Timely repair or replacement of equipment is critical for medical device manufacturers investing in engineering, fabrication, finishing, assembly, digital design, prototyping systems, automated fabrication, CNC finishing, and multi-axis laser-based quality assurance systems.
Maintaining equipment often presents a logistical nightmare that involves farming out components to a variety of specialty repair shops with variable capabilities, quality, pricing, and turnaround time. In response, the repair industry continues to broaden capabilities to provide a more one-stop-shop repair service to simplify the process.
Medical device manufacturing equipment uses a variety of spindles, spindle motors, arbors, and tools. A range of mechanical or hydraulic components and sophisticated electronic control elements also display real-time status information. Alarm monitoring and critical production-related data for on-the-fly analysis of events, system troubleshooting, and process improvement are also common.
Repair shops tend to specialize – a hydraulic component repair shop may not have the capability to also repair motors; a motor repair shop may not replace power supplies; and robotic equipment must usually be repaired at a dedicated facility.
However, these services can converge with larger repair service companies that offer an array of services under one roof – repair or replacement of components from mechanical to hydraulic. K+S Services repairs electronic components including replacement of controller cards for power supply, input/output (I/O), communication, and memory, as well as human machine interface (HMI) control panels.
Regardless of the type of part, it is important to look for a repair company that will conduct an initial evaluation to identify the probable cause of failure and then repair and test the part to the manufacturer’s specifications.
K+S Services operates 12 facilities globally to remain near manufacturers, enabling faster repairs for customers. Beyond standard services, repair service companies often offer specialized programs, similar to K+S’ Smart Total Asset Management Program (STAMP). STAMP assigns a full-time, on-site account manager to serve as a one-stop facilitator and manager of all repairable assets within a specific plant.
K+S Services Inc.
www.k-and-s.com
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