The Problem:
Our customer had long relied on a specific brand of panel PCs for their core production equipment. When the original supplier was acquired, the new parent company announced the panel PC was being obsoleted. This compelled the manufacturer to rush a last-time order, at which point the vendor raised the price of the equipment. This left our customer with a difficult choice: accept drastically higher costs from an unreliable vendor or risk a production halt. The situation caused extreme dissatisfaction within the purchasing and engineering teams and threatened long-term production continuity.
The Solution:
The customer’s engineering team engaged Cross to find a viable alternative. Cross Company’s Automation Group and its partner, Advantech, quickly identified a direct, cost-saving replacement. The team determined that the original panel PC was a private-labeled version of an Advantech model, allowing for a seamless transition. Cross worked with Advantech to provide an industrial panel PC, saving our customer money while fitting the existing machine footprint.
After stabilizing the immediate crisis, Cross upgraded the customer to the Advantech TPC-B300, an industrial PC paired with a separate HMI. Not only did this help ensure continuity of supply for the next machine development cycle, but it improves serviceability for the machine itself. The PC can be replaced or upgraded separately from the HMI and vice versa, making it cost-effective to stay current with the latest technology.
The Result:
By partnering with Cross, the manufacturer not only solved an immediate production crisis but also secured their process with a robust, long-term platform. The solution secured production with a readily available replacement for the obsolete panel PC, and significantly reduced hardware costs compared to the original vendor’s price hikes.
The new platform has an estimated seven-year product life cycle, minimizing future obsolescence risk. The TPC-B300’s two-piece design lowered maintenance costs by allowing for field replacement of just the HMI screen or the IPC. By utilizing a same-footprint replacement, our customer avoided significant redesign and engineering expenses.
If your facility is facing obsolescence or unexpected equipment price increases, contact the Cross Company Automation Group today to discuss cost-effective replacement strategies.
