Historically, many manufacturers have been reluctant to change from the familiar machine control systems they have used for decades over fears of incurring high upgrade costs. Despite the escalating price of maintaining a DOS system versus the affordable advantages of a modern Windows driven machine, concerns over the initial cost of switching to new and enhanced control systems have kept old ones in place well past their effectiveness.
However, it is time to make the move. Today, it’s become more costly to maintain DOS-based machines than it is to upgrade. In some cases, it’s nearly impossible to find technicians to work on them. To keep your business up and running, an investment in upgraded controls technology needs to be made before machines fail. Otherwise, your company may find itself with lengthy downtimes and lost production.
Advantages of Upgrading
When you switch from DOS-based machines to Windows-driven ones, you’ll experience a number of advantages to bring you greater efficiency, and improved quality:
1. Shorter scheduled downtime durations
Extended downtimes are a result of a machine relying on obsoleted parts that are hard to find or no longer being manufactured. These critical control parts can be two to three times more expensive than modern parts, which will result in increased maintenance budgets. With a Windows upgrade, part availability and cost become more manageable and affordable.
2. Inventoried parts
Upgrading means access to increased inventory capacity. MTI’s service team has inventories of reliable replacement parts that are available when you need them. No more scrounging, testing, or long waiting periods. If your machine needs repairs, a reliable inventory means a faster fix and less machine down time.
3. Improved weld process
With obsolete equipment, manufacturers operate on borrowed time. At any moment, there may be less than reliable output. MTI’s upgrade ensures reliability through the modernization of your equipment backed by a wide inventory of parts and highly skilled technicians.
4. Full tracing and reporting functionality to meet requirements
A DOS friction welder has weld file portability via an outdated 5-1/4 floppy disk and a dot matrix printer. These make it difficult to readily share data in today’s network and cloud-based data exchange. With enhanced technology, you’ll have clear documentation of your manufacturing process, so you can stay in compliance with customer requirements.
5. Expanded and integrated system messaging
Outdated DOS programming is incompatible with the new controls software such as MTI’s mWeld software and MTI’s MTInterface™ system, a condition monitoring and machine performance solution. With upgraded software you get clear system messaging that helps you pinpoint issues more quickly and efficiently.
Why MTI?
Because MTI is the OEM for your friction welder, we know your business, your equipment, and your needs. Our expert technicians will ensure that you get the right software package for your machine — fully integrating it, just as if it were a new machine. Plus, we’ll train your team, and provide a warranty on our work. So, the change will be smooth and cost-effective for you and your business.
Get Started
As a world leader in friction welding, MTI’s team of service experts can create an upgrade plan for you. In addition, we can provide ongoing maintenance packages, preventive care, and more. So, your processes can stay current, and you can experience greater peace of mind.
Contact us today — MTI is ready to help you make your parts even better.
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