[labnetwork] TEM service contracts

[Jerry Hunter]

Keeping a new instrument going and up to spec without a service contract is almost impossible. You don’t get enough information from the vendor to fix it (schematics, etc.) and you don’t have as much access to parts.

Next to staff, service contracts are the biggest expense here. As far as keeping it below $50k, it depends on the instrument. If it’s a 15+ year old instrument, no field emission, no correction, etc then it is less than $50k. If it’s a newer instrument, corrected, with EDS/EELS, field emission, direct electron detector, etc., it will easily be over $100k ($150k+)/year. We look at usage and the effect that extended downtime will have on research to determine if we carry a service contract. If you don’t carry a service contract, then you would have to pay demand service to get a repair, which is both expensive and may require a long wait because you will be behind all service contract instruments. If the repair is very expensive and the instrument is lightly used, then we ask any PI users if they are willing to pay for the repair and if the answer is no, we shut it down and sell it.

Jerry Hunter
Director, Wisconsin Centers for Nanoscale Technology

From: labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Johnson, Michael W <mjohnso6 at tulane.edu>
Date: Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 7:56 AM
To: Fab Network <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
Subject: [labnetwork] TEM service contracts
Does anyone have some statistical information on the costs of TEM annual service contracts?
I ask because for us, this is the largest cost service contract of any instrument that we have by far.

I assume very few universities are capable of keeping these instruments up and running to spec without a service contract. Am I wrong?

Is anyone capable of keeping these costs below $100k per instrument per year?

Anybody below $50k per year?

If so, I would be very interested to know which instrument manufactures and what strategies are employed to achieve this. We have FEI.

-Michael.
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