Modernize your legacy bioreactor automation without replacing the whole system
bbi-biotech modernizes aging bioreactors and fermenters with modern xCUBIO automation while preserving valuable existing equipment and installed process hardware.
- Keep valuable vessels, piping and installed hardware in service
- Replace obsolete controls with a modern 19″ touchscreen
- Expand functionality with new automation, add-ons and integrations
Why retrofit instead of replace?
When the vessel, piping and core process hardware are still valuable, a complete replacement is often not the most practical next step. In many legacy systems, the real limitation is the aging automation layer – not the installed bioprocess equipment itself.
Keep patching the old automation
This may postpone a larger decision and is cheaper in the short view, but it rarely creates a stable long-term path and means uncertainty every day of operation.
As systems age, spare parts, service effort and downtime risk usually move in the wrong direction.
- Rising risk of unplanned down-times or failure
- Ongoing effort to keep legacy controls running and spare parts
- Limited usability and outdated interfaces for probes and sensors
- No real modernization or upgrade path possible
Replace the complete system
A new system can be the right decision in some cases, but it also means replacing hardware that may still be mechanically valuable.
Where the installed process equipment remains sound, this can be more change than necessary.
- Highest capital investment and time schedule
- Replacement of still-usable installed hardware
- Broader change to the process environment
- Not always necessary when the real issue is the control system
Retrofit the system with xCUBIO
xCUBIO retrofit keeps the valuable parts of the system in place and replaces the obsolete automation layer with modern xCUBIO control.
The result is a more practical modernization path with less disruption than a full replacement.
- Preserve valuable vessels, piping and installed hardware
- Replace obsolete controls with modern automation
- Add new functions, integrations and upgrade options
- Plan modernization before failure forces the timing
What stays – and what changes
xCUBIO retrofit does not mean replacing the whole system. In many projects, the mechanically valuable parts of the installation can remain in service, while the obsolete automation layer is replaced and selected components are modernized where it makes technical sense.
Often retained
Where the existing system is still in good technical condition, these parts can often remain in service.
- Vessel, frame and core stainless-steel process hardware
- Piping and installed vessel-side components
- Sensors, valves and MFCs where still suitable
- Motor and Motor controller where still suitable
Commonly modernized
The xCUBIO control platform is new in every xCUBIO retrofit. Depending on the project, further components are upgraded.
- New controller with 19″ touchscreen and xCUBIO automation
- Measuring amplifiers
- Pumps
- Sensor interfaces and cables
Exact scope is agreed case by case.
How a retrofit project works
Retrofit projects do not all follow the same path. The process depends mainly on whether the system can be shipped, or whether the retrofit must be prepared around an installed system or during a planned shutdown window.
Typical legacy systems we modernize
Many legacy stainless-steel systems still in operation remain mechanically valuable, while the automation has become outdated, unsupported or no longer practical.
Our strongest xCUBIO retrofit fit – reactors with the bbi logo.
Legacy Biostat® stainless-steel systems from the B. Braun and Sartorius era are where xCUBIO retrofit is most at home.
If your reactor still carries the bbi-biotech logo, you are looking at exactly the kind of installed system where our retrofit relevance is strongest – durable stainless-steel hardware, familiar system architecture, and aging automation that has become the practical weak point.
Across this legacy installed base, these systems are among the clearest, most proven and most practical xCUBIO retrofit opportunities in the field.
Secondary fit – other legacy bioreactor systems
xCUBIO retrofit can also be highly relevant for many legacy stainless-steel systems from other established manufacturers.
Where the vessel and installed process hardware remain worth preserving, modernization with xCUBIO retrofit is often the more practical path compared to a completely new system.
xCUBIO retrofit – Proven in real retrofit projects
The examples below are based on real retrofit work on legacy systems in the field. They show the kind of projects where durable installed hardware remained worth preserving, while obsolete automation was replaced with modern xCUBIO automation – one of the most advanced and powerful automation platforms available for bioreactor systems today.
Retrofit for a large pharmaceutical producer in China
An UD50 and an UD500 bioreactor were upgraded with xCUBIO retrofit automation, including new glucose integration and pressure control.
The project was delivered under difficult lockdown conditions in close cooperation with a local service team.
