Does your factory or shop have the kinds of machines you find on an assembly line? These types of tools, known as computer numerical control or CNC machine tools are integral to the manufacturing process. However, in order for your business to stay successful, your machine must be kept in excellent working order. Everything needs to be the correct size and shape for your machine, from the largest CNC boring heads and cutting tools all the way down to the retention knobs and tool holders.

Want more information on some of the parts you may need to perform maintenance on or replace? Here are some examples of machine tool parts that you might need.

1. Cutting tools: Machine tool manufacturers create a variety of cutting tools for just about any machining function. Boring tools, for instance, are used to cut and drill larger holes into a piece. Other cutting tools are made to create just about any kind of design for a product. Because so much of machine tooling involves cutting and shaping materials throughout the manufacturing process, having the right cutting tools, and maintaining them, is the best thing you can do for your shop.

2. Tool holders: Tool holders do exactly what they sound like they do — they hold the tools in place, so they don’t slip out of the machine and cut products incorrectly. Tool holders such as retention knobs, ER collets, and collet chucks are created to complete high-speed, high-velocity jobs. It’s amazing to think that something simple like a machine’s retention knobs could matter in the manufacturing process, but they really do.

3. Presetters: Presetters aren’t necessarily hardware, but they are crucial to the machine tooling process. Presetters ensure that the measurements for products are done correctly, typically through a computer program. If your presetter isn’t working correctly, or if the formulas used to program it aren’t right, then an entire manufacturing job can be ruined. Presetters are necessary to keep your machinery running smoothly.

Want to know what else your machine tools could use? Tell us about what kind of maintenance you’ve done in the comments.