Many sheet metal machinery operators choose to wait until their tooling equipment is severely worn before repairing or maintaining them. Sometimes tools or punches are not sharpened until they get rounded edges.
According to Maxitec, this practice means an operator has to ground the equipment far more often.
The company explains tools wear out at an exponential rate. That is, the more they are used, the faster they become blunt. By performing regular maintenance on the tools and punch equipment, less effort is needed to get more life out of them.
Regular skimming can also result in better slug pulls and lessen the potential for damaged blanks or burrs. This could be especially valuable if the tools are working on stainless steel.
The company recommends annual servicing for machinery engaged in one shift operation, twice yearly servicing for two shift operations, or two preventive and one annual visit for three shift operations.
In contrast, if the machine breaks down, lost production revenue can cost up to $2000 an hour of downtime.