There’s a saying that old machines never die, they just get moved to another factory. Okay, maybe there isn’t a saying, but there should be. It’s a testament to the talents of OEM machine builders that for applications ranging from ketchup packaging to lumber processing, machines can last 20, 30, even 50 years. That’s some tough steel and some good design. It does raise a problem that doesn’t perhaps get talked about as much as it should, though—obsolescence mitigation.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a hardware geek from way back. As a technology writer, I’m trained to perpetually look for the latest and greatest. That’s where the excitement is—unless you’re an OEM with dozens of machines in the field under warranty, based on components from the previous generation. That’s when things start to get complicated, especially as the years go by. Remember, we’re talking about machines that operate for decades. Sure, vendors support a product line after it’s been discontinued, but as the parts begin to near end-of-life (EOL), that support begins to wane. Suddenly, the leadtime stretches out from a couple of weeks to multiple months. For an OEM supporting customers for whom an hour of downtime can cost thousands of dollars, that kind of delay is simply not feasible. Sure, an easy solution would be to upgrade to the next-generation, but they may not want to. More to the point, their customer may not want to.
EOL affects everyone in the food chain. After all, it’s not as though motion vendors are immune from the challenge. Try being a controller or drives vendor and having a critical COTS chip go EOL (give me a moment and I’ll figure out a way to stick yet another acronym in that sentence, just see if I don’t).
It’s an unavoidable problem, but one for which the industry can take a cue from the military and aerospace sector. There, obsolescence mitigation has become a big deal, as the industry increasingly incorporates commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products. COTS components provide low-cost, high-availability solutions—but only for a limited time, not nearly long enough to meet military timelines. After all, when it comes to COTS components, the 10-ton gorilla known as the consumer electronics industry drives product lifecycles. Vendors can’t afford to support a product for 30 years to satisfy a minor market when their primary customer needs a new chip every six months. Gradually, though, the market has begun to figure it out. Some IC manufacturers who are preparing to stop production of a chip will call their customers and offer to pattern a certain number of wafers and store them in a controlled environment, undiced and unpackaged, waiting until the customer needs them. Meanwhile, an entire cottage industry has sprung up around manufacturers who will fabricate COTS products that have been discontinued by other vendors.
In the motion control industry, vendors do provide EOL notices and extend opportunities for last-time buys. It’s a delicate balancing act, however. Order too much, and you’re tying up capital and warehouse space unnecessarily. Order too little and you may find yourself scouring spec sheets trying to find a replacement product so you can make good on your customer support.
The point is that even while the motion industry focuses on pushing the technology forward, vendors need to remember to also have an obsolescence mitigation policy for their customers. Just as important, OEMs need to understand the EOL policies of their vendors—assuming they exist.
Does your company have an obsolescence mitigation policy in place? Do your vendors? Some potential questions for your key suppliers include:
- What previous product lines have they obsoleted?
- What is their EOL policy?
- What is the typical life cycle for new products?
- At what stage is the product that you’re considering for my new design?
- Is there a replacement product under development that still may meet your design schedule?
Plan for the long term. Make sure that the product you designed today can be supported tomorrow…and for a lot of tomorrows to come.
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