastic brush for easy buffing of completed keys. (Photos 2-3)
There are a few features of the 954-3 machine I wish the Börkey Rexa 5 had kept in place such as the cartridge release toggle which was replaced by a single-hand flipper release and can make for difficult placement of the cutting cartridge back to a stationary position. Another feature of the 954-3 I wish Börkey had kept for the Rexa 5 is the power supply required to run the machine. (Photo 4)
The Börkey 954-3 runs on a standard 110V without an additional power supply required to power the machine which is the case with the Rexa 5 Machine. A suitable power supply is included with the purchase of the Rexa 5 machine. However, the issue I had with powering the machine was not covered in the Börkey manual or the power supply manual.
After a series of phone calls with MBA USA, the solution turned out to be a simple flip of a switch. (Photo 5) The Börkey Rexa 5 comes standard with a 220V plug and the power supply and included adapter allow for the supply to plug into a standard USA outlet. However, the power supply has a voltage converter on the rear of the unit which was set a 220V, causing the machine to not properly function when the power button on the Rexa 5 was pressed. Once the voltage converter on the rear of the power supply was switched to 110V, the Rexa 5 worked like a charm. (Photo 6)
The last feature I hope makes it into a potential Rexa 6 machine in the future is the ability to press the brush button while the key cartridge is stationary and have the brush feature stay on. Currently, the brush will run while the key cartridge is upright toward the cutter wheel. However, to activate the brush while the key cartridge is stationary, the brush button must be held in while the brush is utilized.
Overall, the Börkey Rexa 5 is a tremendous upgrade for a standard duplicator and handled its first challenge of duplicating a broken key with a five-star effort.
