The unit would be much better if the housing unit itself were made out of metal rather than plastic. This is my second time replacing the unit because of a crack in the plastic housing.

I was amazed at how fantasticaly the attachments preformed. I had been thinking about buying a food processor but will not need to now. The attachments do everything a food processor can.

The hopper is an improvement & designed well for both wide and narrow items.
With fresh crisp vegies I still was not impressed enough to keep the slicing grating kit I purchased & returned for a full refund.
New modern slicers & graters should sharp enough to cut ok. My kit did not perform well at all.
Light will reflect off a dull cutting edge,it's as simple as that.
A dull cutter will make any electric tool motor work harder than it should.
Did I just buy an oddball set of cutters?
Nope! A sales person opened another brand new box and the slicers were dull.
The shroud attatchment gets stuck easily in the mixer until it's inserted and removed a few times. A drop of cooking oil helped that. My grandma would put a drop of cooking oil on the bronze bushing to lubricate & prolong its life.
Cutting foods the same length & no taller than the hopper improved performance a little.

I had the Kitchenaid mixer and most attachments for at least 20 years and it has served me so very well. The slicer shredder started to crack where it attaches to the mixer, so a few months ago I ordered a new one.
Much to my surprise, the cones were not the shiny stainless steel that my 20-year old cones are, but the manual says they are dishwasher safe, so I reasoned that looks don't matter. I washed it once, put it away, and have just now used it to chop walnuts and shred zucchini. Today, I put it through its second wash in the dishwasher when I was finished using it, only to have it come out of the dishwasher with rust starting on the cone and also on the shaft.
My 20-year old attachment NEVER RUSTED! They must have made it in the USA back then and now it is made on the cheap in another country. This is the only reason I can find for the difference in the steel used. Fortunately for me, I still have the old cones and shaft and will probably substitute them, but would advise anyone else to clean with care because the new parts are made of metal that will rust.

It works, but much of the vegetables will hang in and outside the drums.
Not the easiest to clean.