We are not very smart about this. We base our machine PM on manufacturer�s recommendations. In real life, those recommendations are fairly conservative for a new a machine and probably need to be tailored for a more mature machine.
The buzzword is: �Total Productive Maintenance�. This was developed for BIG things like plants and military vehicles. Look here http://www.plant-maintenance.com/maintenance_articles_tpm.shtml
But you can see [http://www.amsec.com/technicalpapers/news.technicalpapers.totalprod.html ] that some folk develop performance measures for their equipment. We primarily focus on keeping our feeders running.
"Recommendations for your a good feeder maintenance program include the following: * Talk to the equipment manufacturer of your P&P equipment. Find out if they have any feeder calibration tools. Most of them do. Some even offer some very advanced vision-based calibration systems. * Create a feeder maintenance program. Review your equipment manufacturers manuals for proper maintenance. * Always have enough spare feeders to rotate through your inventory. This adds extra cost, but this cost will be eliminated by increased efficiency. * If you can have spare parts made locally by a machine shop, this will greatly reduce your replacement costs. However, ensure that your machine shop can provide identical parts! Incorrect parts will only cause more problems. * Understanding the importance of feeders should never be forgotten. Maintaining the functionality of your feeders will directly impact your efficiency and your company's bottom line." [M Porter]
Search the fine SMTnet Archives for additional tips on feeder maintenance.
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