NC SERVICE is here to provide a solution to the obsolescence of your machine tools, by restoring them to optimal operating conditions. In this way we are able to allow these machines to be competitive with any new machinery, equipment and technologies coming onto the market, whilst lengthening their service life, optimising productivity and reliability. We can even upgrade your machine by improving its original features, whenever so required, or locate on the market the used machine that best meets your requirements and then perform a customised retrofitted.
Thanks to our long track record, at NC SERVICE we have all the necessary knowledge of each and every machine type, and all the work is carried out by our highly skilled personnel using the technical means, tools and techniques that are most appropriate for each particular case, always following the manufacturers' technical recommendations and using original spares.
In each case, all the work to be performed is previously agreed with our customers, as well as any machine parts to be either replaced or repaired, completely adapting ourselves to your needs.
Our customers can also benefit from shorter lead times, compared to the normal delivery times for a new machine.
Machine tool retrofitting stages:
1 Study and initial valuation of the machine condition
Once the machines to be retrofitted have been received at NC SERVICE, a general analysis of their condition is made. This allows our Engineering Department to prepare reliable retrofitting and upgrading projects for each machine, planning the actions to be taken in addition to the resources and spares required, in order to minimise the execution time for all these tasks.
We are also prepared to go to our customers' facilities, in order to study the situation and make an initial prior technical and financial valuation. This will allow the customer to assess in greater detail the suitability of the retrofitting work required to return the milling machine to its original performance with regard to productivity and reliability.
2 Dismounting the structural components
After positioning the machine to be retrofitted at the NC SERVICE facilities, the next step is to dismount and remove all the mechanical elements and functional sub-assemblies which, considering that these parts are subject to wear and tear, need to be inspected and either repaired or replaced. An inspection is also made of the electrics, electronics and control parts.
Our highly-experienced engineers use this initial work to make a first valuation with regard to the needs of those parts to be retrofitted and any really damaged parts which need to be directly replaced with new spares. All these initial valuations are essential to ensure that the machine is refurbished as quickly as possible, thereby minimising machine downtime for our customers
3 Adjustment, repair or replacement of mechanical components
At NC SERVICE, following the disassembly of the mechanical functional components of the machine, a thorough inspection is made of each one, determining, in each specific case, the need to adjust, repair or replace each of these parts.
We study each part subject to wear during its life cycle, to determine the needs for adjustment, grinding, repair or replacement. Therefore, our highly-trained engineers in the Engineering Department thoroughly inspect parts such as spindles, guideways, bearings, transmission belts, electric motors, gears, seals, sensors, accumulators, drive systems, gear boxes, pumps, hydraulic units, etc.
All the necessary repairs or replacements are made, re-establishing the original machine performance and tolerance, regaining its original productivity and guaranteeing a satisfactory result for our customers.
The retrofitting work carried out at NC SERVICE also includes cleaning and painting all the external machine parts. An initial cleaning operation is made using pressurised water to determine the needs of each part, correcting dents and replacing broken or damaged parts, sanding the parts and finally applying a primer coat and the top coat of paint. In this way, the retrofitted machine offers a finish similar to a new machine.
4 Retrofitting and upgrading the electrics / electronics
In addition to mechanical retrofitting, NC SERVICE can also retrofit the electrics, electronics or control equipment. We upgrade or replace all the machine electric or electronic components (such as transformers, drivers, power supplies, contactors, relays, variable speed drives, software, motors, detection system, encoders, probes, etc.), and we normally replace the complete electrical cabinet, which has become obsolete, by making a new, completely revamped cabinet, upgraded with new devices. The numerical control is also normally replaced with a latest generation model.
As these components tend to become quickly obsolete on a machine, on some occasions the retrofitting work solely involves these parts, with no mechanical refurbishment of the machine.
NC SERVICE also offers our customers the possibility of upgrading their machines by incorporating new features that were not available when the machine was originally designed, so as to achieve improved performance and increased functionality, in order to become even more competitive on the market. Some of the upgrading tasks most frequently demanded by our customers are listed below:
- Replacement of the numerical control with a latest generation model
- Increased operating capacity (length and speed of travel, etc.)
- Installation of CNC-PC communication systems
- Manufacture and installation of guards and safety devices
- Improved performance through the installation of new components
- Improvement in the PLC program
It should be emphasised that NC SERVICE always obtains the customer's agreement beforehand with regard to all the operations and components to be either repaired or replaced during the machine retrofitting and upgrading work, based on the customer's needs and requirements.
5 Assembly and adjustment of the structural components
Once all the functional parts and machine components have been either retrofitted, repaired or replaced, then they are assembled at NC SERVICE
This assembly process allows our highly-skilled engineers to check the correct operation of all components, including repaired and replaced ones. They check for the correct assembly, adjustment and tolerance of the mechanical components, in addition to the electric or electronic and control part, in order to produce a totally rebuilt and retrofitted machine, offering our customers total reliability and guarantee.
6 Compliance with standards and regulations
The NC SERVICE retrofitting procedure is based on the regulations in force, directed at reducing the risks faced by the machine users and other workers, always guaranteeing adequate protection for all personnel. This work involves mounting guards, raceways, emergency buttons and any other safety elements included in the provisions of current EC legislation
These parts are either repaired or replaced, or else are included on the machine for the first time. This work is performed either during the retrofitting process, or solely to comply with a customer request to make the machines compliant with the standards and legislation in force.
7 Installation and commissioning
Once the machines have been retrofitted and are in optimal operating conditions, the next step is to install and commission the machines at our customer's facilities.
At NC SERVICE we are fully committed to this work, as it is considered to be essential for optimising the future performance and output of the Machine-tool, primarily with regard to precision. For this reason, this work is performed with the utmost reliability and guarantee, making our extensive know-how, substantial experience and all our technical and human resources available to customers, given the great complexity of these machines.
8 Calibration, testing and acceptance by the customer
With this machine retrofitting process, our objective is to ensure that our customers are completely satisfied with the work performed. Fundamental in this respect are the calibration work and the operational testing of the machine at the customer's facilities, including geometries, levelling, tolerances, precisions, etc. always using the most appropriate technological means and highly-qualified personnel, until, together with our customers, we have checked that the machine is functioning perfectly.
Our work is only considered to be completed once we have guaranteed full customer satisfaction and the perfect performance of the machine, based on the accuracy required for the work to be performed. Then, once the milling machine retrofitting process is considered to have been successfully concluded, this marks the start of the work included in our Preventive Maintenance contracts or our Technical Support.
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