I guess I'm late to the party but hope I can clear a few things up.
While the technician is ultimately responsible for the quality of the work, the tools must be capable of producing a quality finish. I would say it's generally 50/50 tools and technician. However, a great tech can do some pretty amazing things with dated technology, and at the same time the latest advances in automation over the last 10 years have really raised the baseline for most shops with even a relatively inexperienced ski tech.
That said, at the highest levels you really need the best of both to have repeatable results and precision tuning.
Montana and Wintersteiger have many similarities but also have some very distinct differences that can each be advantageous in various situations.
The biggest difference is their approach to edge preparation. Wintersteiger is using ceramic disc technology for both base and side edges on all their automated machines. When calibrated properly these machines will produce a very accurate bevel in the range of +/- 0.1 degree. However, out of calibration or if the ski hasn't been ground completely flat, these discs can easily over bevel the base edge, and unfortunately these machines aren't routinely maintained in most shops. Also, the tip and tail on the base edge are polished with a hard abrasive rubber wheel, or finished manually after the ski exits the machine. Manual finishing would also be necessary when using the trimjet 1 or 2. Yes, the new trimjet is a much better machine, but still requires regular calibration and in my opinion a more experienced operator than the original.
Montana on the other hand uses these polishing wheels for base bevel exclusively for the entire length of the base edge. They dress the wheels for radial tuning, where the bevel is variable from approximately 0.5 under foot growing to between 0.7-1.0 at the tip and tail depending on the width of the ski. This usually makes for a wonderful on snow experience for most skiers and makes it nearly impossible for an inexperienced tech to over bevel your skis. However, if you're looking for a precise base bevel it's difficult to do with this system. Some of the automated Montana machines have precise control over the pressure curve for base edge grinding, which allows you to get pretty close to what you're after with some trial and error, but repeatability is difficult. Also, Montana still uses sanding belts to grind side edges in their automated machines with few exceptions. As far as I'm aware the Crystal Race is the only exception. These belts are backed by a ceramic block to produce a very accurate side edge bevel, but the finish is inconsistent due to belt ware, and never measures up to a disc finish.
Another major difference between these manufacturers is the use of a grinding stone that moves up and down to apply pressure to the base of the ski. Montana offers this technology on the pro version machines, and I think by default the Crystal One because of the narrow stone and base edge unit sharing a driveshaft, but many of the other Montana automated machines out there do not have this technology.
Wintersteiger on the other hand uses this technology on all their machines. The importance of the pressure curve being adjusted from the stone in this way is that it allows the stone to come into the tip and tail softly as the ski passes over and produces a much flatter grind. On the Montana machines that do not have Pro technology, the technician has to set the height of the stone and continually adjust as the stone gets smaller with dressings. As the ski enters the machine it pretty much runs into the stone and flexes hard at the tip and tail. As the ski flexes in these areas it bends into a convex form, thus grinding the middle of the ski and not along the edges. When the ski straightens back out, you'll notice some serious concavity in the tip and tail. Generally this is okay and will not affect performance so long as the base bevel has been properly applied.
At the highest level, the Crystal Race has full CNC control of the dresser, Pro technology, disc edge preparation on the side edge, and control of the pressure and speed curves to make some really amazing structures. As far as I know none of these machines have made it to North America yet.
As for the Wintersteiger Race NC producing a better quality grind, that is a bit misleading. There are a few factors, and it's not an apples to apples comparison.
The biggest difference is that the Race NC is a manual machine, and for great results requires that the bindings be removed. Any properly calibrated manual machine with a quality stone, diamond, and technician will produce a very flat ski with the bindings removed. Where the NC shines is it's CNC control of the dresser and variable pressure curve. With the right knowledge and ability this machine will produce amazing structures. That said, with the right stone, diamond, and operator any modern manual machine will produce amazing structures. While the most advanced structures today ARE coming from manual CNC controlled stone grinders, they are not coming from Wintersteiger or Montana, and are not publicly available anywhere in this country for skis with edges.
To touch on another related comment from above, the idea that the structure from one type of machine needs more break in than another, or that one machine has more tics in the structure than another is completely false and determined solely by the stone, diamond, structure parameters, grind parameters, coolant temperature, and post dressing stone preparation. It has nothing to do with what name is painted on the side.
So, the cliff notes would be, if you're looking for precision edges go with a Wintersteiger and great technician. If you're not sure about the quality of the tech, the Montana is a safer bet. Wintersteiger will have better side edge finishes. They are both capable of producing amazing and terrible grinds.
Good luck!
Cooper
