About Empire Magnetics – FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Empire Magnetics, Inc. was founded in September, 1987. The founders, George Cinti, Richard Halstead and Douglas Nolte, had more than 50 years of combined experience in the motion control field at the time the company was founded.

Empire Magnetics fixed repair pricing is based on the assumption of specific motor models and that a motor is repairable. Upon receipt of the motor, Empire Magnetics will attempt to repair it for the stated price. If it cannot be repaired, there will be no handling charge and Empire Magnetics will keep the old motor parts to compensate for the effort of diagnosis. Empire Magnetics will notify the customer by telephone within two weeks of receipt if a unit is not repairable. If a request for return is not provided by the customer within two weeks of notification, non-repairable motors become the property of Empire Magnetics.

Empire Magnetics, Inc. reserves the right to supply the customer with a refurbished replacement motor in lieu of repairing the specific motor returned to the factory.

In most cases it is necessary to actually repair a motor before it is certain that repair is possible. Empire Magnetics Inc. reduces costs by repairing motors in batches rather than repairing individual motors as they are returned to us.

Due to batch processing, repair prices do not include a failure analysis or failure reports. Repair of motors in batches without concern for the specific cause of failure requires less time and expertise.

Failure analysis requires careful observation, testing and documentation. Therefore failure analysis is a separate service and costs are appropriate to the level of effort and expertise.

Failure Analysis/Failure Reports

There is an extra charge for a failure analysis/failure report. Because most of the evidence required to specify the mode of failure will be destroyed when the motor is dismantled, Empire Magnetics Inc. needs to know BEFORE repair procedures begin that records are to be kept. Therefore, a failure analysis report MUST BE requested at the time the order is placed.

To keep customer communications to a minimum and the repair costs reasonable, Empire Magnetics’ policy must be: No Purchase Order - No Work.

Customer terms are C.O.D. freight collect or payments by credit card (Visa, Mastercard).

Generally repairs can be completed in two to three weeks. If a customer cannot wait, Empire Magnetics may offer a "3 day turn-around" service at a premium price, when it is appropriate. Obviously not all problems can be repaired in 3 days, so each requirement is subject to specific approval.

Our repairs are intended to provide the customer with a functional motor, not a new one. Repaired motors may include new, used or refurbished parts. A customer may receive a substitute motors from our inventory of refurbished units, if Empire Magnetics Inc. determines this is the most economic way to handle the repair. If the customer must have the same motor returned notice at the time of order placement is required.

Repaired motors are warranted against defects in material and workmanship for a period of 90 days after factory shipment.

All orders are F.O.B. Rohnert Park, California. Standard freight method will be UPS surface unless otherwise specified at the time the repair order is placed.

Contact us through e-mail at sales@empiremagnetics.com by phone: (707) 584-2801
or by fax: (707) 584-3418

Contract

Any acceptance by the Company of the Buyer’s order is expressly made, conditional on the Buyer’s assent to any additional or different terms contained herein. All orders are received subject to acceptance and may be accepted only at the Company’s headquarters.

Taxes

The Company’s prices do not include any applicable sales, use, excise or similar taxes; and the amount of any such tax which the Company may be required to pay or collect will be added to each invoice unless the Buyer has furnished the Company with an appropriate tax exemption certificate acceptable to the taxing authorities.

Terms

All descriptions, quotations, proposals, offers, acknowledgments, acceptances and sales of Seller's products are subject to and shall be governed exclusively by the terms and conditions stated herein. Terms are:  Invoice due upon presentation. Amounts more than 10 days past due are subject to a service charge of 1 1/2 percent per month (or fractions thereof). If the Company deems that, by reason of the financial condition of the Buyer or otherwise, the continuance of production or shipment on the terms specified herein is not justified, the Company may require full or partial payment in advance. Certain orders may, because of their nature or the delivery involved, requires progress payments.

Delivery

Shipping dates given by the Company are approximate and are based on prompt receipt of all necessary information regarding the order. The Company will make its best efforts to meet the scheduled date, but cannot be held responsible for its failure to do so for causes beyond its reasonable control and in no event shall it be liable for any loss or damage resulting from its failure to deliver.

Warranty-Product

Except as otherwise provided herein, all new apparatus sold by the Company is warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship to the original Buyer for 12 months from the date of shipment by the Company. If within this period the Company receives from the Buyer written notice of any alleged defect in any such apparatus and if the apparatus is found not to be in conformity with this warranty (the Buyer having provided the Company a reasonable opportunity to perform any appropriate tests thereon), the Company will, at its option and expense, either repair the same or supply a replacement therefor. This warranty shall not apply to any product or part which has been subject to misuse, negligence or accident. Apparatus sold but not manufactured by the Company will be warranted as to defects in material and workmanship consistent with the warranty policy of the original manufacturer of the apparatus.

