A CNC machine is a big investment, and intentional maintenance is the best way to ensure that you get the most of out of this capital equipment purchase a long, productive lifetime. This maintenance must always be two-fold, incorporating an approach that is both predictive and preventative. If you would like to read more on this topic, please read our dedicated blog post here.
Predictive maintenance familiarizes you with every facet of your manufacturing process. Unlike preventative maintenance, it addresses parts of a machine that may not be visible or audible. You can learn a lot about what’s going on behind-the-scenes—not only with your machine but with your team of operators. It can tell you how quickly components are wearing down, which parts are being overworked, and which operators may need more training.
Diversified Machine Systems (DMS) has invested a lot of time and resources into developing predictive maintenance systems that go above and beyond the call of duty. A good predictive maintenance system provides the data you need to recognize problems well before they occur—and to make sure they never happen. This has great benefits, reducing downtime, labor, and material costs. Not to mention, ensuring your peace of mind.
Most CNC vendors offer some kind of maintenance plan, but at DMS we differentiate ourselves by offering direct access to your machine’s data. Other companies’ machines often require a separate maintenance product with third-party connection software. When operators have to choose between multiple maintenance programs, this increases their risk of choosing the wrong one and damaging the machine.
DMS Maintenance Program
Developed in tandem with SIMCO, a premier software company, DMS has created a maintenance program that completely integrates with our equipment. Our control panels don’t require any third-party software, they comprehensively connect with the entire system. Our partnership with SIMCO offers the best of both worlds—a DMS product with one of the industry-leading manufacturing solutions.
Manufacturing Data Management
This is where our Manufacturing Data Management (MDM) truly shines. Our MDM system monitors both Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) and Total Effective Equipment Performance (TEEP). The OEE data allows you to identify various losses and to measure downtime on your machine. It measures availability losses, when an unplanned stop, error alert, or equipment failure delays availability. It also measures performance losses—small, planned stops that add up over time.
With our MDM system, you can “look under the hood” of your machine and see everything that’s happening. Your dashboard is customized to meet your needs, displaying OEE and TEEP scores as needed.
With the DMS dashboard, you can understand the various jobs your CNC router is producing at-a-glance. The display is customizable and can be viewed on a large overhead TV monitor or a desktop computer. Maintenance workers can go mobile with a tablet, quickly and easily accessing info on various machines as they walk the floor. For production managers who oversee a team of employees working on different shifts, this display can even be pushed to a cell phone via a VPN connection.
For example, if you have a spindle package, you can capture its activity and access precise statistics. DMS can implement spindles that extrapolate data to show exactly where the wear is happening. We make sure everything is well-labeled, allowing a measure of visual flexibility. You can also monitor the tool or spindle itself, and see how much pressure is being applied to it, allowing you to determine whether it will wear early or late. The system may reveal that your spindle has been running at a certain speed for a given amount of time and will be able to predict the time for a replacement.
Predictive maintenance is an extensive subject and it can be challenging to navigate. If the system uses all its capabilities at all times, it can be difficult to decipher what the data signifies and how to respond. That’s why DMS orients your maintenance system to the areas that are key to your business, and then we make the system more robust as you grow. It’s a step-by-step rollout that keeps pace with your business needs.
Training
Training is key to this process. Even with a great predictive maintenance system, a lack of understanding can be costly and lead to unnecessary mistakes. DMS provides the specified training our customers need to manage their particular system and assess their key metrics. Our dashboard consistently provides you with accurate information, and operators are empowered to utilize that information. Rather than losing precious time to problem-hunting and research, your team is freed up to do what they do best.
As part of our holistic approach, DMS receives and analyzes data from all of our machines. This allows us to make more accurate recommendations for our clients. Our operational statistics are constantly being honed by real-time data, which allows us to more accurately predict the needs for your upcoming project. With this information, you can more reliably estimate your profit margin, which in turn will improve your bids. A predictive maintenance plan requires a substantial investment of training and resources upfront. However, this investment is likely to be recouped in the long run, as it extends a machine’s lifetime and improves ROI. And as always, a predictive maintenance plan works best when it’s implemented alongside a preventative maintenance plan. With these two processes in mind, you can predict the future and avert crises before they happen.
If you would like to discuss preventative maintenance on your DMS CNC router, or any other upkeep questions, please contact our USA-based Service Team at 855-266-5063 or info@dmscncrouters.com today.
