Gosiger encourages all customers to have in place a comprehensive Planned Preventative Maintenance Plan for all of the equipment in their shop. By performing the regular inspections and service that every machine requires, you can avoid unnecessary downtime, lost production, late deliveries and expensive machine repairs.

Okuma lathes are rugged and highly reliable CNC machines, but even they require routine maintenance. Robbie Williams, Junior Applications Engineer for Okuma America Corporation posted this handy checklist of typical lathe maintenance items.

• Check the hydraulic pressure to make sure it’s at 4.5 MPa
• Check the hydraulic fluids to make sure they’re at the right operating level
• Check to make sure the chuck pressure is at the right operating pressure
• Make sure the way lube level is at the right operating level, and replenish if needed
• If your CNC machine has a cooling system, make sure the cooling unit level is at the right operating level
• Clean the chips out of the chip pan, and grease any part that may need to be greased
• Clean off the window of the door and the light so you can see inside your machine
• Wipe down any stainless steel way covers and lubricate them with hydraulic oil so they move smoothly
• On a weekly basis, or every 40 hours, take the filter off the CNC control cabinet and clean it so air will be able to flow through for cooling.

• Check and grease the chain on the chip conveyor
• Check and clean the filters on the coolant tank

Contact your distributor to have the following preventive maintenance performed by a certified Okuma Engineer:

• Have the coolant tank cleaned of sludge, chips, and oil
• Have the chuck and jaws taken off the machine and cleaned
• Have the hydraulic tank drained and replace the hydraulic oil with fresh hydraulic oil – also have the line filter and suction filter changed
• Have the radiator cleaned and make sure the radiator fins are straight
• Have the lubrication unit drained and cleaned out – then add fresh way lube
• If your machine is equipped with a cooling unit, have the unit drained and refilled
• Have the leveling of your machine checked and adjust if necessary
• Have all way wipers inspected for any damage – clean and replace any wipers that are damaged

• Have the headstock checked for taper
• Have the spindle checked for radial and end play
• Have the chuck cylinder checked for run out
• Have the tailstock checked for taper
• Have the turret parallelism and inclination checked
• Have your distributor run a backlash program to check the backlash in X and Z axis and adjust if necessary
• Have your distributor check the X and Z axis gibs and adjust if necessary

Gosiger Technical Service specialists are certified to perform required maintenance on all Okuma CNC machines. They also provide training and can design customized, planned preventative maintenance programs. Additionally, Gosiger offers complete preventative maintenance plan packages for complete peace of mind. Contact Gosiger for more details.