Rules For CNC Purchase And Repair
Rules For CNC Purchase And Repair
If you are like me, you are always looking for an incredible steal …the sale of the century…AND, you never pay full price for anything! A major exception to this rule is the purchase of a CNC machine or any component you add to it. You truly get what you pay for in CNC equipment - new or used.
If you don’t pay up front, you will pay down the road. Again and again. And you will be kicking yourself in the a– every time you call the repair guy.
Inexpensive CNC machines have less horsepower and therefore the spindle stalls more often. They have narrower linear guides, less ballscrew bearings, no oil chillers on the spindle, less and smaller bearings in the spindle, less safety interlocks, and, on top of all that, they are much less rigid which is the number one cause for CNC machine crashing and subsequent downtime.
Eventually, even the best CNC machines experience problems whether it is a small cnc machine or large. Most machinists and operators are not trained or equipped to repair CNC equipment. For the electronic repairs, you will need an industrial electronic repair shop experienced, at a minimum, in troubleshooting, alarm codes, servo and drive problems, electrical faults, PLC ladder troubleshooting, DC motor problems, axis load or binding, solenoid/relay/contact testing, power supply problems, axis brake problems, chuck problems, relay board problems, fixture setup, control & parameter issues, hydraulics and pneumatics, and door and safety interlocks.
Whether you are a major manufacturer or a hobby CNC user, make it a priority to purchase the best CNC equipment you can possibly afford. Ask a lot of questions before you buy, ask to see the equipment operating in someone else’s shop, and call an expert industrial electronic repair shop if and when your CNC machine develops problems.
