Guides
Written for the people who keep machines running: maintenance engineers, purchasers and plant managers who need the right part, from a supplier they can trust, before the next shift.
Every guide is signed by its author, and each one is dated. Where a guide states a figure, it states where the figure comes from.
Spotting a counterfeit industrial part
A practical incoming-inspection routine for contactors, drives and PLC modules — packaging, plate, build and behaviour, in that order.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
counterfeitqualitysourcingsiemensHow requests for quotes work on Sparehawk
What happens between sending a request and choosing a quote — who sees it, what they see, how long it takes, and how to write one that gets answered.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
rfqsourcingmarketplaceIncoterms for spare parts, without the jargon
Which of the eleven Incoterms actually appear on industrial spare-parts quotes, what each one costs you, and which to ask for.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
incotermslogisticssourcingLead time versus stock — reading an availability promise
What "in stock", "ships in 5 days" and "on request" really mean on a spare-parts offer, and how to tell which promise will hold.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
lead-timestocksourcingmarketplaceObsolescence management for industrial spares
How to find out what is going obsolete in your plant, decide what to buy now, and stop paying antique prices for a relay in year six.
5 min readMykola Piatkov
obsolescencemaintenancesiemensrockwellReplacing a PowerFlex 4 with a PowerFlex 525
Mounting, wiring, parameters and network — what carries over from PowerFlex 4/40 to the PowerFlex 520 series and what does not.
5 min readMykola Piatkov
rockwelldrivesmigrationobsolescenceNew surplus, refurbished or used — which to buy
What the four condition grades on an industrial parts marketplace actually mean, what each one is worth, and when each is the right choice.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
conditionssourcingwarrantyMigrating from SIMATIC S7-300 to S7-1500
What actually changes when you move a machine from S7-300 to S7-1500 — hardware, addressing, code and the two weeks of commissioning nobody budgets for.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
siemensplcmigrationobsolescenceBuying safety parts — certifications and what not to compromise
Why safety relays, light curtains and STO-rated drives are a different purchase, what the ratings mean, and the three rules for secondary-market safety components.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
safetycertificationssourcingqualityHow to read a Siemens order number
What each block of a 6ES7, 6SL, 3RT or 6AV article number means, and how to use it to find the exact part rather than something that looks like it.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
siemenspart-numberssourcingBuilding a spare-parts BOM that is worth having
How to go from a machine with no parts list to a bill of materials you can quote, stock against and hand to the next engineer.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
bommaintenancesourcingWarranty on surplus and refurbished parts
Who stands behind a part that did not come from the manufacturer, what a supplier warranty typically covers, and what to agree before you order.
4 min readMykola Piatkov
warrantyconditionssourcinglegal