Warranty-General

The Company’s liability under this warranty or any other warranty whether expressed or implied in law or fact shall be limited to the repair or replacement of defective material and workmanship and in no event shall it be liable for consequential or indirect damages.

Indemnity

The Buyer agrees to indemnify the Company and hold it harmless from and against any direct damage suffered or liability incurred on account of bodily injury to persons (including death) or damage or destruction of property whenever such loss or liability is directly due to bodily injury (including death) to any person or damage to any property occurring in the course of, and caused by, the act or omission of the Company in the performance of any work on the premises of the Buyer hereunder. This indemnity shall include attorney’s fees and settlements of claim or suit reasonable under the circumstances.

Regulatory Laws/Standards

The Company makes no promise or representation that its product will conform to any federal, state, or local laws, ordinances, regulations, codes, or standards, except as particularly specified and agreed upon between the Buyer and the Company. The Company’s prices do not include the cost of any related inspections or permits or inspection fees.

Design, Dimensions, Weight

We reserve the right to change designs without notice. The Buyer should use certified prints of construction where exact dimensions and weights are critical.

Demonstration Equipment: Most of Empire Magnetics’ products are built to order. As such, few demonstration units will be available. In cases where a distributor requires such units, the cost of demonstration equipment will be borne by the distributor. Conditional Sales When conditions justify it, Empire Magnetics may choose to offer a conditional sale to a customer. This may allow the customer to test the product prior to purchase. This option is limited to products in stock and is strictly at E.M.I.’s discretion. Stocking Requirements Empire Magnetics does not require product stocking by distributors. Product lead time is generally long and Empire Magnetics is not responsible for customer down time. Distributors are encouraged to negotiate with the customer concerning stocking of spares for critical applications. Changes to Pricing and Product Obsolescence For authorized sales organizations Empire Magnetics, Inc. will attempt to advise sales management of price changes 45 days in advance of implementation. Notice of product obsolescence will be given 90 days in advance. Non-Standard Products Advance payment of a deposit is required on orders for custom products and special products. The deposit amount shall be 50% of the total amount for custom products and special products. The balance becomes payable upon acceptance of the shipment, per terms specified on confirming order. Special products and services are priced by quotation and are not subject to return or refund. In the event of order cancellation, any deposit is forfeited. The distributor price list indicates the standard products and the custom products. The combination of a custom product into an assembly with standard products makes the whole assembly a custom product, subject to payment of deposits. One specific example: The addition of cables to an assembly makes the whole assembly a custom product and therefore subject to deposit requirements. Drop Shipments A distributor may elect to have products drop shipped directly to the customer within the distributor’s authorized territory. Invoicing will be based on single shipment quantities. The distributor is liable for payment to Empire Magnetics and collection from the receiver. Inability to collect from the customer DOES NOT relieve the distributor from the burden of timely payment. Rush Orders Since products have long lead times and distributors are not required to stock products, all orders will be handled on the same first in, first out RUSH basis unless expedite premiums are agreed to at the time of order placement. Freight All orders are F.O.B. Rohnert Park, California. Standard freight method will be UPS surface unless otherwise specified time of order. Change Orders Changes to orders for standard products made more than 30 days before the scheduled ship date will be subject to a change order fee. Changes less than 30 days prior to schedule shipment may not be allowed or may incur additional costs. Special service products may not be changed once the order is in process unless agreed to by E.M.I. Literature Sales brochures, technical data sheets, manuals, catalogs and other promotional materials are provided to Authorized Distributors free of charge. Availability of materials is under Empire Magnetics, Inc. control. O.E.M. Accounts If a customer purchases products in such volume that it is no longer economical for the customer to allow a distributor to handle the account, the distributor should notify Empire Magnetics, Inc. In return, the distributor will receive a finder’s fee of 10% of the first 12 months of shipments of designated products to the customer. The period begins with the first direct shipment to the customer. In order to qualify for a finder’s fee, the distributor must make the disclosure BEFORE the customer places the order. Claims after the fact will not be considered. Split Territories In instances where the customer engineering is done in one location and the procurement in another, Empire Magnetics, Inc. will assist the Authorized Distributor who supported the engineering to bid the production to the end user. This in some cases will cause Empire Magnetics, Inc. to actively assist a distributor outside of his normal territory. However, the assistance will be limited to making whatever efforts are possible to insure that the Authorized Distributor who supported the engineering has an opportunity to bid to the end user. Blanket Orders Blanket orders do not apply to distributors. For direct accounts where the Authorized Distributor is acting in the capacity of a commissioned representative, a blanket order of 12 months will be considered for quantity purposes.

