ML Riechers Systems Engineering


[Photo of the Front Side of our rse-2c micro-controller card]

Taking the Time to do the Firmware Right.


  • MLRSE Announces Price Reductions on its ARC-1000 901 replacement board

    PRESS RELEASE
    Date Released: Monday, 16 March, 2009

    M L Riechers Systems Engineering today announced, effective immediately, price reductions on its ARC-1000 901 replacement board. Buyers will save a touch under $2000.00 on a fully loaded baseboard.

    The price of the replacement baseboard remains the same, at $200.00. However, the price of the rse-2d controller "daughter cards" drops, from $950.00 each to $615.00 each. The price of the minimum configuration (1 baseboard, one "daughter card") drops from $1,050.00 to $815.00, while the price of the fully loaded 901 Replacement falls from $5800.00 to $3890.00.

    The most economical configuration, a half-loaded 901 Replacement (serving three stations) falls to only $2045.00.

    History and Description

    On 5 January 2009 MLRSE announced pricing and availability of its ARC-1000 901 replacement board. Unlike the original ARC-1000 901 board, which (on a good day) might control up to six print stations, the MLRSE replacement board is actually a baseboard, on which sit up to six standard (but specially programmed) RSE-2d's.

    This means a lot to the customer/user/Press operator:

    1. The MLRSE replacement board provides each Print Station with its own, dedicated microprocessor. This makes for a much more frequent, reliable, and accurate pickup of the Registration Error.

    2. The customer need only purchase the number of controllers that are actually needed. For example, if an original 901 board were only controlling 3 stations, then the MLRSE replacement need only be a baseboard plus three controllers, thus saving maybe a couple of thousand dollars in purchase price.

    3. The customer can, and MLRSE encourages, add, remove, or swap rse-2d controller "daughter cards" to or from the baseboard. The "daughter cards" simply plug into standard connectors on the baseboard, so anyone at all familiar with electronics can easily do it, even while installed on the Press. So, the customer can himself easily perform upgrades, re-adjust the controller configurations, and replace suspect "daughter cards."

    4. Nothing in compatibility is lost. The MLRSE ARC-1000 901 replacement board fits into the same card slide used by the original 901. No fittings or adjustments are necessary, so it's an easy job for the customer to swap in the MLRSE card for the old one.

    Why the price reduction

    Michael L. Riechers, owner and president of MLRSE, commented, "When we originally priced the ARC-1000 901 replacement boards, we had in mind a follow on product which would incorporate the rse-2d controller "daughter card." The ARC-1000 901 replacement board was to be just a bridge replacement to that follow on, and we wanted to position the replacement board's pricing to allow us to give the customer a very substantial pricing discount on the follow on product when we recycled their rse-2d controller off of their ARC-1000 901 replacement baseboard."

    "However, when we presented the discount program to our distributors and customers, we found that we'd made the initial price too high, and the discount program itself proved to be confusing. Furthermore, the follow on product has been somewhat delayed, and we've had new notions to improve the operation of this ARC-1000 901 replacement board."

    "So it made sense to get rid of the discount program and to simply lower the price. We chose to sell the full version at roughly three times the cost of a 901 repair, which gives us adequate margins to continue selling and developing the product. And of course the customer gets new parts, a warranty, and the opportunity to purchase future improvements in the product at a reasonable price."

    Asked if MLRSE would sell its ARC-1000 901 replacement board through distribution, Riechers responded: "Of course. In fact, they'll probably make you a better deal than we can. And they can provide you services, such as installation, that we're not really geared for. We designed the 901 replacement board to be DIY, but a lot of people feel more comfortable if someone already familiar with the product installs and verifies it for them."

    Asked if there were really improvements in the hopper for the 901 replacement board, Riechers responded: "Oh, yeah. One or two of them will surprise you. Improvements -- that's what we're here for."

    M L Riechers Systems Engineering has served the Embedded Computer Market since 1987, providing custom software and hardware for Industrial Control.

    Contact Information

    Please send inquiries about MLRSE to
    M. L. Riechers Systems Engineering     Voice:  +1-513-844-2220
    530 Main Street                        Fax:    +1-513-844-2279
    Hamilton, Ohio 45013-3222, USA         mlr(at)rse(dot)com
    


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