Regular maintenance and installation of new spare parts are essential for keeping a waterjet pump functioning as long as possible. However, parts from unlicensed third-party suppliers are often used for maintenance or when setting up a spare parts reserve.
After all, there is a very convincing argument to be made for using third-party spare parts: price.
These parts are often cheaper than those distributed by the original manufacturer – especially, if you want to build up a reserve of spare parts, buying them from the original manufacturer requires a higher upfront investment.
DON’T BE BLINDED BY SUPPOSEDLY LOW PRICES, KEEP THE TCO* IN MIND
*TCO = TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP
But that is where the advantages of unlicensed parts end. Because aside from short-term savings, there is no benefit, finance- or functionality-wise, with building cheaper, lower-quality spare parts into an otherwise perfectly functioning, high-quality machine.
LOW-QUALITY PARTS RESULT IN LOW-QUALITY PERFORMANCE
The biggest issue with unlicensed spare parts is the fact that they are produced with much lower quality standards regarding to materials, knowhow, and manufacturing. As such, the parts are more prone to wearing down or breaking, resulting in more frequent outages and subsequently, more effort and money spent for maintaining the machine. In the worst case, the entire machine can be damaged permanently.
Even – or especially – if the pump has already seen a few years of service, one could think that the cost of originally produced spare parts may not be worth the money and that unlicensed parts also do the trick. However, if a pump is already this long in use, maintaining it with 100 % quality parts no
longer provides an advantage for the business and replacing the pump entirely should be taken into account – an option which should already be considered in terms of energy-efficiency.
CHEAP, UNLICENSED SPARE PARTS MAY CAUSE THE FOLLOWING ISSUES:
- Faster wear or breaking
- More outages
- In the worst-case-scenario: the replacement of the entire pump
UNLICENSED SPARE PARTS WILL VOID THE PUMP’S WARRANTY
Finally, maintaining and servicing your pump is an intrinsic part of every professional waterjet manufacturer’s quality promise. But if you are using unlicensed spare parts, your original HP pump manufacturer cannot guarantee your pump’s warranty anymore. If a pump breaks down due to using low-quality parts not approved by the manufacturer, the manufacturer cannot be held responsible.
“IF YOU BRING FAST FOOD TO A 3-STAR RESTAURANT, YOU CAN’T BLAME THE CHEF, IF THE FOOD TASTES BAD.”
– AUSTRIAN WISDOM
THE BEST WAY TO AVOID UNPLEASANT SURPRISES? BUY ONLY FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER!
Now, defining the problems with unlicensed spare parts is one thing – it is an entirely different manner to actually find out who sells them. Given how they are copied goods from another manufacturer, they are not only visually indistinguishable from original parts, but they are also easily available on the internet. As a result, customers are often unaware that they are using unlicensed components at all, as they are sold under the original manufacturer’s brand name.
GET THE QUALITY YOU NEED!
The best way to get the quality you want is simply to buy spare parts from the original manufacturer only. This way, you can be sure that your machine is supplied only with high-quality components and that it will continue to provide you a great service with your waterjet applications.
