Cold shop mornings wrecking your tolerances too?

[KazMasterMiller]

The shop’s been cooling off fast at night lately, and I’ve noticed it’s throwing off my setups in the morning. The first few parts of the day are always a little off until the machine warms up, especially on my older VMC. I’ve been debating whether to just let it idle overnight to keep things stable, but I don’t love the idea of wasting power or risking wear for no reason. Does anyone else do this when the weather turns cold? I know some folks swear by it for better tolerances, but others say it’s not worth it. Just wondering what’s actually working for other small shops out there.

 

[Alan]

temperature swings can really sneak up on precision work this time of year. Some shops run a short warm-up cycle every morning instead of idling overnight to save power. Have you tried running a spindle and axis warm-up routine before cutting, or do you usually just start right into setup and see the drift?

 

[Jon S]

You should do this regardless, it helps the longevity of you machine and can highlight issues.

 

[SeleneGenV]

Idling overnight feels like burning cash to me. I’d rather hold parts back for 20 minutes and let the machine stabilize than eat a whole night of power for the same thing. Winter tolerances always get goofy, but once the castings settle in, mine behaves. Just part of running a shop in real weather.