CNC Machine Maintenance Checklist: Daily, Weekly and Monthly Preventive Maintenance
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.
0 of 35 items complete
9 critical items still open - these are the highest-risk gaps.
Daily (start of shift, operator)
Weekly (operator or maintenance)
Monthly (maintenance technician)
Quarterly and annual (maintenance or service provider)
Frequencies are typical starting points. Your machine maker's manual always overrides this list, so adjust intervals and lubricant grades to match it.
Turn this checklist into ERP work orders
Share your machine list and we will map these tasks to PM plans in your ERP or CMMS. Optional, the checklist is free without it.
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How to use the checklist
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
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.
- 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
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
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should a CNC machine be serviced?
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?
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?
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?
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.
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.
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