Except that your summary misses a ton of important details. 1) The most important one being: "This machine sterilizes itself without removing the feedstock" T

Except that your summary misses a ton of important details. 1) The most important one being: "This machine sterilizes itself without removing the feedstock" The sanitization of these machines is not dependent upon being cleaned by someone who cares or is competent. This minimizes the possibility of food poisoning and the attendant lawsuit. 2) The alternative device had no indemnification associated with it. If somebody adjusted the machine and then a customer got food poisoning, who was going to be on the hook for the lawsuit? Practically everything about these machines is defined by lawsuit avoidance combined with the fact that these machines are manufactured in low volume and not that profitable by themselves. These machines are primarily a legal liability transfer mechanism. The fact that they serve ice cream is completely incidental.