Machine downtime, maintenance and parts cost, without the paper log.
Put a QR sticker on every machine. When a machine stops, gets serviced or needs a part, whoever is standing there scans it with a phone and taps what happened. No app, no login, ten seconds. SpindleLog times the downtime, keeps each machine's maintenance history, reminds you when service is due and adds up what wear parts cost, machine by machine.
For CNC and job shops, fabrication shops and small manufacturing workshops with roughly 5 to 50 machines, where maintenance is someone's side job and the log is a clipboard or a spreadsheet.
Today, the machine log lives on a clipboard
A sheet by the machine
Operators write "down 2 hrs, spindle alarm" on a sheet taped to the machine, when they remember and when there is a pen.
Someone types it up
Once a month someone copies the sheets into a spreadsheet, guessing at handwriting and at the times nobody wrote down.
Service from memory
Oil changes, filters and way lube checks happen when someone remembers to look at the hour meter, or after a breakdown.
Parts cost nobody sees
Receipts for pumps, belts, wipers and saw blades sit in a folder, so nobody knows which machine is eating the budget.
Then an auditor asks for the maintenance records, or the owner asks whether the old lathe is worth fixing again, and the answer is somewhere in a binder.
With SpindleLog
A QR sticker on every machine
Print the stickers from your account and put one on each machine. Scanning it opens that machine's form in the phone's browser. No app to install and no password for operators. The form is in English or Spanish.
Tap what happened
Four big buttons: machine down, back up, maintenance done, part replaced. Pick a reason and add the hour meter, a part and its cost, a photo or a short note. Downtime is timed from "down" to "back up", so nobody has to work out the hours.
A dashboard and a weekly email
Downtime hours and reasons, maintenance history and parts cost for each machine and for the whole shop. Service reminders by date or by hour meter go by email to whoever does maintenance, a summary goes to the owner every Monday, and every record exports to Excel or prints as a machine history.
Try it with one day on the shop floor
A fictional shop with four machines. Nothing is recorded or sent.
Pick a scan from today:
Choose a scan to see what was tapped on the machine's form. The dashboard below changes as you go.
Tapped on the formMill 3 · Haas VF-4 → Machine down
- Reason
- Alarm or fault
- Note
- Way lube low alarm, won't start a cycle
- Photo
- 1 photo of the alarm screen
Mill 3 marked down at 6:52 am. Dana, who does maintenance, got an email with the note and the photo.
Tapped on the formMill 3 · Haas VF-4 → Back up
- What was done
- Replaced the way lube pump
- Part
- Way lube pump assembly × 1 · $186.40
- Labor
- 1 h 20 min
Downtime of 1 h 38 min logged against Mill 3, reason "alarm or fault". The pump is added to Mill 3's parts cost and its history.
Tapped on the formLathe 2 · Okuma LB3000 → Maintenance done
- Task
- 500-hour service
- Checklist
- Hydraulic oil changed, filters replaced, chuck greased, coolant topped up
- Hour meter
- 4,512 h
- Parts
- Hydraulic oil 5 gal · $94.00, filter · $38.50
The 500-hour service is signed off by Dana with the hour meter reading. The next one is due at 5,000 h, and Dana gets an email when Lathe 2 gets close.
Tapped on the formBandsaw 1 → Machine down
- Reason
- Waiting on a part
- Note
- Blade snapped. No spare 1-1/4 inch blade on the shelf.
- Typed with
- The phone's microphone key
Bandsaw 1 marked down at 1:40 pm, waiting on a part. The downtime keeps counting until someone scans it back up, and the reason shows in this week's summary.
| Machine | Status | Downtime | Parts | Next maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill 1Haas VF-2 | ||||
| Mill 3Haas VF-4 | ||||
| Lathe 2Okuma LB3000 | ||||
| Bandsaw 1 |
Downtime still open is added when the machine is scanned back up · in the real dashboard every number opens the scans behind it
What SpindleLog doesn't do
It does one thing: keeps a complete, honest log for every machine in the shop.
