Preventative Maintenance Tips for Drives, PLCs, and Industrial PCs

Keep Your Systems Running. Don’t Wait for a Breakdown.

Unplanned downtime costs more than just money—it damages production schedules, customer trust, and even team morale. Yet most failures in automation systems aren’t sudden—they’re predictable.

At Industrial Automation Co., we’ve helped thousands of facilities get back up and running after failure. But we’d rather help you prevent those failures in the first place.

Here’s your preventative maintenance playbook for three of your control system's most critical components: drives, PLCs, and industrial PCs.

1. Drives: PowerFlex, SINAMICS, and Beyond

Why do they fail:
Drives often suffer from overheating, power surges, fan failure, or dust buildup. Over time, small issues like worn capacitors or clogged filters can turn into total shutdowns.

Preventative Tips:

• Keep it clean: Vacuum out dust monthly in high-debris environments.
• Monitor temperature: Ensure adequate ventilation and check for rising internal temperatures.
• Inspect fans and filters: Replace failing fans before they affect heat-sensitive components.
• Check for error codes: Don’t ignore minor warnings—they’re early signs of failure.

Pro Insight: Use thermal imaging to catch hot spots before components burn out.

2. PLCs: SLC 500, ControlLogix, S7, and More

Why do they fail?
PLCs can suffer from aging batteries, corroded I/O terminals, loose wiring, or firmware issues, especially in legacy systems.

Preventative Tips:

• Replace backup batteries every 1–2 years (or sooner in high-temp zones).
• Secure connections: Vibration can loosen terminal screws—check quarterly.
• Inspect I/O cards: Look for corrosion, bent pins, or heat stress.
• Keep firmware updated when possible to ensure stability and compatibility.

Bonus Tip: Create and store verified backup programs. When a CPU fails, the recovery time drops from hours to minutes.

3. Industrial PCs: The Unsung Hero (Until It Crashes)

Why do they fail?
Industrial PCs often run 24/7 in rough environments. Over time, they suffer from dust infiltration, thermal cycling, drive wear, and power instability.

Preventative Tips:

• Use surge protection or UPS to shield against voltage spikes and blackouts.
• Inspect cooling systems (especially fans and vents) monthly.
• Defragment or replace hard drives as needed—especially in older systems with mechanical drives.
• Monitor software health: Error logs, memory leaks, and unpatched OS bugs can signal looming issues.

Consider this: Industrial PCs are often overlooked—but a failed interface can halt the entire line. Treat them with the same urgency as drives or PLCs.

4. General Best Practices Across All Devices

• Log and trend performance data: Early warnings are easy to miss without a baseline.
• Train your team to recognize small noise, behavior, or response time changes.
• Keep spares on hand: A refurbished or tested backup can eliminate days of delay for high-criticality components.
• Partner with a supplier who offers both new and legacy parts so you’re not scrambling when something goes wrong.

5. Plan, Don’t Panic: Set Your Maintenance Intervals

Don’t wait for failure to define your schedule. Establish regular inspection intervals:

• Drives → Monthly airflow + temperature checks; annual electrical inspection
• PLCs → Quarterly terminal and I/O checks; battery replacement every 12–24 months
• Industrial PCs → Monthly ventilation check; semiannual software audit and disk cleanup

Final Thoughts – Protect Uptime. Extend System Life.

Preventive maintenance isn’t just about preventing breakdowns. It’s about giving your team predictability, control, and confidence in your automation systems.

At Industrial Automation Co., we’re here to help you stay ahead of failure. From refurbished PowerFlex drives and legacy PLCs to surplus-tested industrial PCs, our team supports you with fast shipping, real warranties, and honest answers.

CTA – Build Your Backup Plan Today

Need a spare on the shelf? Looking to replace a fan or backup battery before it fails?

We’ve got you covered.
Explore our tested and warrantied stock of drives, PLCs, and industrial automation parts—new, surplus, and refurbished.

Browse our parts or talk to our support team about building a preventative parts plan.