What’s the consensus on the effect of using 3rd party software (PyHamilton or PyLabRobot specifically) on Hamilton’s service contract and warranty?
I know that any damage directly caused by the 3rd party software will not be covered by Hamilton’s service contract, however I’m wondering if the use of 3rd party software will void the service contract altogether? In other words, if someone uses 3rd party software for some light testing, realizes it’s not for them, and goes back to Venus, will the service contract with Hamilton still remain valid?
Maybe @EricSindelar_Hamilton could shed some light on this? The service contract agreement is not the most explicit about this specific use case, do PyHamilton and PyLabRobot fall under “misuse”?
PyHamilton at its backend does not use any firmware commands. Everything is done with native VENUS features/libraries and instructions are more or less passed via JSON (i.e. everything can be replicated in a traditional method). PyLabRobot on the other hand actually does interface with firmware so I think that may be more of a grayer area.
I do not know about PyHamilton but for its successor PyLabRobot the simple answer is “there is no consensus, it really depends on who you are talking with at Hamilton (and, it seems, to some extend which Hamilton company you are talking with)”.
When talking with Hamilton Bonaduz (the European legal entity) I have never heard of anyone who had a problem with a service contract directly from Hamilton (which usually includes a number of preventative maintenance visits and field visits for urgent matters).
I think this makes sense from Hamilton’s perspective: Hamilton wants to sell consumables, if they don’t support machines, no matter how they are controlled, Hamilton will not make post-machine-sell money.
Note: if repairs/field visits exceed the in the service contract agreed upon amount, then customers have to pay extra for them either way.
On the other hand, I have heard about some instances in which Hamilton Company (i.e. the US legal entity) told customers their service contract would be void if the customer doesn’t use the software they are told to use. I have never heard of an instance where this has been enforced though.
However, this might have had an unforeseen consequence: some users who still require programmatic control of their Hamiltons have turned away from using Hamilton for their service contracts and instead found other companies that can provide service contracts for Hamilton machines. To my knowledge, they have been very satisfied with the alternative services.
In short: there doesn’t seem to be a consensus, but those who really need it can always find a way
Hi @ferry, we have a signed agreement with Hamilton Bonaduz on this when using our UniteLabs Hamilton Python SDK. We are also collaborating with them on the development. Let me know if you want to have a chat!
