Ultra Sonic Bath

[jfalz28]

Hi all,

We have a lot of electronic cards in use on cranes. As part of our maintainance program I'd like to introduce cleaning of these cards.

Altough we have filters to protect these cards against dust there are doors that are continuasly being opened.

So I was wondering if anyone new of a proper procedure to use the Ultra sonic bath to clean the electronic cards.

Cheers
J

 

[electricuwe]

Ultrasonic cleaning of electronics boards is usually performed after manufacturing. Most electronic components will withstand this procedure, but it is recommended to check the details comparing the component specifications regarding the used solvents.

I would not recommend to use this procedure in your case because of the following reasons:

-Since you are not the manufacturer of the cards you will not be able to check if all components are compatible with this process.

-It should be easy to ensure that the cabinet doors are closed and the filters are cleaned regulary.

-If dust is the problem mechanical cleaning will be much easier and will have much lower risk of damaging the cards.

 

[jbartos]

Suggestion: Non-conductive liquid can also be used to clean cards. I clean the inject printer cartridges by distilled water that is nonconductive.

 

[IRstuff]

Why do you want to clean the boards? Is there a failure mechanism traced to that? If not, you should leave well enough alone.

The added handling and wear&tear on connectors might well degrade your reliability more than anything else. The risk of ESD damage from the added handling alone should give you pause.

Dust and dirt alone, while not a pretty sight would not normally cause any damage to the board, UNLESS, there's a design issue related to thermal performance. If this is marginal, you should be looking for better air flow, etc.

TTFN

 

[jfalz28]

Hi all again,

First of all thanks. This was actually my first experience of a site like this. I must say it is fantastic.

to electricuwe: -

I too am sceptic to use this method cause of what you said.

I work in a port where containers are loaded and unloaded in ships.

As such dust is a real problem cause of the exhaust from ships and high winds cause of the location of the port (facing open seas).

To IRstuff: -

Unfortunately yes there was a failure mechanism traced to this fault in a particular board. This board is installed in such a way that failures due to vibration, esd and dampness can be virtually eliminated. As such from our investigation (and previous ones as well) the only plausible cause is dust on the board which could have shorted and burnt a component or else shorted a component/track momentarily which can be solved by cleaning the dirt.

I am saying this cause we rarely have the need to change this card, but when we had and sent the faulty one for repair nothing was found. Service actions where thoroughly cleaned the card, checking of all components and full test of card. No problems where found.

To jbartos: -

I will investigate the use of distilled water as you said.


Note to all: -

I am just trying to find an alternative and obviously cheap solution for problems regarding these cards and similar ones to avoid sending the faulty cards to the supplier unnecessarily. Unfortunately we have to send such cards to them and they charge us truck loads of money for the repairs only. So If the problem is a question of cleaning only, and I succeed, it would be great for my company and also a feather in my cap.


Thanks to all again