Maxitec focuses on regular tool maintenance

Business owners are known to wait until a tool or punch suffers from rounded edges before sharpening it.

"This can add much more cost to their operation," said an Executive of Maxitec.

"By letting the consumables wear to this point, an operator has to ground the equipment far more often," said Maxitec's Sales and Marketing Director, Andrew Bentrup.

“When tools wear out they do so exponentially, so the more they are used the faster they become blunt,” said Andrew Bentrup.

“However, anyone who is performing regular maintenance on tools and punch equipment can skim each piece to get more life out of it."

“And this is not just in terms of gaining better performance from the tools themselves."

“Regular skimming allows better slug pulls and lessens potential for damaged blanks, especially when tools are working on expensive stainless steel."

“It also reduces the risk of unwanted burrs on the bottom of material,” said Andrew Bentrup.

People show a high level of service with respect to their cars, but choose to run their sheet metal automation, which is the core of the business, with only minimal attention to upkeep.

Or, they would instantly fix their washing machine when it begins to struggle, yet tend to let their machine carry on without regular maintenance.

“Ironically, it costs about $125 to repair your washing machine for the average fault, which is about the same amount as a machine tool would cost to maintain."

“But two days of lost production can be huge in terms of dollars. A $2,000 service once a year (for one shift operation), twice a year (for a two shift operation), or two preventative and one annual visit (for a three shift operation) can ensure a smooth operation."

“But if the machine breaks down, it could easily cost the company $2,000 an hour in lost revenue.”