FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE

PURCHASE OF TGA FOR

GOODYEAR TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY








Samant Khanna
November 7, 2013
ENGL 311
Dr. A. Kantar






Abstract
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has commissioned a feasibility study to determine which
TGA model should be purchased to replace the old and unreliable TGA, to get more accurate
data. Two TGA models are analyzed in this study: TGA Q5000 IR from TA Instruments and
TGA 4000 from Perkin Elmer. The instruments will be evaluated according to the following
criteria: Capabilities, Value and Operational Costs. Following are an Introduction, Factual
Summary, Conclusions, Recommendation and Annexes.




FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE SELECTION OF NEW TGA FOR GOODYEAR
TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY
Introduction
Jennifer Banks, a senior research analyst at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plans to
replace the old TGA (Thermogravimetric analyzer) in the R&D department with a modern and
more reliable version. The old TGA requires frequent repair and gives less accurate data than
what most of the modern TGAs are capable of providing. The evaluation of TGA models
requires a feasibility study due to the expensive nature of such an investment along with a wide
range of TGA models available. The purpose of this study is to determine which TGA model
would best suit the needs of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.
Some of the minimum requirements established by Goodyear are as follows: must be able
to reach temperature of 1000 C, must have a heating rate of up to 180 C/min, and must cost less
than $80,000. The two TGA models which meet all the minimum requirements are: TGA Q5000
IR from TA Instruments and TGA 4000 from Perkin Elmer.
The instruments will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Capabilities, Value
and Operational Costs. Capabilities is divided into two subparts: Weight Balance and Furnace.
Weight Balance evaluates the specifications of weight balance used in TGA such as capacity and
accuracy. Furnace compares the specifications of furnace used in TGA such as temperature range
and heating rate. Value is divided into three subparts: Initial Investment, Training and Features.
Initial investment analyzes prices of the base models, shipping cost and warranty. Training
evaluates training opportunities provided by the instrument manufacturers based on cost and
effectiveness. Features compares the standard features that come with each TGA and their


significance. Operational Costs is divided into two subparts: Energy Costs and Service. Energy
costs evaluates cost of resources required to keep the TGA running. Service analyzes both TGAs
in terms of the cost of their replacement parts for repair.
The following types of references were used to gather information for this study: email
interviews, product brochures, specifications, websites and product manuals. The
recommendation in this study is tailored specifically to fit the needs of Goodyear Tire and
Rubber Company to meet their requirements and uses data current as of November 2013.
Following are Factual Summary, Conclusions, Recommendation and Annexes.
Factual Summary
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is committed to being the world leader in tire
industry with its wide range of high performance and long lasting tires. To accomplish this goal,
they need access to state-of-the-art research instruments to generate accurate and reliable data.
TGA is one of the most important instrument used in tire and rubber industry for reverse
engineering analysis. It can decrypt the rubber compound of a competitor's product or for quality
control purposes. The Capabilities of the TGA are most important for Goodyear as they
determine the detail and accuracy of data that can be gathered from TGA. The Value of the TGA
is important for Goodyear as they want the best suitable features and training support with TGA
at a reasonable price. The Operational Costs are important for Goodyear to determine which
TGA would cost more to operate and repair in the long run.
The following table summarizes the findings of this feasibility study, organized based on
the three criteria.


TGA Q5000 IR TGA 4000
A. Capabilities
1. Weight Balance
Capacity 100 mg
(Good)
1500 mg
(Good)
Sensitivity <0.1 g
(Good)
1 g
(Good)
Signal resolution 0.01 g
(Good)
0.2 g
(Acceptable)
Accuracy 0.1 %
(Acceptable)
0.02 %
(Good)
Precision 0.01 %
(Good)
0.01 %
(Good)
Scanning baseline
dynamic drift
<10 g
(Good)
<50 mg
(Acceptable)
2. Furnace
Temperature range Ambient - 1200 C
(Good)
Ambient - 1000 C
(Good)
Maximum heating rate 500 C/min
(Good)
200 C/min
(Good)
Minimum heating rate 0.1 C/min
(Good)
0.1 C/min
(Good)
Cooling rate 1200 C to 35 C in 10 min 1000 C to 100 C in 8 min
1000 C to 50 C in 11 min
Scan temperature
accuracy
1 %
(Good)
1 %
(Good)
Scan temperature
precision
0.1 %
(Good)
0.8 %
(Acceptable)

