# CNC Machine Maintenance Checklist: Daily, Weekly and Monthly Preventive Maintenance > Source: https://netray.co/tools/cnc-machine-maintenance-checklist > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer A daily, weekly, monthly and annual preventive maintenance checklist for CNC mills and lathes. Tick it on screen and export to PDF or Excel. ## Category maintenance ## Industry Machining ## Audience - Maintenance technician - Shop supervisor - CNC operator ## Tool **Kind:** checklist **Groups:** #### Daily (start of shift, operator) **Items:** **Text:** Check way lube and spindle lube reservoir levels and top up with the grade named by the builder **Critical:** true **Text:** Check coolant level, concentration (refractometer) and smell; skim tramp oil **Critical:** true **Text:** Check air pressure at the regulator and drain the water trap on the air line **Critical:** true Check hydraulic unit oil level and pressure gauge (chuck, tailstock, turret, fixtures) Wipe down way covers, telescopic covers and the area around the door seal Clear chips from the table, tool changer pocket area, chip conveyor and coolant return Check the tool changer and tool holders for chips; clean taper seats and the spindle taper **Text:** Confirm the door interlock and emergency stop work before running **Critical:** true Look for leaks under the machine and for new alarms in the alarm history Warm up the spindle with the standard warm-up program before cutting #### Weekly (operator or maintenance) **Items:** Clean or replace the coolant filter or mist collector pre-filter Clean the chip conveyor, coolant tank sludge and the tank strainer Inspect way wipers and scrapers for cuts, hardening or gaps Check chuck jaws, draw bar pressure and grease the chuck as the maker specifies **Text:** Check tool holder pull studs or retention knobs for wear and cracks **Critical:** true Check the spindle air blast and tool unclamp operation at the changer Verify the work offsets and tool length offsets on a known master part or gauge Check the cabinet filters and fans for dust build-up #### Monthly (maintenance technician) **Items:** Check way lube lines and metering points for flow; look for blocked distributors Grease linear guides, ball screw supports and axes per the lubrication chart Inspect and clean the electrical cabinet; check cooling fans and filter elements **Text:** Check the drawbar clamping force with a gauge where the machine allows it **Critical:** true Check the coolant pump, nozzles and lines for blockage and wear Check axis backlash and reversal values with a dial indicator and compare to the last record Inspect the hydraulic hoses and fittings for seepage or abrasion **Text:** Back up the machine parameters, offsets and PLC ladder to a safe location **Critical:** true Check the batteries or battery alarms on the control and encoders #### Quarterly and annual (maintenance or service provider) **Items:** Change hydraulic oil and filter at the interval the builder gives (or on oil analysis) Change spindle chiller or cooling oil and clean the heat exchanger Check machine level and geometry: squareness, parallelism, spindle runout **Text:** Run a ballbar or laser test and record circularity and positioning error **Critical:** true **Text:** Test every safety device: door lock, light curtains, emergency stops, overtravel limits **Critical:** true Replace drive belts, filters and wipers that are on a time-based interval Review the downtime and alarm history for repeating faults and plan corrective jobs Update the maintenance record and sign off the machine for the next year **Scoring Note:** Frequencies are typical starting points. Your machine maker's manual always overrides this list, so adjust intervals and lubricant grades to match it. ## Content **Intro:** This CNC machine maintenance checklist covers the daily, weekly, monthly and annual tasks that keep mills and lathes accurate and available. Tick the items on screen, then export a PDF to hang at the machine or an Excel copy to track completion. **Sections:** #### How to use the checklist **Body:** Print one page per machine per period, or keep the Excel export and add a date and initials column. Daily items are done by the operator in the first ten minutes of the shift, weekly items by the operator or a technician, and monthly and annual items by maintenance. Items marked critical protect safety or accuracy, so a missed critical item should stop the machine until someone signs it off. Keep completed sheets for at least a year so you can show a customer or auditor that preventive maintenance actually happened. #### What each frequency protects **Body:** Daily checks prevent the failures that stop a machine tonight: low lube, low coolant, bad air and chips in the spindle taper. Weekly work is about filters, wipers and holders that wear at a steady rate. Monthly work covers lubrication points, backups and backlash trends. Annual work is geometry, ballbar or laser testing and safety function tests, usually done with the builder or a service company. **Bullets:** - Daily: fluids, air, chips, safety devices, warm-up - Weekly: filters, wipers, pull studs, offset verification - Monthly: greasing, drawbar force, parameter backup, backlash - Annual: geometry, ballbar or laser, hydraulic oil, safety test #### Schedule it as preventive maintenance in your ERP **Body:** A checklist on paper is only as good as the reminder behind it. In an ERP or CMMS, create one PM plan per machine and frequency: a calendar-based plan for daily, weekly and monthly tasks, and a meter-based plan for items tied to spindle hours or cycle counts. In SAP PM this is a maintenance plan with a task list; in Infor SyteLine, Epicor, Dynamics and NetSuite-based CMMS add-ons it is a recurring work order or PM schedule. Attach this checklist as the task list so the technician closes the work order with the readings. #### Common mistakes **Body:** The most common failure is a checklist that is ticked but not done, so spot-check one machine each week. Others are using the wrong lube grade, topping up coolant without measuring concentration, never backing up parameters until a battery dies, and skipping the safety function test because the machine seems fine. Record readings (pressure, concentration, backlash) rather than only ticks, because a trend shows wear before a failure does. **Cta:** If you want these tasks generated as preventive maintenance work orders from your ERP's machine list, Netray can set that up, including on-prem where the maintenance data stays on your network. **Faq:** #### How often should a CNC machine be serviced? **Answer:** Run operator checks every shift or day, filter and holder checks weekly, lubrication and backup tasks monthly, and geometry and safety tests yearly. Heavy multi-shift use or abrasive material such as cast iron or composites justifies shorter intervals. Follow the builder's manual first. #### What is the most important daily CNC maintenance task? **Answer:** Checking way and spindle lubrication, coolant level and concentration, and air pressure. These fail first and cause costly damage fastest. Cleaning the spindle taper and tool holders before every tool change is a close second because chips damage tapers. #### Can I use this as my preventive maintenance checklist for other machines? **Answer:** Yes for lubrication, air, coolant, filters, safety and backup items, which apply to most machine tools. Replace the spindle and tool changer items with the equivalent ones for presses, grinders or saws, and always keep the maker's schedule as the reference. #### How long should maintenance records be kept? **Answer:** At least the life of the machine's warranty, and for regulated work such as aerospace or medical parts, as long as your quality system requires, often several years. Keep calibration and safety test records longest because auditors ask for them. ## Search terms cnc machine maintenance checklist, cnc daily maintenance checklist, cnc machine preventive maintenance checklist, machine maintenance checklist pdf, daily machine maintenance checklist, daily machine checklist format, preventive maintenance checklist for machines, cnc weekly maintenance checklist --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json