A machine tool service engineer can be a great asset to your business, whether it’s for regular maintenance and repair or because you’ve encountered an issue with your equipment. But, before calling a service engineer, it’s important that you know what to look for in order to avoid wasting time and money.

Here are are a few things you should check before calling an engineer:

Check that the machine has power

Yes, believe it or not, this is far less uncommon than you might think. I’ve travelled hundreds of miles before to a breakdown, only to discover on arrival that the power was off.

So, as crazy and as obvious as this might seem – just check you have power to your machine. Check all three phases are balanced and at the required voltage.

Has an Emergency Stop Button been left pressed in?

This one is even more common than the first. Typically it is those sneaky little emergency stop buttons that are hiding out of the way that get forgotten about.

If you have any auxillary equipment like conveyors or bar feed units, check these emergency stop buttons are released.

Sometimes there are e-stops on the electrical cabinets and/or Toolchange carousel access point.

Be sure to check every single one. You really don’t want to call myself or another service engineer out just to release an emergency stop button for you!

Check that all air lines are attached and at required pressure

Many machinery won’t even switch on unless it has an adequate air pressure supplied. But at the very least, a lack of air pressure will limit machine functionality.

So, check your incoming air supply is at the correct pressure required for the machine.

Check the CNC Control alarm page for clues

Sometimes what seems to be a major breakdown can have a simple explanation. Before calling an engineer check the CNC controls alarm page for any clues to what the issue might be.

If just an alarm number is given, head over to google and enter your CNC type and error code. You’ll soon find an explanation for the error code.

Checking these things before calling a service engineer could save you time and money

Checking these things before calling a service engineer could save you time and money. If there is something wrong with your machine tool, the first thing to do is check these areas.

• Check for loose bolts on the table, headstock and tailstock. They can cause vibration in the machine tool if they are loose.

• Check if all nuts are tight on all screws on the machine tool; make sure there is no play in any of them because this may cause vibration in your machine tool, which will lead to damage of components or even breakage of parts due to excessive vibrations caused by unsecured nuts that loosen over time.

I hope that this article has helped you to understand the importance of checking before calling a service engineer. In conclusion, you should make sure the machine has adequate power, air supply is connected, all emergency stops are released and check that there is no error code associated with the problem you are having.

If all of these things are OK, then maybe it’s time to call up an expert who can visit your site and get it fixed.