Are you having a hard time sourcing genuine OEM parts?

When you have products that undergo a lot of wear and tear, chances are you’ll have to replace a part at one point or another.

In theory, getting OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts replaced isn’t a difficult process. It’s something we all do regularly as consumers. If you have an HP desktop printer and you replace your cartridge with another HP cartridge, you’re purchasing an OEM product.

Printer cartridges are one thing, but replacing OEM parts can get complicated when you’re dealing with something like a helicopter. Maybe the part you need is for a product that’s no longer in distribution. Or perhaps sourcing the part from the original manufacturer is a slow and expensive process.

If you’re having trouble sourcing OEM parts, let Arbiser Machine recreate them for a fraction of the cost.

Do You Really Need Genuine OEM Parts?

OEMs claim that you need genuine OEM replacement parts for your product to function properly. From a consumer standpoint, it’s often easiest to follow this advice. If you don’t actually understand how a printer cartridge works, you’re more likely to trust HP when they tell you which one to buy.

But at Arbiser Machine, we’re not selling knockoff printer cartridges that may or may not function properly. We specialize in engineering and manufacturing complex parts. So when you have a part that needs to be replaced, we’re confident we can deliver to the necessary specifications and functionality requirements.

Here’s the truth about replacement parts. In the manufacturing world, OEMs want control of their supply. But since their business models are set up for completed products rather than single parts, relying on them for replacement parts is costly and slow.

Our customers report average OEM lead times of at least 6 weeks. As you can imagine, lead times have been even longer over the last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting global supply chains.

At Arbiser Machine, we’re set up for prototyping and low-volume projects like making replacement parts. The replacement parts we recreate in our Georgia machine shop work every bit as well as the originals. And we can promise significant improvements in cost and lead time over working with an OEM.

Case in point: when one of our customers needed a wrench that’s been out of production for decades to work on his Vietnam-era helicopter, we made it for a fraction of what the OEM would have charged him.

How Arbiser Machine Recreates OEM Parts

Here’s a look at how we recreate OEM parts in our Georgia machine shop:

Reverse engineering. If you don’t have the original drawings, we’ll use our reverse engineering capabilities to get the information we need. We can scan and make 3D CAD models from your existing part and acquire extremely precise measurements that allow us to accurately recreate almost anything.

Updating drawings or models. If the OEM knows it’s too expensive for you to buy the part from them, they may give you the original drawings so you can get it made elsewhere. If the drawings aren’t perfect, we’ll make adjustments as needed to ensure that your replacement part functions as intended. We may even build a rapid prototype using our CNC machining services or wire EDM.

Product improvement. If you’ve experienced issues with the original part (maybe it breaks too easily), we’ll make recommendations to improve the lifespan of the replacement. We have plenty of engineering tricks up our sleeves to build parts that are harder, stronger, more slippery—whatever it is you need!

The next time you need to replace a part, come straight to Arbiser Machine to save yourself the time, money, and hassle of dealing with the OEM. Give us a try today!