A CNC machine can transform your business. The right setup can help you transition your manual work into an automated process that will lead to higher productivity and efficiency across the board. You'll also deliver products with greater consistency to your customers, with fewer deviations in a build's final quality.
But CNC machines require routine maintenance and care if you want to avoid any interruption to your daily operations. A shop without a regular maintenance schedule for its CNC machinery might need serious repairs later. For best results, you should likely partner with a local firm that offers CNC service and repair. For now, use these tips to keep your CNC machines running.
Keep a Checklist
Create good habits around CNC machine inspection and maintenance by making every employee go down a checklist before beginning operation for the day. Is the machine in good condition? Do any parts look faulty or need a tune-up? Do all safety mechanisms work properly? Following along with a daily checklist will help you find and fix small issues before they turn into big problems.
Keep It Clean
Depending on what kind of materials your CNC machine works with, some debris or grease could be in the area after a production run is finished. Make every employee responsible for cleaning the work area after every run and before starting up the machine again. A clean work area will also ensure that no debris gets into the wrong spot during operation, potentially damaging your CNC machine.
Keep It Lubricated
CNC machines have lots of moving parts and plenty of places where metal brushes up against metal. These metal parts usually need proper lubrication in order to reduce wear and tear. A CNC machine without proper lubrication will have one or more parts likely suffer a decrease in life expectancy, eventually leading to a large repair or replacement bill.
Keep Some Downtime on the Schedule for Inspection
One of the key benefits of installing a CNC machine is that you can dramatically increase your output thanks to the automation. But you should give your CNC machine a break just as you would a human worker working with manual equipment. Running your machines nonstop will leave no time for a full inspection of your equipment.
Hopefully, you have each employee following along with a daily checklist, but you should also plan to shut down all of your CNC machines for a more in-depth inspection at least once a month. If you aren't familiar enough with the inner workings of the machines to conduct this review yourself, contact a local professional for help.
Keep Mission Critical Spare Parts on Hand
For best results, you may want to partner with a local CNC service firm to ensure that your company always has important spare parts available. You may have some parts you are able to quickly replace yourself without having to wait for a CNC service to get out to your business. This will allow you to get all machines back up and running and keep production moving along.
Keep Communication Open With Employees
Finally, create a system for your employees to report potential issues in need of maintenance. If an employee notices an issue on the daily checklist, they should have a specific manager they go to who has to give the all clear before the machine can begin work for the day.
Your company's CNC machines can boost productivity and the overall quality of the products you create. But regular maintenance is key if you want to keep your CNC machines operational and out of the repair shop. Proper lubrication and regular inspections can keep things working and allow you to detect potential problems before they develop into serious issues.
At Quad Fluid Dynamics, Inc., we have years of experience servicing CNC machines like yours. We understand that a non-operational machine lowers your productivity and harms your bottom line and will work to get you back up and running quickly.
Contact us today for more information.
