Why Do CNC Maintenance Companies Consider Ballbar Vital for Operations

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Even with the incorporation of automation, some CNC tool manufacturers still deal with mechanical defects. These cause them to produce bad parts, costing them money, time, and customers. The defects may result from positioning mistakes in the installed machine tool. These may come from play, geometric, and dynamic errors inside the machine.

To CNC distributors, knowing what and where the errors lie makes it easier to fix them. To CNC manufacturers, this is only possible with the Renishaw QC10 ballbar. The new version is the wireless QC20-W ballbar. If you want to know why CNC maintenance companies recommend ballbar for operations, let’s analyze the details.

Overlooks the Machine’s Age

Defective parts can come from old or new machines. The errors may be the result of worn spindles, workpiece clamping, or bad tooling. Major ones come from the machine tool’s positioning errors. Once the ballbar detects the type and location of the error, it corrects the defect right away.

Ballbar determines and locates the errors in precision-based machines. It does not matter whether the company’s machine is old or new. Every machine is capable of errors. Many seasoned machine tool distributors have been using QC10 ballbar for years. If they use the latest version, some of them worry that their past errors will not be detectable anymore. On the contrary, the Bluetooth®-capable QC20-W ballbar is versatile enough to help even old machines.

The QC10 ballbar runs on Ballbar 5 software. If the company plans to get the QC20-W ballbar, the gathered data with Ballbar 5 will still be detectable. The Ballbar 20 software in QC20-W ballbar can compare the old data with the new one. This is a backward-compatible software. It allows a continuous flow of historical data from the old to the new ballbar version. Once the QC20-W ballbar runs a fast and potent evaluation of the machine’s capabilities. This is an optimal way to recognize the faulty areas and correct them.

Proper Assessment After Production

Before customers purchase machines from machine tool suppliers, ballbar tests help the manufacturers and CNC distributors understand their machines better. Through proper testing, the manufacturer can categorize the correct machine for the right job. It also determines the machine’s tolerances for production. Ballbar tests also aid in reducing time-consuming manual inspections and setups. By the time the new machine is ready for release, the manufacturer is already certain that it is functional and efficient.

Easy Service Maintenance

A ballbar test enables CNC maintenance companies to determine the machine’s problems right away. The maintenance crew does not need to strip down the machine to find out what is causing the problem. That way, they can determine what repair strategy to use before the repairs start. Ballbar tests can track the machine’s running performance. By doing so, they provide predictive maintenance procedures. This efficient maintenance minimizes the need to call specialists. Before the maintenance crew leaves, they make sure that the problem has been fixed.

Diagnostic and repair stickers help the maintenance crew to know the past issues with the machine. This helps make the service time quicker. After the new repairs, the crew will attach the new proof of service sticker. This will be visible proof of the test reports. This is a good practice before the company ships it out to machine tool suppliers. Incorporating QC20-W ballbar tests in a manufacturer’s quality assessment system can ensure that the machine meets the standards.

Customers Can Rest Assured That They Get Optimal Products from Their Machine Tool Distributors

CNC manufacturers should get the QC20-W ballbar if they are serious about the quality and maintenance of their products. This test uses the Ballbar 20 software to analyze the data that contains the machine’s errors. The software can also find errors that other tests cannot detect. We, at Maintenance Diagnostic Systems, Inc., use the Renishaw brand in testing our machines. Our CNC distributors are always confident in the products we ship out. If you want to know more about our portfolio, call our office today.