I have a KA Artisan stand mixer, which I bought used almost five years ago. I don't know how long the seller had owned it, but she said she'd used it in her home cake decorating business, to put herself through college. It looked brand new and was immaculate, even under the metal band, which I removed to do a thorough cleaning before I used it the first time. The mixer sits on the counter, and I have used it often, for bread and pizza dough, stiff cooky doughs, cake batter and frostings. I follow the mfr's instructions to use a low setting for the stiffer doughs.

Recently, it stopped working, as I was creaming some cold butter for
frosting for my grandson's birthday cake. I enlisted my son-in-law to
beat the frosting by hand, and the day was saved. The motor
was fine, but the planetary would not rotate. Info on the 'net says that 90% of the time, the nylon worm gear
follower will be stripped, which is a safety measure to protect the
motor, so I ordered a replacement, which cost about $5.00.

When the replacement arrived, I removed the mixer's cover, following directions on a YouTube video, but found that the worm follower was
in perfect condition! After all the stiff dough I'd mixed in the last five years, and being used in a home business! I was impressed. However, the grooved roll pin, which secures the shaft to the worm gear
follower, and usually needs to be tapped out with a punch, was missing. I
have no idea how that happened, but I had some anxious minutes thinking
it had disintegrated into the gear box grease, which means I would have
had to thoroughly clean the whole inside of the gear box and replace with new grease.

I removed the grease, and used a small spatula to 'smoosh' it around on a plate, looking for pieces of the pin. I finally found it intact, but bent at a 90° angle, and I found a tiny corresponding ding on the gear tower housing. I put everything back together, and ordered a pin (about $7.00), which arrived a few days later. After taking the mixer apart, removing the grease again, and cleaning and removing the gear tower, I replaced the pin, and all is well. I used the mixer for both bread and pizza dough last week, and it's been used for several batches of cookies. And I have a spare worm gear follower, if the original ever gets stripped.

I just wanted to mention that I called KA customer service when I found that the pin was missing, and asked what could have caused that to happen. They had no answer, and they don't sell replacement parts. They were nice, but suggested that I send them the mixer for repair. I didn't even ask how much it would cost.

So, if your KA's planetary stops spinning, check the worm gear follower before ordering a new one. If the worm follower doesn't appear to be damaged, check the grooved roll pin in the gear tower shaft. You can save yourself a substantial amount by replacing either one, and/or the gear box grease, without sending the mixer back to the company, or finding a local repairman.

I love my KAs! If you'd like to add pics and testimonials, feel free. :)

My KA, tucked into its cubby at the end of the baking counter:

My first KA, which I used for 25 years (in the same location in my old kitchen). It now lives in my DD's kitchen:

Happy holiday baking!