Preventive Maintenance Plans
Unplanned downtime is the most expensive thing in your building. Scheduled PM finds the worn bearing, the failing lube line and the drifting geometry while the machine is still making parts.
Three levels, priced per machine
Every plan is quoted per machine based on make, model, age, spindle hours and how hard you run it. A two-year-old Brother running dry-ish aluminum is not the same job as a fifteen-year-old horizontal in a foundry. Below is what is included at each level.
| Included | Level 1 Baseline | Level 2 Standard | Level 3 Total Care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visits per year | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Full mechanical inspection & lubrication service | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coolant, filtration, chip conveyor & way cover check | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Control cabinet cleaning, filter and fan check | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Parameter backup to your file and ours | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Written condition report with photos | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Backlash check & ATC timing verification | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spindle runout, drawbar force & taper inspection | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Machine level verification | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Annual ballbar circularity test with report | — | — | ✓ |
| Geometry & squareness verification | — | — | ✓ |
| Probe & tool-setter calibration check | — | — | ✓ |
| Priority scheduling on breakdown calls | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Discounted labor rate on repairs between visits | — | — | ✓ |
| Multi-machine & whole-shop discounts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Plans are scheduled around your production calendar — shutdown weeks, holiday breaks and second-shift windows are all fair game. Multi-machine shops get a single coordinated visit rather than a string of separate trips.
What a PM visit actually catches
- Way lube lines that stopped delivering to one axis — before the ways gall
- Spindle bearing noise while it is still a bearing job, not a spindle job
- Drawbar clamping force drifting low, which shows up as finish problems first
- Coolant concentration and contamination driving tool life down
- Cracked way covers letting chips into the screws
- Control cabinet filters plugged solid, cooking drives in July
- Backlash creeping up on the axis your close-tolerance feature lives on
- Dead control batteries — found on a Tuesday instead of during a power outage
Why it pencils out
One unplanned spindle failure on a production machine typically costs more than several years of PM on that same machine — before you count the expedite fees, the scrapped setup and the customer you had to call.
PM will not make a machine immortal. It moves failures from "unplanned, at the worst possible moment" to "scheduled, during the shutdown week." That is the whole pitch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a preventive maintenance plan cost?
It is quoted per machine, because a PM on a compact drill-tap center and a PM on a large horizontal machining center are not the same amount of work. Send a machine list — make, model, year and rough spindle hours — and you will get a written quote.
How often should a CNC machine get preventive maintenance?
For most job shops running one shift, once or twice a year is the sweet spot. Two or three shifts, heavy cast iron, abrasive materials or tight-tolerance work push that to quarterly. We will recommend a cadence and tell you why.
Do we have to sign a long contract?
No. Plans are annual and you can start with a single machine to see whether the reports are worth anything to you. Most shops add machines after the first round of findings.
Can you take over PM on machines still under an OEM plan?
Yes, once the OEM plan lapses or you choose not to renew it. Bring the last OEM report and we will pick up the history rather than starting from zero.
Machine down? Let's get it cutting again.
Straight answers, honest diagnostics, and a tech who has actually rebuilt the machine you're standing next to.