How to Buy an Elephant

Since book titles aren’t protected, I can use this great title from decades ago.  The elephant, of course, is some great big piece of process gear on which, you’re told, the future of your company/startup/grant depends.   Problem is,  unlike something profiled by a consumer magazine, or on-line surveys,  the beast you need is somewhat of a massive unknown.  Make the wrong decision, and, well, the least of your problems is trying to keep it running.

Cooke Vacuum is only a little in the elephant business, making somewhat less complex R&D gear, but to our customers,  our products often appear to be major investment, with no backup, no budget for repairs; i.e. big as an elephant!   I’d like to give a course on how to make a correct buy, or at least a mostly correct buy,  as I do think that there are  techniques and methods to be learned.  Maybe something ongoing here in the blog.

Today’s tip is:  Buy simple.  Unless you know that your elephant can be pastured after six months, on somebody else’s pasture,   plan on it being around for a very long time.  Also, in most cases, plan on diminishing parts and service support from the vendor (not us, of course!), no matter how vital the thing has become to your enterprise.   Simplicity, and user serviceability rules.   Complex control systems,  hardwired and un-removable components,  needlessly unique parts…. all contribute to a system headed fast to the scrap heap.   The smart customer asks for generic components,  replaceable and upgradeable controls, and, as hard to define as it is,  a product that can be understood in detail by you, and the next user, and the one after that.   Buy simple- be happy.

Today’s hint is brought to you by a customer call for help with a tool from company A, that became company B, that was absorbed into C, and that has no memory of products A.  We name no names.

The rocky road to Thanksgiving

So we got one (is it p.c. to say loony?) guy wanting us to build a fusion machine in our lab for zilch. (Should we call Homeland Security?) Then two more respectable guys from respectable universities asking, respectively, about pasting their old parts into new build and leasing a (low-cost) tool because they can’t afford one. Then an overseas trading company ordering a couple dozen special gauge heads and cancelling after delivery. All this the week before Thanksgiving. This is a sampler of life in the custom equipment world.

Still, we’ve a lot to be thankful about. As some of our competition sensibly, but not wisely, gives up on the R&D customer, there’s more and more interesting work to do. Science is not dead in America, just resting, and we have faith that, pretty soon, people will realize that technological leadership is more important than just giving up. Even our Connecticut backwater seems to have just discovered that there’s such a thing as nanotech!

Presented for your consideration this week is a call for comments on MEMS process tools. What would you like to see in an etch or deposition tool that you can’t find? This wishlist could include process, tooling, in-situ monitoring, etc. Also, if you have a pet gizmo that you think we might be able to commercialize (no guarantees!), let us know.

Welcome to the Cooke Vacuum Blog

A blog is an easy way to add current info to our website. It also allows us to get feedback in addition to our information form. From time to time we may also have notes on the little discoveries that make equipment or process less difficult. Interactivity…..

Please, please, please use our email to contact us about system inquiries. The blog is a public area!