Total Cost of Ownership: SVM vs Glass Capillaries

10 years of ownership: Cost savings with SVM

Opting for SVM delivers long-term savings. The example calculations below compare a manual or automated D445 setup with SVM (ASTM D7042): reduced sample and solvent consumption, along with less operator involvement and shorter measurement times per sample, add up to substantial cost savings over a 10-year period.

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Total cost of ownership: SVM versus manual D445

In the following example, the instrument and operating costs of an SVM 1001 are benchmarked against a typical D445 capillary bath system, assuming a throughput of 22 samples per day. Significant savings are achieved with SVM, driven by markedly lower labor, sample, solvent, and energy costs:

	ASTM D7042	ASTM D445
Instrument cost		$ 14,350
Running costs	per year	per year	Comment
Solvent cost/year	$ 225	$ 1,875	6 mL solvent vs 50 mL per test
Disposal cost/year	$ 75	$ 575
Bath + capillary cost/year	$ 0	$ 2,125
Check + calibration cost/year	$ 575	$ 8,700	5 mL standard oil vs 25 mL per check; separate calibration for every capillary, additional calibration for thermometers and stopwatches
Energy cost/year	$ 200	$ 3,050
Labor cost/year	$ 15,700	$ 94,250	5 minute vs 30 minute measurement time per sample according to ASTM standard

Total running cost/year	$ 16,775	$ 110,575
Total cost of ownership per 10 years	$ 178,175	$ 1,120,100
D7042 benefit per 10 years		$ 941,925

Total cost of ownership: SVM versus automated D445

The following example compares the instrument and operating costs of an SVM 3001 with those of a typical automated D445 system, assuming a throughput of 22 samples per day. SVM delivers significant savings, driven by reduced labor, sample, solvent, and energy costs:

	ASTM D7042	ASTM D445
Instrument cost		$ 37,120
Running costs	per year	per year	Comment
Solvent cost/year	$ 225	$ 570	5 mL solvent vs more than 15 mL per test
Disposal cost/year	$ 75	$ 170
Bath + capillary cost/year	$ 0	$ 350
Check + calibration cost/year	$ 575	$ 5,600	5 mL standard oil vs 8 mL per check; D445: separate calibration for every capillary, additional calibration for thermometers, stopwatches
Energy cost/year	$ 200	$ 3,050
Labor cost/year	$ 15,700	$ 31,500	5 minute vs 30 minute measurement time per sample according to ASTM standard

Total running cost/year	$ 16,775	$ 41,240
Total cost of ownership per 10 years	$ 207,000	$ 449,520
D7042 benefit per 10 years		$ 242,520