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Armstrong, Brian on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/CO2-enrichment-accessories-tp7589882p7589902.html
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Hello, I agree with what has been said thus far. The "brass and glass" components don't really wear much in my experience. The lifetime of a Confocal system is more importantly related to the computer technology. A 7 year Confocal system will run as new if properly maintained but the hardware/software of the computer will be outdated. If you want to keep your core on the cutting edge you should stay abreast of the computer tech and not just the microscope itself. Of course the lasers do have a specific lifetime range and may need to be replaced on your system. Moreover the glass, such as main-beam-splitter etc, will take abuse from constant laser bombardment. The other pertinent measure of age, as already stated, is the willingness of the selling company to support repair of the instrument. There are third party companies that will maintain old systems but that will give you an idea that the instrument is getting to an age where it needs to be replaced. I usually try to purchase a year in advance as to when I think the Confocal instrument will become outdated. Our instruments are also heavily used and I do not want to take the chance of being down one instrument.
*My hobby outside of old German microscopes is repairing old German cars so I appreciate the reference. :) You can Google "million mile Mercedes" to get an idea of longevity of German engineering.
Cheers,
Brian Armstrong PhD
Associate Research Professor
Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases
Director, Light Microscopy Core
Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope
-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:
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Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2019 9:05 AM
To:
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Subject: Re: Confocal lifetime question
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Dear Arvydas,
As you are comparing microscopes with cars, it might be interesting that some (German) car companies used to give the owner a golden medal after 500,000 kilometers which the proud owner could fix on the radiator grill (this was long ago), you can still find them on eBay. There are also anecdotes about cars which made 1 Mio km.
We have one microscope which after 11 years and about 14,000 hours had a lot of repairs, but is still going strong now after 13 years and higher workload. With 4000 hours/year, a maintenance contract would make sense, I guess you will go through a lot of lasers which otherwise will be costly to replace, other movable parts like the scanner and even electronics like AOTF controllers or power supplies also seem to fail after some years. But when replacing all these parts (with considerable downtime) it should be possible to run a system with high workload for 15 years or longer. You might want to get a new set of objectives though. The question is, if you really want to wait so long to replace it, as technology constantly improves. Especially detectors and electronics will be better for a new microscope and the users will miss out on these improvements. One point to consider is that after a microscope model has gone out of production, there will be only a limited time when for spare parts and maintenance contracts to be available, maybe 6 - 10 years. With product cycles becoming shorter, we might not even be able to run a microscope for 10 years, especially when it was bought at the end of its cycle. best wishes Andreas
-----Original Message-----
From: Arvydas Matiukas <
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To: CONFOCALMICROSCOPY <
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Sent: Sun, 22 Sep 2019 2:55
Subject: Confocal lifetime question
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Dear Microscopists,
I am worried that high usage volume over 4000hrs/year that started two years ago and likely will continue can shorten useful lifetime of our confocal (in terms of service years or hours).
I expect properly maintained confocal to last about 10 years or 20,000 hrs. Similarly, a car is expected to last 10 years or 100k miles, however sometimes it drives 100k in 3 years ending at the intermediate condition and value. Please share your experience after how many hours or years of usage Core should start planning the replacement of the heavily used confocal.
Thanks,
Arvydas
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arvydas Matiukas, Ph.D.
Manager of NRB Shared Equipment
Director of Confocal&Two-Photon Core
SUNY Upstate Medical University
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