Cnc lathe seals

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In a previous post, we discussed about hydraulic hoses in cnc lathes and the maintenance issues with cnc lathe hydraulic hoses. This post is sort of a continuation in thought. There we discussed that cnc lathe hydraulic hoses need to be replaced periodically because they may form pin holes and hence cause hydraulic fluid to leak causing a mess on the floor in one hand and loss of hydraulic pressure on the other.

There is another problem that we need to be wary of. Cnc lathes of all kinds including Mazak cnc lathes have seals all over the place for various functionalities. For example, the Mazak Quickturn 6 has several o-rings and seals in the turret assembly as well as several tiny o-rings in the coolant block in addition to seals in the hydraulic motor exit as well as in the draw bar.

These seals are not designed to last forever and need to be replaced during periodic maintenance. Especially if you are in a high production environment, these seals are critical for machine performance. There have been many instances I have seen, where worn out seals can prevent the turret from indexing properly and guess what – when the turret does not index properly to the next station that is called for by the program, you are not going to be making parts.

I have found that when replacing o-rings and seals, putting on a thin film of high temperature silicone grease such as Dow Corning high vacuum grease helps the seals and o-rings last longer – that has been my experience. Again, note that these seals are performing under tremendous mechanical repetition and they are prone to wear out eventually. A good preventive maintenance on seals is essential for maintaining productivity.