B. Value
1. Initial Investment
Base price with shipping
and insurance
$68,000
(Acceptable)
$42,100
(Good)
Warranty One year
(Good)
One year
(Good)
2. Training * See commentary below table
Courses Theory and Applications- $850
Hands-on Training - $2250
Total- $3100
Introduction to TGA
- $1325


TGA Q5000 IR TGA 4000
3. Features
Hangdown pan 3 0
Top-loading pan
0 5
Digital display screen
3 0
Autosampler - 45
samples
0 5
Autosampler - 25
samples
3 0
Hi-Res TGA
TM

5 0
Modulated TGA
TM
3 0
Automated temperature
calibration
3 0
Compactness 0 3
20 (Good) 13 (Acceptable)

C. Operational Costs
1. Energy costs
(Electricity and Nitrogen
gas)
$2.38 /hour
(Good)
$9.15/hour
(Acceptable)
2. Service
(Total cost of
replacement parts)
$21,810
(Acceptable)
$16,498
(Good)


Q5000 IR is capable of detecting very minute weight changes in comparison to TGA
4000 due to its lower signal resolution as well as sensitivity. This can assist Goodyear in
determining the amount of additives or volatiles present in rubber compound in small quantities
especially in reverse engineering of competitor's product. The specifications indicate that TGA
4000 has a better accuracy than Q5000 IR, but sensitivity and resolution specifications ensure
that Q5000 IR will have more accurate weight measurements. Q5000 IR has a very low baseline
drift which will ensure better repeatability and aid with detection of sub microgram weight
changes.


Q5000 IR has the capability to cool down from 1200 C to 35 C in 10 minutes, which is a
wider range of temperature with lower time when compared to cooling rates of TGA 4000.
Faster cooling rates help in productivity by reaching the ambient temperature quickly, so the next
test can be started. Q5000 IR has a better precision value than TGA 4000 ensuring more
consistent temperature control and experiment results.
TGA 4000 is $25,900 cheaper than Q5000 IR making it an attractive investment for
Goodyear. Both instrument manufacturers offer training courses with similar content but TA
Instruments offers a hands-on lab training session which is 2 days long. Perkin Elmer also offers
customized training solutions at the customer's facility if required. Although TA Instruments
does not offer on-site customized training and its two-course package is expensive than the
course offered by Perkin Elmer, the courses offered by TA Instruments are better in terms of
time taken for delivery and effectiveness making it worth the extra money.
Q5000 IR clearly offers more features than TGA 4000 which lead to Q5000 IR getting a
good rating. The Hi-Res TGA
TM
feature can help detect very small weight changes and increases
the sensitivity to detect presence of additives present in small quantities. The Modulated TGA
feature allows Q5000 IR to calculate activation energy in relation to time and temperature all
throughout the experiment and can be useful for Goodyear in determining activation energy to
calculate tire cure times. TGA 4000 uses a top-loading pan which is easier for manual loading of
samples and offers a more robust design with no moving parts. This saves on repair cost but the
TGA capabilities matter more than repair cost.
Q5000 IR costs about 70% lower than TGA 4000 to operate, mainly due to higher
volume of nitrogen gas used in TGA 4000. Q5000 IR has more expensive replacement parts as


the furnace is quite expensive compared to the one for TGA 4000; the furnace of Q5000 IR has a
complex construction and uses IR technology.

Conclusions
1. Q5000 IR's excellent capabilities in both weight balance and furnace technology make it
overall best choice in the area of Capabilities. (1-5)

2. Though TGA 4000 requires remarkably low initial investment, Q5000 IR's superior features
and advantages in training options make it the overall best choice in the area of Value. (5-11)

3. Though TGA 4000 requires less expensive Service, Q5000 IR's significantly low energy
costs make it the overall best choice in the area of Operational Costs. (11-14)

4. Clearly, Q5000 IR outperforms TGA 4000 in all the three criteria, making it the best choice
for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Recommendation
It is the recommendation of this study that Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company purchase
the TA Instruments TGA Q5000 IR.