Line 3 retrofit: planning meeting

Date: 2026-04-20
Type: Meeting notes
Attendees: Lukas Brunner, Nina Frei, Thomas Huber, Sandra Meier
Tags: #line-3-retrofit

Line 3 is our four-spindle machining centre from 2011. It runs the titanium bone-screw orders, about 30 % of revenue. Unplanned stops on Line 3 cost us 61 hours in 2025.

Retrofit or replace?

Lukas compared two offers. A new machining centre costs about CHF 1.1 million and takes 9 months to deliver. A retrofit by Aarmatic (new controls, spindle sensors, coolant filter) costs CHF 380'000 and needs two weeks of downtime.

Decision: Retrofit Line 3 instead of buying a new machining centre.
Why: the retrofit costs about a third of a new machine, and Line 3 is back in production after two weeks instead of nine months.

Decision: Fit vibration sensors on all four spindles of Line 3, so bearing wear shows up before a breakdown.
Why: two of last year's unplanned stops were bearing failures that Nina Frei could hear days before they happened.

Actions

• Action: @Lukas Brunner order the retrofit from Aarmatic (due 2026-05-15) (done)
• Action: @Nina Frei list the spare parts to stock before the retrofit (due 2026-09-30) (done)
• Action: @Thomas Huber define the first-article inspection plan for the restart of Line 3 (due 2026-10-30)
• Action: @Sandra Meier release the investment budget of CHF 380'000 (due 2026-05-08) (done)