How should CNC machine tools be maintained and serviced on a daily basis?

The main daily maintenance and upkeep tasks for CNC lathes include the following points for reference:

1. Selecting a suitable operating environment: The operating environment of a CNC lathe (such as temperature, humidity, vibration, power supply voltage, frequency, and interference) affects the normal operation of the machine tool. Therefore, when installing the machine tool, it is essential to strictly adhere to the installation conditions and requirements specified in the machine tool manual. If economically feasible, the CNC lathe should be installed separately from ordinary mechanical processing equipment to facilitate maintenance and upkeep.
2. Assigning specialized personnel for CNC system programming, operation, and maintenance: These personnel should be familiar with the mechanical parts, CNC system, power equipment, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, operating environment, and processing conditions of the machine tool, and be able to use the CNC lathe correctly according to the requirements of the machine tool and system manuals.
3. Maintenance and upkeep of the hardware control part of the CNC system: Have an experienced maintenance electrician inspect it annually. Check whether the relevant reference voltages are within the specified range, such as the output voltages of each channel of the power module and the reference voltage of the CNC unit. If abnormal, clean the dust. Check whether the connections of each electrical component in the system are loose; check whether the cooling fans of each functional module are operating normally and clean the dust; check whether the connections of the external regenerative discharge unit used by the servo amplifier and spindle amplifier are reliable and clean the dust; check whether the voltage of the backup battery used by the memory of each functional module is normal, and generally replace it regularly according to the manufacturer’s requirements. For machine tools that are not used for extended periods, they should be powered on and run for 4 hours each month to extend the service life of the CNC machine tool.
4. Maintenance and upkeep of CNC lathes during long periods of disuse: When the CNC lathe is idle, the CNC system should be powered on frequently, and the machine should be run in idle mode with the machine locked. During the rainy season with high air humidity, it should be powered on every day to use the heat generated by the electrical components themselves to drive away moisture in the CNC cabinet, ensuring the stable and reliable performance of the electronic components. 5. Maintenance and upkeep of the machine tool’s mechanical parts: After each shift, the operator should clean away chips scattered on the slide, guide rails, and other areas; during operation, pay attention to checking whether the chip conveyor is working properly to prevent chip accumulation, which can damage the accuracy of the guide rails and endanger the lifespan of the ball screw and guide rails; before the end of work, all servo axes should be returned to their home position before shutting down the machine.
5. Maintenance and upkeep of the machine tool’s spindle motor: Maintenance electricians should inspect the servo motor and spindle motor annually. Emphasis should be placed on checking their operating noise and temperature rise. If the noise is excessive, the cause should be investigated, whether it’s a mechanical problem such as bearings or a parameter setting issue with the matching amplifier, and appropriate measures should be taken to resolve it. For DC motors, the brushes and commutator should be inspected, adjusted, repaired, or replaced to ensure they are in good working condition. Check that the cooling fan at the motor end is operating normally and clean away dust; check that all motor connection plugs are not loose.
6. Maintenance and upkeep of the machine tool’s feed servo motor: For CNC lathe servo motors, maintenance should be performed every 10-12 months, and for machines with frequent acceleration or deceleration changes, maintenance should be performed every 2 months. The main maintenance tasks include: using dry compressed air to blow away dust from the brushes, checking the wear of the brushes, and if replacement is needed, using brushes of the same specifications. After replacement, run the motor under no load for a certain period to allow the brushes to conform to the commutator surface; inspect and clean the armature commutator to prevent short circuits; if a tachometer generator and pulse encoder are installed, they should also be inspected and cleaned.