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Whip Mix Blog

Some Reasons for Non-Sellable Parts

Sometimes a customer will call with a part number wanting to order that given part to fix a piece of equipment or replace a missing part. Sometimes upon cross-referencing and finding the item number (the number needed to sell the part) it is discovered none exists, or in the articulator and facebow realm this is usually annotated by an *. If this is the case then a factory repair is required.

Many times it looks to be a simple fix of maybe just a couple screws. Or maybe it is a bit more involved, but the particular customer is quite good at fixing most items in the lab or dental office. While it is true, there are customers with many years of experience and are usually able to fix any problems that arise in the facility; this doesn’t necessarily apply to specifically engineered products from Whip Mix.

For example, when dealing with articulators and facebows, the part may need to be replaced using very specific gauges and jigs designed only for that particular instrument. The custom machining of this tool means it won’t be found on the shelf of your local hardware store. This is true in the case of many of our machines; so, even if the part could be put on by the customer that doesn’t mean it will function as designed.

Since many instruments and pieces of equipment represent a significant investment, isn’t it more important to have it repaired correctly than possibly causing issues and an even greater cost in time and materials than the original problem?

Will Devine, CDT, TE

Will Devine, CDT, TE is retired from the United States Air Force and has over 28 years of dental laboratory experience. As a Technical Support Representative at Whip Mix, Will’s primary focus is assisting customers with questions regarding our consumable products and equipment.