- It is not an MES: it does not connect to machine controls, count parts produced or track jobs
- It is not an ERP: no quotes, orders, inventory or purchasing
- It is not a full maintenance system: no work order approvals, technician schedules or purchase requests
- It never makes up a time: downtime nobody closed is flagged for a supervisor at the end of the shift, not guessed
Pricing
One flat price per shop, not per user, so everyone on the floor can log. Free 14-day trial. Prices in US dollars, taxes calculated at checkout.
Per shop
Up to 30 machines and as many people as you have. Bigger shop? Tell us on the waitlist.
- Unlimited people, scans and photos
- QR stickers for every machine, ready to print
- Downtime, reasons and parts cost per machine
- Service reminders by date or hour meter
- Weekly summary email to the owner
- Export to Excel and printable machine histories
Why not a full maintenance system?
Maintenance software like MaintainX, UpKeep, Limble or Fiix is built for maintenance teams: work orders, inventory, purchasing, and a price per user. If maintenance is a side job in your shop, that is a lot to set up for a log, and their free plans usually cap recurring maintenance tasks while parts cost sits in plans priced per user. SpindleLog takes an afternoon: list your machines, print the stickers, done. If you outgrow it, everything exports.
Questions
What should a machine maintenance log include?
For each machine: the date and time of every breakdown, repair and service, who did it, what was wrong and what was done, the hour meter reading, the parts replaced and what they cost, how long the machine was down, and when the next service is due. SpindleLog records all of these from the scans on the shop floor and keeps them in one history per machine.
How do I track machine downtime in a small shop?
Record the moment a machine stops, the reason, and the moment it runs again. On paper, the times are usually missing or rounded. With SpindleLog, the operator scans the machine and taps "down" with a reason, and whoever fixes it scans "back up". The downtime is timed between the two and added to the machine's monthly total and to the reasons chart.
Do operators need to install an app or log in?
No. The QR sticker opens the machine's form in the phone's web browser. Operators can add their name once on their phone, and nothing else is needed. The form is in English or Spanish.
What if phones are not allowed on our shop floor?
Use a shared tablet or the shop PC: every machine also has a short code to pick it from a list. Some shops keep one tablet per cell or by the tool crib.
Can it remind us about preventive maintenance?
Yes. Set each task by calendar (every Monday, every month) or by hour meter (every 500 hours). When someone logs the hour meter, SpindleLog works out when the next service is due and emails the person who does maintenance before it is.
How do I see what wear parts cost per machine?
When a part is replaced, the form asks for the part and its cost. SpindleLog adds it to that machine's monthly and yearly totals, so you can see which machine costs the most to keep running and decide whether repairing it again is worth it.
How is it different from MaintainX, UpKeep, Limble or Fiix?
Those are full maintenance management systems (CMMS) with work orders, spare parts inventory and purchasing, usually priced per user. SpindleLog only keeps the machine log: downtime, maintenance and parts cost, with one flat price for the whole shop and nothing to train people on. If you already run one of those systems properly, you do not need SpindleLog.
Why pay when some maintenance apps have a free plan?
Free plans are built to lead you to a paid one: they usually limit how many recurring maintenance tasks you can schedule or how much history you keep, and parts cost usually needs a paid seat for each person. SpindleLog includes everything for one flat price, so the operators who see the problems can log them too.
Does it help with ISO 9001 or AS9100 audits?
ISO 9001 asks you to maintain the equipment you need to make good parts, and auditors usually ask to see maintenance records. SpindleLog keeps dated records of every service and repair with who did it, and prints a history for any machine. It does not make you compliant by itself: your quality system still decides what maintenance is required.
Can we bring in our old paper logs?
Import your machine list from a spreadsheet, and attach photos or scans of the old paper logs to each machine so the history stays in one place.
How much does it cost?
$59 per month for the whole shop, up to 30 machines, with unlimited people. Free 14-day trial.
Which countries do you support?
We start with shops in the United States: forms in English and Spanish, costs in US dollars. If your shop is elsewhere, tell us on the waitlist form.
Who owns the data?
You do. Records are encrypted in transit and at rest, are used only to run your shop's log, and can be exported to Excel at any time. See our security page for details.
When does it launch?
We are onboarding the first shops from the waitlist. Join to get early access and help shape it.
Join the waitlist
Tell us a little about your shop. We will reach out when your spot opens.