Radwell International’s Blog

As a plant engineer or manager of a manufacturing facility, you know that maintaining your current equipment and infrastructure is crucial to keeping your operations running seamlessly. However, there will come a time when you need to decide whether to repair or replace certain components. Making this choice can be challenging, as each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Obsolescence is an unavoidable part of any manufacturing endeavor. No matter how well your company has planned, some factors are more challenging to consider in advance than others.

In the era of Industry 4.0, new technology continues to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. Industry professionals view it as the latest industrial revolution, hence the Industry 4.0 moniker. Big data and computing technologies are the front-runners in innovations proving value to manufacturers. It is more crucial now than ever to remain on the leading edge of new technology. Upgrading equipment to provide greater efficiencies will provide a greater return on the investment.

Countless industries use hydraulic machinery in different settings. Automotive repair, the construction industry, the entertainment business, aerospace companies, and municipalities all rely on hydraulics to keep their businesses running on a day to day basis.  

Keeping your hydraulic machinery functioning means regularly auditing it. You want to make sure you identify any signs of trouble before problems become serious. Some new machinery has the ability to alert you through a maintenance system when there is a problem and the machine needs service. But of course, simply checking the machine on a regular maintenance schedule will ensure that the machinery is working properly.  

You should also train all of your employees to recognize the early signs of hydraulics malfunction. 

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is an electronic device used to monitor or control production processes. It is a device that a user can program to perform a series or sequence of events. These events are triggered by inputs received at the programmable logic controller through delayed actions such as time delays.

There are many important things to consider when choosing an electronics repair company to work with. The right repair company for your business can ensure that your repair process is efficient and seamless. Keeping your business up and running can be a matter of choosing the right company to handle your repairs.  There’s a few key points to consider when deciding which company to choose as your repair provider.

Robots are a critical part of today’s manufacturing. Keeping them running is a high priority, while minimizing downtime for repairs is essential.

In places like automotive plants, the robots can be massive, so sending them out for repair is not an option. Typically, when something goes wrong with one of these large machines, the problem can be traced back to a single component—a board or drive, a human-machine interface (HMI), a programmable logic controller (PLC) or a touchscreen, for example. Once the customer identifies the component that has failed, the next step is sending it out for repair or replacement.

Radwell International, a leader in industrial repair, distribution and surplus automation, maintains a $2-billion surplus, which is a great cost-effective alternative for a customer with a machine down. This this surplus also allows for their Engineering Department build efficient test fixtures. This huge on-site inventory of parts and robots means technicians can put the part in question through a full-load test in the same model robot as the one the customer uses. As a result, Radwell’s customers have confidence in the repairs and replacements because they know their components have been thoroughly tested. Radwell can also repair or replace teach pendants, control panels and any of the control components, as well as other parts such as servo motors.

This surplus and testing capability sets Radwell apart from its competitors and greatly enhances its capacity to quickly test components and replacement parts, so that its customers are up and running again as soon as possible. The extensive testing enables Radwell to offer its customers a two-year warranty (compared to the industry-standard of 12-18 months), and also keeps the warranty rate very low (4 percent versus the 6 percent industry average).

Watch a short video about the company’s robotic repair and test capabilities featuring the Kawasaki UX120F, a robot that improves production line efficiencies and general industry and automotive applications. The Kawasaki UC120F is just one of the many robots Radwell has available to test components.