How do you clean your lathe properly? Our tips for you.
Regular cleaning and maintenance of the lathe is the basic prerequisite for trouble-free machine operation, clean and error-free work and increased service life. It also reduces repair costs and machine downtime and makes adjustments easier, as sticky and rusty moving parts are difficult to adjust. You should pay particular attention to the parts that need to be lubricated and oiled regularly. Wearing parts must also be maintained and replaced in good time. The frequency of maintenance required for a lathe depends on the mechanical load.
Table of contents
Cleaning after use
The first step should always be to thoroughly clean the lathe after use. This includes removing all coarse chips using a chip hook, an industrial hoover with a narrow suction nozzle, a brush or a hand brush.
Compressed air should not be used for this, as this poses a risk from chips flying uncontrollably through the air, which can be blown into the lathe's guides.
Lubricating the lathe
When lubricating the lathe, the cleaning and maintenance instructions for the lathe, which can be found in the operating instructions, should be observed. These include, in particular, the recommended lubricants and operating fluids (see illustration as an example) as well as the specified maintenance intervals.
Oil level check
If you use a gearbox machine on a daily basis, you should carry out a weekly oil level check. This takes place at three points:
- On the main gearbox
- On the feed gearbox
- On the bed slide gearbox
An ideal oil level should reach the centre of the sight glass.
Oil change
The oil in new gearboxes should be changed after six months. After that, the gearbox oil must be changed annually. Permissible gear oils are SAE80 and SAE 90.
The corresponding oil filler openings are labelled in the operating instructions.
Checking the drive belts
You should check the condition of the drive belts and the belt tension every six months. The correct belt tension is also described in the operating instructions. The use of our belt tension preservative spray from diamant increases the tensile force and extends the service life of the belt.
Lubricating the change gears
You can use multi-purpose grease or gear spray to lubricate the change gears. This forms an almost dry lubricating film and protects against corrosion and has a noise-reducing effect. It also prevents the accumulation of dust.
Simply spray the gear spray from diamant onto the change gear and turn the jaw chuck at the same time.
To apply the multi-purpose grease, coat the gears with a brush.
Maintenance of the rack and lead screw
The multi-purpose grease can also be easily applied to the rack and lead screw with a brush.
Multipurpose grease can also be used to lubricate all sliding surfaces, gear racks and threaded spindles. An alternative is the spray grease spray. This is used to spray the spindle and the surrounding sliding surfaces.
Care of the combined lead and traction spindle
The spray grease spray is also ideal for maintaining the combined lead and traction spindle. To do this, simply push the spring guard backwards and spray the spindle from all sides.
Removing flash rust
To remove flash rust, spray the area with PowerEis rust remover from SONAX, for example, and then rub off the rust with either wet sandpaper or a cleaning fleece. You may need to spray a little more.
Rust can also be removed from sliding surfaces on which a layer of rust has already formed. To do this, use the quick rust remover spray from diamant, for example, and treat the area with a cleaning fleece.
Do not forget to lubricate and treat the sliding surface again after cleaning.
Lubrication via oiler
The oil nipples (also known as oilers) installed in the lathe are intended for oil, not grease. With help of an oil can can the oil be easily filled in. Make sure that the mouthpiece of the oil can is precisely matched to the oil nipple and fits perfectly. Otherwise, some oil may leak out when filling. Take particular care here.
Maintenance intervals
For daily use, the following maintenance intervals apply to a lathe. Adjust the maintenance intervals accordingly if the machine is used differently.
| Activities | After use | Weekly | Half-yearly |
| Cleaning the lathe | x | ||
| Lubricate all bare machine parts with the oil can | x | ||
| Check the tension of the V-belts on the headstock | x | ||
| Lubricating the change gears and lead screw | x | ||
| Lubricating the oilers on the bed slide | x | ||
| Adjusting the guide play of the top slide | x | ||
| Adjusting the guide play of the face slide | x | ||
| Lubricating the oilers on the change wheels | x | ||
| Lubricating the oilers on the headstock | x | ||
| Lubricating the lubricators on the lead screw bearing | x | ||
| Lubricating the oilers on the bed, face and top slide | x | ||
| Lubricating the oilers on the tailstock | x |
Tip
Care products for your lathe
Content: 0.4 Litres (€17.50* / 1 Litres)
Content: 0.4 Litres (€28.75* / 1 Litres)
Content: 0.4 Litres (€47.50* / 1 Litres)
Content: 0.4 Litres (€43.75* / 1 Litres)
Content: 0.065 Kilogramme (€138.46* / 1 Kilogramme)
Content: 0.63 Kilogramme (€28.57* / 1 Kilogramme)
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