What is a servo press?

A servo press uses servo motors for precise force and position control during forming operations.

How do I calculate servo press tonnage?

Use our free tonnage calculator at servopress.club/tonnage-calculator.html

Servo Press Gib Wear: Detection and Replacement

admin

Gibs are the wear components that control slide clearance and alignment. Regular monitoring and timely replacement prevent costly secondary damage.

## What Are Gibs?

Gibs are precision-machined wear plates or tapered wedges located between the slide and the frame guides. They maintain the slide in alignment while allowing vertical motion. Materials: cast iron, bronze, or polymer composite depending on press design.

## Wear Detection Methods

**Method 1: Clearance measurement**
Use a dial indicator to measure slide-to-frame clearance at multiple points. Compare to original specification (typically 0.02-0.05mm). Clearance exceeding 2x original indicates replacement needed.

**Method 2: Parallelism trend**
Track slide parallelism measurements over time. Accelerating deterioration indicates gib wear.

**Method 3: Visual inspection**
Remove gib access covers and inspect surfaces. Look for scoring, galling, or uneven wear patterns.

**Method 4: Vibration analysis**
Increased vibration at slide frequency indicates looseness from gib wear.

## Replacement Procedure

**Step 1:** Support the slide with a jack or crane sling before removing gibs.

**Step 2:** Remove gib locking hardware. Note the position and orientation of each gib.

**Step 3:** Measure the worn gib thickness at multiple points. This tells you how much material was lost.

**Step 4:** Order replacement gibs from the press manufacturer. Do not substitute materials without engineering approval.

**Step 5:** Clean gib ways thoroughly. Inspect for scoring — minor scoring can be stoned smooth.

**Step 6:** Install new gibs. Set clearance per manufacturer specification using feeler gauges.

**Step 7:** Verify slide parallelism after installation.

**Step 8:** Run 50 cycles and re-check clearance — new gibs may settle slightly.

## Lubrication After Replacement

New gibs require proper break-in lubrication. Run at reduced speed for the first 4 hours with increased lubrication frequency.

raj_maintenance

We measure gib clearance weekly with feeler gauges at 4 points. When any point exceeds 0.05mm, we schedule replacement. The trend data is valuable —you can predict when gibs will need replacement and order parts ahead of time instead of emergency ordering at 3x the price.

dave_toolmaker

Gib material selection matters. Bronze gibs last longer but cost more. Composite gibs (like Glacier DU) are self-lubricating and work well on servo presses where the slide motion is more complex. We switched from bronze to composite on our 300T press and gib life went from 18 months to 30 months.