Export Restrictions

It is quite possible that you are involved in a criminal activity. If you sell a product which at some point in the future is exported, and if that product should wind up in the hands of yet to be defined "bad guys", you could be held responsible.

If this sounds far fetched, let me tell you that it is not a joke. If you are like me, about now you willl want to toss this in the trash can. Go ahead, but understand that you are at risk.

In 1996, the US Government decided to make export rules "simpler" Of course this means things got easier for the government officials, and more difficult for those of us trying to make money. Under the new rules, anybody that has anything to do with the sale and distribution of a product, can be held responsible if that product should wind up in the hands of bad people, bad countries or is used for bad purposes. Under the new rules, as interpreted by the enforcement department of BXA a manufacturer is required to know the end use and end user of every product that is sold by the company.

The BXA does publish the list of bad countries: They are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaiijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, Taijikstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam.

And the very bad countries are: Cuba, North Korea, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan

The list of bad people is contained in the BXA denied persons list, which may be accessed at www.bxa.doc.gov

You also need to know that according to BXA interpretations of the law, shipping a product to an intermediate customer in the USA does not relieve you of the responsibility of knowing the end use and the end user of the product.

When we get to bad uses, the problem becomes much more difficult. As I found this out in a recent exchange with a BXA enforcement agent. A motor which is used in a vacuum, as part of a semiconductor process machine, where the semiconductors could potentially wind up in a piece of foreign military hardware may require an export license….. and more important as a co-opted enforcement agency we who are in business are supposed to KNOW that this could happen and bring it to BXA attention for review.

Furthermore because the intelligence community considers the list of things is does not know to be very secret, they don’t publish a list of things they do, or will care about in the future. So technically anyone who sells anything can be held responsible for unwitting actions.

Since these are new rules, the court cases and legal processes which will define the extent of responsibility have not played out. Even within the BXA there is considerable internal discussion as to what the requirements of compliance will be. Based on the best legal advice we can afford, it appears the best course of action is to create a paper trail which clearly shows the intent to comply, and good faith efforts to comply, with the export regulations.

To that end, Empire Magnetics Inc. hereby serves notice to all sales personnel, distributors, value added resellers, representatives, machine builders, customers, and any casual observers, that any or all of the Empire Magnetics Inc. products may require export licenses.

The IP rating system provides a means of classifying the degrees of protection from dust, water and impact afforded by electrical equipment and enclosures. The system is recognized in most European countries and is set out in a number of British and European standards.

Details of a third IP numeral are also shown. While not specified by the British Standards Institute, this figure is used in corresponding international standards to indicate degrees of resistances to impact.

The following table is a CALCULATED heat loss for the various motor sizes, based on the following:  Motor is in still air, ambient temperature of the air is 20° C, motor temperature is stabilized at 50° C above ambient (70° C).   Mechanical envelope of the motor is the same as the Empire Magnetics IN- series motors.

In typical applications, these figures can vary greatly, mechanical mountings provide conduction paths which are not included in these calculations while vacuum applications remove the convection pathways.  The type of drive, the winding configurations, the duty cycle, the current settings and other environmental issues affect the actual motor heating.  These numbers are only intended to provide general information, they are not specifications and there is no assurances that they are applicable to a customer controlled situation.

(For  test data on the motors,  see temperature curves for specific frame sizes.)

..Motor..	Total Heat Loss (W)	Convection Heat Loss (W)	Radiation Heat Loss (W)	Convection Coefficient, h (W/m2K)
U11	2.10	1.74	0.36	7.08
U17-1	3.00	2.44	0.55	6.47
U17-2	3.69	3.01	0.68	6.47
U21	5.58	4.51	1.08	6.14
U22	7.53	6.08	1.45	6.14
U23	9.13	7.37	1.76	6.14
U31	10.49	8.36	2.12	5.78
U32	13.48	10.75	2.73	5.78
U33	17.23	13.74	3.49	5.78
U41	23.22	18.41	4.81	5.62
U42	29.55	23.43	6.12	5.62
U44	35.88	28.45	7.43	5.62
P61	50.55	39.65	10.91	5.34
P62	63.42	49.74	13.68	5.34
P63	76.86	60.28	16.58	5.34