The ion mill was down again. Testing results indicate that it needs to be shipped to vendor for repair. It is uploaded in a crate and ready to go. The PO request was approved. Calit2 business office is working with Fischione to have it shipped to the vendor now. The repair could take 4 weeks or longer. Please read comments for further updates.
Fischione ion mill down on June 23 and fixed on Sept 26.
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The ion mill was fixed two days ago. It has been tested Ok since then. Please read the guildline in the instrument status page before using it. Thanks
I contacted Fischione engineers last week. The engineer who repaired our ion mill was on vacation. I did trouble shooting with two other engineers, but the problem was not solved. One engineer told me that he was going to report the problem to company president. I am waiting for the response. I hope that the engineer who repaired our ion mill will be back to work in the coming week and tell me what the next action.
The instrument was received on Sept 15. It was pumped down and baked out. In the weekend (Sept 17), the instrument was tested. Ion beams were not stable. Fischione instrument engineer was informed. I will call the engineer for further test on Monday.
Fischione may be able to ship the ion mill to UCI next week.
Just received an update from Fischione. The system is repaired. It is under performance test now. Here is message: “Dear Jian-Guo,
I have already repaired the ion mill. If I can get the system to pass the timed perforation test, then it will be ready for shipment. I hope to have it completed next week.”
I received a quote on Aug 18. It indicates that both ion guns need to be rebuilt and one gauge was out of order. The cost including labor and shipping is high (about $6000 in total). The lead time is 2-6 weeks depending on stock. A PO request was submitted and approved by Prof. Yee on the same day. Calit2 business is setting up the credit card order.
I met the president during MM2011 conference (Aug 7-11) and urged him to expedite the repair process. Finally, I received an email from the vendor about the problems of our ion mill today. A quote may arrive tomorrow.
I contacted Fischione Instruments, INC soon after vacation and leant that our pump was checked, but the ion mill was still waiting for testing. I have contacted Fischione president and urge him to expedite the repair process. He responded quickly and positively with “Please note that I have been following your situation with great interest. We will do our best to turn the instrument around just as quickly and effectively as possible. Jonathan will certainly keep you updated with our progress.”
Calit2 business office worked with Fischione (vendor) and had all shipping paperwork done. The ion mill together with a pump was loaded into a truck and left UCI this afternoon.