Re: Problems with PDI Equipment Support

Re: Problems with PDI Equipment Support

Lindborg, Karl

6/5/2006

Here is a compilation of the responses I received with respect to the
following question:

>>>I am interested knowing if any other facility is having problems with
Prosthetic Design Inc (PDI) support/repair of their CAD/CAM equipment.
I would hope that my situation is an isolated incident with respect to
the diagnosis and repair of our in-house PDI Thermoformer. We have been
unsuccessful with prompt response through their customer support and
have been unable to operate our Thermoformer for nearly 8 weeks now. As
a point of interest, our facility has purchased a PDI service/support
agreement for our carver and thermoformer which was to provide us
assurance that problems would be resolved quickly.<<<

>Brooke Army center had a heck of a time as well. Keep bugging
them. Good move to post it on the list serve. That should get some
attention!!<

>You obviously have looked at other manufacturers before your
purchase. We're looking at probably purchasing some system in the
next 6-9 months. Who would you buy a system from if not PDI? They do not
sound reliable to me.<

>You have not described the problem you are having. We have PDI
equipment t-former & carver which works beautifully and is
constantly used.<

> Let me know what happens with the PDI people. We have the more
primitive model, and by all accounts, it has fewer problems than
the super microprocessor model. I think OWW is coming out with a
thermoformer-that may be a future option<

> This is the reason why our industry has not embraced CAD/CAM;
nearly every company involved in cad produces a barely adequate
system, spends more money on marketing than developing a good product,
dumps it on the market with no support.
My opinion my be biased, but I have been hired by a manufacturer
of a CAD/CAM system to provide training and integration support for
our systems. I am a believer because I used this system in my last
job, with the US Army in Baghdad, but everyday I hear from someone who
has been burned in the past.<

>I am getting a slower response than I would like with our
carver. It works, but I think the calibration needs a slight
adjustment. It has been 2 weeks. We've had a thermoformer for several
years, if I can be any help let me know.<

>Karl, You might try contacting Rhonda Cobb
<Email Address Redacted> who markets a similar thermoformer. We are
purchasing a replacement by designer David Firth (Provel). My
understanding is that his relationship of thermoforming ovens sold
by PDI was terminated, and David now sells through Independent O/P
solutions.<

>I saw your pained message on the listserv. I have heard alot
about the worthless support PDI is now providing. I have helped a
few people who turned to me when PDI's support system failed them. Word
was getting out about PDI, and your message may seriously grease the
wheels.

>FYI, I have started my own little support business, and am
registered with the government. If you need me, call me! (937)
631-9142. My website is www.oandpcam.com<

> Have you tried resetting the overload module? (the square
button. see pic. it may not look exactly like your machine, but the
module is the same.) Open the panel and look for it, if you haven't
tried it yet. You will see a square button sitting on a long stem, at
about eye level. Firmly press that thing. I don't know what people at
PDI are thinking, but 99.9% of the time, that module has been
tripped, and your problem can be solved by resetting the module.
Also, the module itself could be faulty. Anyway give that button a firm
push before you install a Micrologix controller.
Please don't hesitate to call me with problems, Karl. Don't let
PDI kill your workflow any more. Keep me posted.<

It appears that I am not the only one that has had problems with PDI
support which indicates that there may be problems with PDI's ability to
service their machines properly. Unfortunately our machine is still
down. There are a few other options other than PDI that may be able to
rectify this problem in a more expeditious manner. I will most likely
seek other sources for our transforms and componentry too.

Karl Lindborg CPO