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A man working on a Premier RPA instrument from Alpha Technologies

Why Refurbished Is Not New

In many industries, refurbished items can be an appealing choice when making big purchases. This is because refurbished products are almost always less expensive than new ones, an important consideration when working with a limited budget. There is a sizable market for used cars, certified pre-owned cell phones, and other products that have already seen service—including rheology instruments and other laboratory testing machines.

A refurbished product can be a perfectly serviceable or even excellent option depending on the context. Some brands market their refurbished products as “like new.” But a refurbished rheology instrument is not the same as a new instrument. There are significant differences between new and refurbished testing machines, from obvious discrepancies in technology to unexpected increases in maintenance and repair costs.

These differences can significantly impact operations and efficiency, with consequences ranging from mild inconvenience to disaster. Understanding the differences between new and refurbished instruments—and the risks associated with choosing refurbished—is key to making an informed purchasing decision.

Refurbished instruments are more difficult to maintain.

Perhaps the greatest challenge associated with refurbished instruments is parts obsolescence. The older the instrument, the more difficult it is to source parts for repairs and maintenance. Some parts can still be found on Ebay or other third-party vendors, but the time and cost required to track them down is significant. Hunting for an obscure part, with no guarantee of when it will be found, delivered, and installed, can increase downtime and affect revenue and productivity. This will only increase over time as the refurbished machine continues to age and needs more repairs.

While some parts have become rare, others are simply no longer available. The front panel display on the Series 2000 line used vacuum tubes, which were considered established technology in 1987. These days, all vacuum tubes have been replaced by LCD, and the specific vacuum tube from the Series 2000 is no longer being manufactured. These challenges will only become more frequent as the technology of the 80s continues to age.

The worst-case scenario with a refurbished instrument is the inevitable day when the instrument simply cannot be used any longer and the only choice is to purchase a new instrument. Securing approvals and budget for an upgrade can take time, and once a new instrument is purchased, the lead time on delivery, installation, and calibration is usually at least four weeks. If this happens in the middle of a time-sensitive project, the losses can be disastrous. As a quality engineer, what would be the cost or impact associated with not being able to test products for at least a month?

Maintaining a new or current instrument is much easier and more convenient. Parts are readily available and ship quickly. Operators can plan maintenance and repairs around when the new part is scheduled to arrive, minimizing downtime.

Refurbished instruments have outdated design features.

In virtually every industry, new generations of products are designed better than their predecessors, based on user feedback and other advancements. These features are not available on refurbished models. And while some design upgrades are largely informed by comfort or personal preference, others make a meaningful contribution to the efficacy of the product.

Notable design improvements of the Alpha Technologies Premier line include:

  • Symmetric, four-post design. On previous generations of Alpha Technologies instruments, the upper crosshead was supported by three posts, which put uneven force on the die cavity. This resulted in small amounts of sample leakage and problems with non-parallelism, especially when testing stiff samples. The Premier RPA has a patented four-post design, which keeps dies parallel. This is an especially important feature as harder compounds become more commonplace in tire manufacturing.
  • Open-concept design. The sample shield on the Series 2000 line only opened in the front, while the Premier line is open on three sides. This makes it much easier and faster for operators to insert samples, change seals, and do cleanup. The open-concept design also compensates for any crowding caused by the addition of a fourth support post.

Refurbished instruments have outdated capabilities.

While rheology principles haven’t changed much in the past few decades, testing technology certainly has—and new testing instruments have capabilities that refurbished models simply can’t match.

When comparing the Series 2000 and Premier lines, the most notable example of enhanced efficiency is automation. The Series 2000 could run a ten-sample or a 100-sample carousel. By comparison, the Premier series can run five- and ten-sample queue systems, a 36-sample carousel, and a high-capacity system that can accommodate up to 256 samples. This level of automation allows a single operator to run many machines simultaneously and the facility as a whole to spend less time loading samples and more time on higher-value tasks, leading to greater efficiency and cost savings.

The Premier line has several other features that the Series 2000 line does not, including:

  • Better temperature distribution across dies due to 180° temperature probe offset.
  • Rapid change eccentric on the MDR, which allows for calibration at multiple eccentricities and significantly greater efficiency.

Refurbished instruments don’t come with the same promise.

In some industries, manufacturers will reclaim, refurbish, and sell their own products. This is somewhat common among electronics manufacturers. But many refurbished products, such as rheology instruments, are sold by third-party vendors who don’t have access to the original manufacturer’s proprietary, specialized components. In many cases, a refurbished instrument is simply the frame of the original instrument with standard, off-the-shelf parts that have not been developed for rheology applications. This type of refurbished instrument does not come with the same quality and performance guarantees as a new instrument.

Premier: 21st century rheology testing technology.

The Alpha Technologies Premier line of rheology instruments combines scientific best practice with new, advanced features and state-of-the-art automation technology. The Premier line is designed for superior accuracy and increased efficiency, yielding results that refurbished instruments simply cannot match.

To upgrade to the Premier line and bring your lab into the 21st century, schedule a consultation

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