How to clean a Victor?

[popo308]

We just blast all of our Victors with and air compressor if there are some metal chips in them or right after we drill near them and so far that's worked pretty well...

We have had tons of metal chips fly out of them sometimes and then we power them up and they work fine

[IndySam]

Brent is correct, compressed air is the way to go. It's best to remove the fans and everyone around the activity must wear safety glasses. Little flying chips at high speed can cause lots of damage.

[UndergroundVoid]

I have tried compressed air but still have issues where there is metal chips on the insides.

[dlavery]

OK, let's be real clear about this - compressed air is one of the worst possible solutions for cleaning chips away from anything. This is particularly true when you are talking about electronics.

Go visit any high-quality precision toolroom or instrument shop, and you will probably find that this is a completely prohibited practice. The reason is pretty straightforward when you think about it. When you blow the chips away, they have to go somewhere. With a big blast of compressed air, you have no control over where the chips fly. They may be blasted out of the area of interest, but it is just as likely that some of them will be driven even deeper into tiny crevices or components where they will cause endless problems. I once helped tear down a medium-size lathe that had been used in a small shop for about two years where they constantly used the "blow all the chips away" approach. We found an entire handfull of chips and swarf that had been driven from the area around the headstock through the seals and into the gearbox and transmission of the lathe. It was not a pretty sight. It was not hard to imagine the effect that would have had on a electronic circuit board subjected to the same treatment.

If you want to clean chips away from electronics (or any other area), the correct solution is the exact opposite: vacuum. Use a shop vac with a small nozzle to suck away any metal fragments. If necessary, a judiciously applied cotton swab can be used to dislodge an embedded chip and free it to be sucked up.

-dave


.

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by dlavery

If you want to clean chips away from electronics (or any other area), the correct solution is the exact opposite: vacuum. Use a shop vac with a small nozzle to suck away any metal fragments. If necessary, a judiciously applied cotton swab can be used to dislodge an embedded chip and free it to be sucked up.

-dave


.

agreed, one of our electrical engineers suggested this. we used compressed air to sweep the stuff on our floor to one side.

[Protronie]

Yeah man, stay away from the compressed air... not only are you driving stuff deeper. If your using a standard shop air compressor set up, your tossing oil & water all over everything.

Shop vac the better way to go, I always use a small soft paint brush to help loosen anything chips that might be bothersome about being sucked up.

Don't forget your PPE's when doing it and be sure the robot is powered down.

-p

[BT987]

yeah and if you use the small can of air dont turn it upside down you will freeze it lol

[ChrisH]

That's how we keep the F-18 FO (Foreign Object) free at Northrop Grumann. Workers drilling on the fuselage will either be holding an air powered vacuum next to the hole, or their buddy will, and we drill thousands of holes per shipset. Chips in the wrong place can just ruin a pilot's day.

ChrisH

Riddle: What is an F-18?

Answer: 100,000 rivets flying in formation

Originally Posted by dlavery

OK, let's be real clear about this - compressed air is one of the worst possible solutions for cleaning chips away from anything. This is particularly true when you are talking about electronics.

Go visit any high-quality precision toolroom or instrument shop, and you will probably find that this is a completely prohibited practice. The reason is pretty straightforward when you think about it. When you blow the chips away, they have to go somewhere. With a big blast of compressed air, you have no control over where the chips fly. They may be blasted out of the area of interest, but it is just as likely that some of them will be driven even deeper into tiny crevices or components where they will cause endless problems. I once helped tear down a medium-size lathe that had been used in a small shop for about two years where they constantly used the "blow all the chips away" approach. We found an entire handfull of chips and swarf that had been driven from the area around the headstock through the seals and into the gearbox and transmission of the lathe. It was not a pretty sight. It was not hard to imagine the effect that would have had on a electronic circuit board subjected to the same treatment.

If you want to clean chips away from electronics (or any other area), the correct solution is the exact opposite: vacuum. Use a shop vac with a small nozzle to suck away any metal fragments. If necessary, a judiciously applied cotton swab can be used to dislodge an embedded chip and free it to be sucked up.

-dave


.