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Author Topic: Longevity of Electronics  (Read 5454 times)

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Longevity of Electronics
« on: February 06, 2009, 08:42:43 PM »
 :)
Hello again All,
   Mach is doing real good here. Ran continuously for 18 hours several times this week. 50+ hrs total .
I can keep up with the mechanical wear...but am curious about the electronics.
How long can I expect the PC, BoB, Spindle Cntrl., VFD and Drives to hold up under normal conditions ?
And in what order might they fail ?
And from what ?
Like my Grandpa told me after we fixed the shed door and I said "That l' NEVER wear out......"Boy....There's only two things on earth that never wear out....... ;D
Just curious.
Thanks,
RC  :)

Offline Sam

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Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2009, 08:58:19 PM »
Under normal conditions, I would think that those components would last many many years. There is/was a concern about the lead free solder in components growing whiskers and shorting stuff out after a period of time, but other than that I can't see electrical stuff wearing out.
"CONFIDENCE: it's the feeling you experience before you fully understand the situation."
Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2009, 09:59:00 PM »
Thanks Sam....A friend of mine works for a defence contractor and had many issues with those "Whiskers" in some missile systems they were working with. Was a real bugger till they got it figured out.
RC
Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2009, 09:11:40 AM »
Generaly speaking, electrolytic capacitors are the first thing to die in electronics from age.

Darek
Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2009, 02:47:14 PM »
That rings a bell........something I remember hearing about caps on mobo"s.
Thanks Darek,
RC

Offline Hood

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Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2009, 03:30:18 PM »
RC a few years back all the major mobo manufacturers were caught out with a bad batch of caps, Gigabyte was one of the worst hit and the GA-7VRXP I had suffed from that after two years but some were only lasting months. I replaced the caps and its still going strong and it must be getting on for 10yrs old now I think.
Hood

Offline N4NV

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Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2009, 03:46:39 PM »
My big mill has Servo Dynamics drives and power supply that were put in service in 1979 and are still going strong.  As far as I can tell, nothing has been replaced on any of the drives or power supply, including caps.  One of the servo motors was replaced as well as a tach.  I had to replace one pair of bearings.  This machine sat next to a roll up door that was open all year round and got rained on for most of a year.

Vince

Offline Sam

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Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2009, 06:23:42 PM »
Well, I've got an update for your question, RC.
Here we have a fine specimen of a lead free solder. It is a component in a television. Lifespan? 2.5 years. Yep...2.5 years! TWO POINT FIVE *#(@*#$%^ YEARS!!! (Picture Ron White in your mind, if you know who that is.) Cost of lead free solder???? $1250.00 and a few points raised on the blood pressure. So as it's obvious, I'm a little bit stressed out. I'm not in a "save the environment" mood...at all...especially when there are unwatched episodes of Hogans Hero's or Gilligans Island on. I just know there gonna get off that island soon, and now I'm gonna miss it.  O.K...I have deleted about 2000 words from this post to keep from ranting (as much), but I basically mentioned ROHS, "feel good" laws, save the whales, shoot the seals, axis of evil, and everything in-between. So, anyhow, an hour or so conducting research on the net, and I find a likely solution to saving my investment, the environment, AND my sanity. It turns out this is a VERY common problem. A partial dis-assembly of said television, break out the 'ol soldering gun, repair cracked solder (it's not lead free, anymore  >:D), purchase a fuse from Mouser, install fuse when it arrives, re-assemble television. Total cost? Around $12.00. Most people would have called it a loss, tossed it, and purchased a new TV, with the old one ending up in the landfill exposing the environment to a million contaminates... other than lead. Yeah, real great job thinking "green" and making things 10 times worse. I want my lead back, thank you very much.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2009, 06:26:10 PM by Sam »
"CONFIDENCE: it's the feeling you experience before you fully understand the situation."

Offline RICH

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Re: Longevity of Electronics
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2009, 07:51:12 PM »
RC,
Think of your question differently, spares....
replacement cost, down time and money lost during production, availablity / time to get replacement and repair.
That should help in some decision making. What is the fallback plan is domething breaks down? Can it be tolerated?
Just cost of doing buiness/ capital investment and included in the price charged!
RICH