You can ignore the floor of the factory — not the factory floor, of course, but the actual floor of the rooms — for quite a while. Maybe forever. Then the day finally comes when the gunk and clutter builds up to the point where someone trips and falls or something catches fire or it’s just downright unhygienic. At that point, correcting the problem takes a lot more effort than just a quick sweep and mop.
If you are in charge of Indramat and Rexroth equipment, you can ignore it for a long time. Some of the people who call us had no idea they even had Indramat equipment till it stopped on them and they had to call us. Sometimes the problems have been unavoidable, but sometimes they could have been avoided completely with a little maintenance.
So what are the types of things you should look for in your Indramat and Rexroth equipment and correct before they get out of hand?
- Replace batteries on a routine schedule, if necessary (such as in CLC control).
- Check cables for cracks and damage.
- Check internal fans to make sure they’re not blocked.
- Do routine temperature checks inside cabinets (and install an air conditioner if you can’t keep it cool without one).
- Make sure cabinet doors are kept shut.
These small issues can turn into big issues if they’re not taken care of regularly to ensure that everything is in order with your Indramat servos. Checking through these few things doesn’t take very long—just a few minutes—but they can keep you from having to invest lots of time and money into solving a problem.
So how often should you do these things?
- Battery life really depends on how long you run your Indramat servo drives for and how much time off they have overnight. If you run one shift, for instance, your batteries won’t last nearly as long as those used only after a three-shift day. Temperature also impacts your battery life—the hotter it is, the less time you’ll get out of them. They can run as little as 1.5 years or go as long as 4 years.
- Cables wear out the quickest out of any accessory and it’s the first spare we tell our clients to buy! Always keep some of these on hand.
- Depending on how dusty your conditions are, you’ll need to clean your fans more or less often. Check them often to get and idea of what schedule works for your Indramat drive.
- Check the temperature as regularly as can be allowed, since this is one of the top reasons Indramat drives fail.
- Cabinet doors should be checked as regularly as allowed, since it only takes a glance!
We hope these tips help but if you’re still stuck, call us and we’ll help you get your Indramat servomotors and servo drives back up and running.