User Maintenance Function

Proactively taking care of machine tools with a strong preventive maintenance (PM) program helps eliminate downtime as well as improves productivity and profitability. Issues that might not have been detected during normal daily use can be found, therefore reducing the possibility of major repairs or more expensive failures in the future.

Customized Reminders

In conjunction with a PM program, there are also steps that manufacturers can take to keep their machines running at optimal levels. One such safeguard is the utilization of “User Maintenance” function on the OSP control, which comes standard on all newer Okuma machines. Customized and personalized reminders can be set, which will pop up an alarm to remind the operator of various tasks. For example, reminders can be set for greasing the chuck daily. Reminders can be based upon machine on time, run time, spindle time, or by the calendar, such as daily, weekly, monthly reminders. If an operator is asked to do something only once a month, or better yet, once every six months, there is a good chance the task could be innocently forgotten. However, by using the User Maintenance function, the machine will remind the operator when it’s time.

RELATED: 5 Simple Steps That Eliminate Maintenance Chaos

Ensuring Peak Performance Levels

Furthermore, the User Maintenance function is also intended to monitor the life hours of consumable items that require maintenance. By displaying an alarm, the function will notify the operator when the set life hour is reached. The notification hour and warning hour trigger alarm D and alarm C, respectively, when the set hour is exceeded. This function is not intended to eliminate the need of a PM program, but instead to work along with a successful one by adding basic reminders for your operators, to ensure the equipment continues to operate at peak performance levels.

Learn how to set up the User Maintenance function here.

Thanks to Randy Jokerst and Heather Johnson (Hartwig) for providing this article.