Repairing Legacy Equipment: Overcoming the Challenges
Imagine fixing a vintage car with only an essential toolkit and a dusty manual; That’s the reality of maintaining many older pieces of equipment in the industrial and manufacturing industry. Many factories across the United States use machines that are twenty to thirty years old. While these components were made to last, companies have found that many challenges plague repairing legacy equipment.
Obtaining replacement parts is one of the biggest issues. There’s immense difficulty in finding original parts; if you manage to hunt them down, they’re usually costly, as few are left for sale. There is also limited availability of technicians with expertise in older technologies. Many qualified techs are heading towards retirement, and there’s been trouble finding replacement technicians due to industry misconceptions, such as there’s no room for advancement, or these jobs were societally deemed as “unskilled labor.” If there are techs that can work with the legacy parts, there are often only outdated maintenance manuals, leading to difficulty and no proper guidance in accessing original design specifications.
That said, there are solutions to these challenges every day. 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, creates objects by printing material layer by layer based on a digital model, allowing manufacturers to construct machine replacement parts. According to the Associate Press and Data from the National Student Clearinghouse, mechanic and repair trade programs recently saw an 11.5% enrollment surge, so experienced soon-to-be retirees can pass on their knowledge when acting as apprentices and teachers.
Industrial Repair Service strives to be your cost-efficient alternative to buying new industrial electronic equipment from the OEM. We understand the cost of replacing parts and work to repair the components utilizing state-of-the-art diagnostic tools. Every job is manageable for our experienced and highly trained technicians as they possess deep expertise in a wide range of legacy equipment. Working with OEM products is one of our specialties. If we feel that repairing the part is unobtainable, we not only stock thousands of parts in the back of our warehouse, but our team excels in exploring alternative parts and repair options for you.
Don’t let outdated equipment slow down your production. Contact Industrial Repair Service today for a free pick-up, and let us get your machinery back up and running!