There are those of us who always make sure without fail our cars receive the care and attention they deserve; oil change, filter change ect. ect., then there are those (I am guilty of this also, and I should know better!) that just run our cars into the ground, we never give them any attention, until they fail us.
Well, in the land of machine tools, things are little different and really, they should be. When you consider the potential losses you could incur when your machine goes down unexpectedly. The cost of repair is often the least of your concerns, it’s the loss of production that can really hurt.
So, while there is no magical way of predicting when a machine may decide to fail you, there are things we can do to minimise breakdowns.
Check all cooling fans are functioning and clean air filters where necessary
Such a simple task, and yet few ever do it. One of the most common reasons for failure in any electrical component is excessive heat.
Fans and carefully designed air-flow systems are not in place to look pretty or make important sounding noises, nope, they are there to ensure electrical components are kept at their optimum temperatures.
So, one simple task which I would recommend is done at least once a week, is to check all your cooling fans. If you don’t know where they are, ask your machine tool builder or whoever you go to for CNC Machine tool breakdowns, and ask them for a list of where all your cooling fans are.
The most important ones are:
- Spindle fans
- Axis motor fans(where applicable)
- Electrical cabinet fans
- Servo drive fans
- Power supply fans
- Hydraulic tank radiator fan
These are the most common and in all cases, it is critical they are working. Any air filters can either be replaced, or simply just blown through with an airline.
Check all lubrication levels are OK and usage remains consistent
Lubrication systems are so very important. While most machines will now alert you when lubrication levels become low, they don’t always tell the whole story about what is going on with your lubrication systems.
Some important things which take little of your time, but could save a whole lot of time and money down the road are:
- Is lubrication usage increasing? If so this would warrant further investigation as it would indicate a leak somewhere.
- Keep an eye out for oil leaks, if you find one, see above.
- Many hydraulic tanks do not have an alarm indicator for low-level warning, this is because it ‘should’ be a closed loop system. When hydraulic fluid becomes low, the temperature goes up and when the temperature goes up we begin to see excessive wear and damage to seals within the system. Check your hydraulic tanks level once a week.
- One oil level that many machine tool builders often fail to warn their customers about is the one often used for spindle tool clamping cylinders. These are found on VMC’s behind the headstock cover, directly on top of the spindle. If this oil-pot runs dry, the clamping mechanism will eventually seize up and fail to clamp and unclamp.
Again, if your machine builders manual doesn’t show you all the oil resiviours on the machine, ask them or contact a CNC Machine tool expert that does.
