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Retrofit
5 min
Retrofit or replace? A five-question test
Most old machines have good iron and tired brains. Five questions tell you whether new controls will give you another fifteen years.
Good iron, tired brains
Frames, gearboxes and guards often outlive their controls by decades. Replacing the whole machine buys you new iron you did not need.
The five questions
- Is the mechanical structure still within tolerance?
- Can you still buy spare parts for the controls?
- Does the machine meet today's safety requirements?
- Is the cycle time still competitive?
- Can the downtime be planned in stages?
Reading the answers
Three or more yeses and a retrofit usually costs a third of a new machine, with a shorter shutdown.
Keep reading
More field notes.
Data & OEE
OEE is a product, not an average
Availability, performance and quality multiply. Three good-looking numbers can still hide a line that loses a fifth of its time.
Safety
Designing safety zones people will not bypass
If a guard slows the job, someone will defeat it. Good safety design starts at the operator's workflow, not at the fence.
Controls
Ladder logic still has a place
Structured text is powerful. But at three in the morning, the maintenance technician reads rungs, not functions.