Don Fry Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 Rotten row, 1st para, I agree. 2nd para, you are not in the EU, and you have hollowed out the checks if the manufacturers self certification processes are valid. 3rd para, don’t have a component, why sign it off. That’s like selling a car without brake pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottenRow Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 Don, I did mention that we (the UK) are not in the EU, my point was that anything that is CE marked must comply with the relevant standards within the EU, which would also mean that it should be safe for use in the UK. The UK now used the UKCA mark, but the directives to which manufactured equipment must comply are the same as the European ones. I don’t understand the rest of your statement I’m afraid. My other comment about selling the lathe with parts missing, whilst only a supposition, is based upon the often poor quality of Chinese made products that are not inspected or tested by their importers in their destination country. Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 I sent my email to Amadeal explaining the problem and my concerns documented with photos of my machines and Andy's machine. Within 10 minutes i received a call from the owner of the company saying he was very surprised to see the cover was missing and he would have one in the post to me by the end of the day. He said he is going to investigate the machines he has in stock to see if they have the same issue, but it might take a while as he is down on manpower at the moment with staff away on holiday. Depending on what he finds he will then take it up with his supplier as needed. If mine is a one off issue then its more understandable than if a whole batch is missing their covers. He also mentioned that a rubber seal for the lead screw is something they were already looking at and he might have a prototype he can send me. I mentioned that i plan to hose down the whole area with contact cleaner and then blow it out and asked if he was satisfied with that from a warranty point of view. He said it was fine and i can go ahead without worry about the warranty being voided as i took it apart. Cant really expect more from him than that, so far so good. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryorbik Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Hi Jon, Please DO NOT clean the circuit boards with contact cleaner as it will become impregnated in the circuit board material and by design is electrically conductive. The correct procedure is to clean them on both sides with isopropanol and a soft brush which will remove the contaminants, and will completely evaporate completely leaving no residue. Wait for the boards to be completely dry before powering them up again. To help protect the circuit boards further after cleaning, a light spray with clear acrylic lacquer should reduce the risk of moisture getting to the components, but mask any spead or other terminal connections to remove the risk of bad connections. FYI, I measured my leadscrew on the old Clarke CL300 and it is 16mm diameter, but the grommet is quite flexible so would do both I suspect. Hope your circuit boards have survived unscathed. Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Compressed air can be powerful enough to blow components off a circuit board so use with caution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottenRow Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Amadeal sounds like a very responsible company that does care about its customers, which has to be praised nowadays. If your boards have only been contaminated with dry swarf I think I would carefully clean them off using a soft brush or low pressure air, then fit the shield they are sending you and anything else that will prevent future swarf ingress. Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 Barry, i have not come across contact cleaner being conductive before so that is very interesting. I used some brake cleaner to clean a computer graphics cards and was under the impression that they were more or less the same stuff. I did think about wafting some clear lacquer over the board but i doubt i have the correct stuff for that on hand. I have some contact cleaner here at work and just called the manufacturer asking about its conductivity. I will see what they say before going any further with it. My compressor is set to only kick out 40psi as i use it for spraying as well as using it as an air line. 40psi is enough power for blasting balsa dust around and general blowing around of things so i just leave it at that setting. The board uses mostly through hole chunky components so i dont think i will blow any away. The swarf in the machine is mostly dry but the innards of the box have grease contamination so the swarf in there has stuck to it. This is why i wanted the solvent cleaner as it will wash away the grease with the swarf stuck to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryorbik Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 I would be interested in seeing a picture of the leadscrew cover they are now fitting to see if I can make one for my lathe too, as it always concerns me that fine swarf could get fed into leadscrew split nut and cause wear. As RottenRow said if it is just dry swarf on the boards, a soft brush and airline should do the job without resorting to washing the boards. Contact cleaner solutions usually have an anti oxidant and contact lubricant in them and it is the lubricant that can cause the problems. I run an electronics repair class and some time ago one of the guys ruined an expensive Futaba tx when he spayed some switch cleaner into a noisy gimbol potentiometer. He over did it and it subsequently found its way onto the PCB material (which these days is often paper and resin based), itwas readily absorbed into the board and created high resistance electrical paths between what should have been isolated tracks on the PCB rendering the tx useless. That was at a voltage of 9.6V, so the effects could be even more dramatic where mains voltages are present. The brake cleaner I have contains Naphtha (petroleum) and hydro treated aliphatic hydrocarbons (whatever they are !) and whilst it does clean brake dust off and evaporates fairly quickly, is not something I would consider using on circuit boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottenRow Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 For cleaning circuit boards after repair I use Ambersil pcb cleaner aerosol, available from Farnell etc. The Ambersil part number is 6130004010. As Barry had said, electrical contact cleaner (such as Servisol) leaves a residue (designed to lubricate and improve electrical contacts)… it also causes some plastics to become brittle. Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 I got a call back from the manufacturer of the stuff i have at work and they state it is non conductive and suitable for hosing the thing down. I use it at work for cleaning stuff and it leaves no residue at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 Yeah brake cleaner, if the brake dust doesn't kill you the brake cleaner will. Poor tyre fitters, brake dust covered wheels etc. and air impact gun... Yes, damping stuff down helps but.... It's the customers dirt.... I will have to inspect my new lathe which is a Clarke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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