Why Choose PMI for Service and Repair?
It appears that some companies are beginning to outsource the repair of their power supplies to "Third Party Repair Houses."
Why?
They assume that the third party repair houses are less expensive and/or offer better quality than the actual power supply manufacturer.
Third Party Houses May Not Address Customer Quality & Reliability Needs
The PMI Service Department is very concerned that third party repair houses may actually jeopardize PMI's customers’ needs. By not addressing a customer’s unique specifications and/or not always using approved materials,
our customer’s true quality and long-term reliability needs may be placed at risk
PMI continues to caution companies that if a power supply is “bouncing back and forth” between the field and the third party, the root cause may be traced back to material and type of testing used by the repair house.
How can PMI assist with this situation? The following text sections, and the two informational tables afterwards, attempt to answer that question.
PMI Refurbishes Older Units to Meet These Needs
Pioneer Magnetics has always maintained that older units require some sort of refurbishment. Essentially, it is desirable for those units that are greater than five to ten years old to have fan motors and electrolytic capacitors changed and the supply upgraded to the latest configuration. Why does PMI recommend this preventative approach?
Fan motor lubricants and pads. These materials tend to dry out and/or become dirty from years of use. The fan motor will begin to slow down, thus creating an “over temperature” situation. With this occurrence, the power supply will eventually shut down.
Chemicals within capacitors . After years of use, the chemicals inside the electrolytic capacitors will begin to dry out. This phenomenon will also cause the power supply to fail.
Useful ECO’s . Over the years, PMI improves designs and generates Engineering Change Orders (ECO’s). In addition, PMI may determine that certain materials should be replaced with an improved alternative. Or to replace an unavailable original part. Only PMI will be cognizant of these requirements.
Only PMI Offers Service for Any Budget
Quite often, however, customers have to worry about budgets as well as a program’s product life. Pioneer Magnetics always understands these concerns. Therefore, PMI offers three Service Programs.
Fix and Ship. Minimal repairs with a limited warranty. Most third party repair houses offer only 30 days. Essentially, PMI repairs the reported problem and ships the unit back with a 90-day warranty.
Refurbish. The power supply is serviced. In addition, PMI replaces the fan motor and electrolytic capacitors. If the customer chooses, the unit is also upgraded to the latest configuration.
Modify. Quite often, customers return working power supplies for a customer’s required downgrade, upgrade or modification.
Note: PMI also offers an Extended Warranty Program.
Point-by-Point Comparison: PMI vs.Third Party Houses
As a potential customer, why worry? Here’s why:
Material shelf life. Do third party repair houses proclaim that obsolete material is readily available in their warehouse? If so, you might want to be concerned about shelf life.
Faster repair means skipping steps. Do third party repair houses expound that they can repair product faster than the manufacturer? They may do so. Some repair houses state they can repair a power supply in less than 48 hours or even less than 24 hours. That may also be true.
However, what “steps” were left out? Did the unit get a full burn-in? Do the units get burned in at all? And at what temperature? PMI automatically gives its customers’ units a full (temperature elevated) burn-in up to 48 hours or more!
Lower price means lower quality . Third party repair houses are announcing that their prices are “the lowest in town”. A PMI customer recently had a bad experience at one of these repair houses. Our customer commented, “…pay now or pay later!”
Why are these costs so low? Again, what steps were skipped? What materials were used? What process controls were incorporated into repairing the power supply?
Track record. Third party repair houses are stating that they have “proven, long-term reliability”. Some of these companies have been in business for less than five years. Pioneer Magnetics has been in business for over 40 years!
Third party houses indicate that they have a great track record. In terms of a PMI product, how many power supplies have they actually repaired?
It is common practice to ask a surgeon how many procedures he has done previously – before one commits to open heart surgery, a kidney transplant or a cancer procedure. The same holds true for servicing power supplies.
Before one commits to open-heart surgery, a kidney transplant or a cancer procedure, it is common practice to ask a surgeon how many procedures he/she has done previously. The same premise holds true for servicing power supplies.
Pioneer Magnetics has shipped over 700,000 power supplies. Our Field MTBF is in the millions of hours. That is a track record!
In all cases, PMI uses approved material, tests to the customer’s specifications, and offers warranties greater than third party repair houses. In terms of cost, quality, and reliability, the best choice for Service is always Pioneer Magnetics.
Contact PMI Direct
For further information on the power supply Service and Repair capabilities presented in this section, please contact PMI direct. All of us at Pioneer Magnetics look forward to working with you, and we will be happy to answer your Service questions.
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