Retrofit for a 300l B.Braun reactor at a German university
An xCUBIO retrofit project for a 300 L installed fermenter, designed to modernize automation while preserving key existing hardware.
The setup retained the existing vessel, temperature unit, agitator drive, pump functions and sensors where possible, while introducing a renewed control concept with configurable gas mixing, updated measurement electronics and modern interfaces.
Retrofit for a Biostat® C 30 L system at a German university
A typical retrofit project on one of the most widely installed legacy bioreactor platforms in the field. Systems of this kind exist in large numbers and are among the clearest xCUBIO retrofit candidates.
This project included new pressure control together with additional analogue inputs and outputs.
Retrofit for a 75 L mbr bioreactor at a European CDMO
This xCUBIO retrofit project modernized the automation of an installed 75 L mbr bioreactor while preserving key existing hardware already in place.
The project retained the existing vessel, temperature control unit and agitator drive, while adding a substantially expanded sensor and gas-mixing setup together with an upgraded pump configuration.
Automation & Control with xCUBIO – One consistent automation platform across reactor types and scales.
xCUBIO brings structured operation, advanced process logic and flexible integration into one coherent automation environment. In retrofit projects, this means the automation is brought fully onto the xCUBIO level.
The result is the same superior automation platform used across new xCUBIO benchtop systems, new stainless-steel reactors and retrofit projects alike – not a reduced retrofit version, but one shared automation standard.
That shared control logic supports retrofitting, process development, pilot operation and scale-up without the fragmentation and usability gaps of disconnected controller generations.
One platform across systems and scales
xCUBIO provides one consistent automation platform across different bioreactor types, process concepts and development stages.
Instead of forcing users to adapt to different controller logics as systems grow more complex, it creates a shared operating structure that supports comparability, faster familiarization, cleaner transfer of process logic and a more coherent path from early development to larger-scale operation.
Premium automation beyond conventional controller logic
A serious bioreactor controller must provide clear overview screens, reliable control loops and direct manual access where needed. xCUBIO does all of that as a matter of course – but its real strength lies far beyond conventional controller logic.
The platform combines real-time process visualization, integrated alarm handling, manual actuator access, profile functions, advanced sequences, data recording and export within one structured operating environment designed for significantly greater depth, flexibility and process control than a conventional controller typically offers.
Profiles, Sequence Editor & Valve Editor
This is where xCUBIO becomes especially powerful. Time-dependent profiles allow process values and actuator outputs to follow defined progressions instead of remaining static.
The graphical Sequence Editor and Valve Editor enable users to automate recurring process steps and genuinely process-driven routines without conventional programming including complex valve-position logic and valve state changes.
Together, these tools bring an unusual level of automation freedom to the user: powerful process logic without the need to build custom software for every advanced routine.
Built for flexible process architecture and connectivity
xCUBIO is designed for processes that do not fit into rigid standard architectures. Additional sensor technology, external devices and analytical signals can be integrated with exceptional flexibility, while pumps and other functions can be assigned in ways that reflect the real needs of the process rather than a predefined package logic.
At the same time, trend recording, CSV export, remote access via integrated VNC functionality and OPC connectivity support structured data use, system integration and future-ready automation concepts.
Automation
Sequence Editor
Valve Editor
Complex Recipes
Flexibility
Sensor Choice
Gasmix Configs
Control Possibilities
Visualization
19″ Touch-Screen
Trend-Displays
Live Visualization
Connectivity
Remote Access
OPC Interfaces
Export Features
Tell us about your retrofit idea
Whether you are evaluating a retrofit, planning a controller replacement, or already dealing with an aging system, we will route your enquiry to the right team and next step.
I want to discuss my system
For legacy system fit and assessment, modernization scope, technical constraints and next-step planning.
I need a retrofit quote
For defined retrofit projects, controller replacement plans, or quotation requests for specific systems.
I need service or spare parts
For running systems, service cases, spare parts needs, or selected upgrade or hardware requests and questions.
Direct contact to Berlin head office
+49 (0)30 221 800 10
info@bbi-biotech.com
bbi-biotech GmbH
Landsberger Str. 259
12623 Berlin