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14.

Preventive Maintenance
14.1. PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
Preventive maintenance is an organized activity designed to prevent the wear and tear or
sudden failure of equipment components. The mechanical, process, control or any other
type of equipment failure can have adverse effects in both human and economic terms. In
addition to down-time and the costs involved to repair and/or replace the equipment parts or
components, there is the risk of injury to operators, and of acute exposure to chemical
and/or physical agents. Preventive maintenance is, therefore, very important and ongoing
accident prevention activity in workplaces should be integrated into the operations/product
manufacturing process.

Preventive maintenance of equipment should therefore be carried out to:

a. increase the system reliability by decreasing the chance for failure;


b. provide better functional performance; and
c. ensure a presentable looking piece of equipment at all times.
Preventive maintenance involves a policy of replacement of components of a system before
the component actually fails. This is an anticipatory action and often demands the reliable
prediction of wearing out components. In some cases, where the components are subjected
to continuous wear, it is possible to do so, for example, in the case of rollers in a paper
drive in chart recorders, servo potentiometers, motors, filament lamps and contacts on
relays. By taking timely action, the reliability of a system can be greatly improved.

The frequency of maintenance is determined by the severity of the environment to which


the equipment is subjected during its operation. Usually, a convenient time to perform
preventive maintenance is preceding electrical adjustments of the equipment if necessary.

Preventive maintenance routines include the following steps:

a. Inspection;
b. Servicing;
c. Repairing and replacing defective parts; and
d. Validating and checking.
Basically, preventive maintenance involves the planned replacement of components
designed around the following information:

Reliability of componentsEquipment failure is visually caused by its least reliable


component. Check the manufacturer's information.
Maintaining equipment service records.
Scheduling replacement of components at the end of their useful service life.
Acquiring and maintaining inventories of:
o Least reliable components;
o Critical components; and
o Components scheduled for replacements.
Replacing service-prone equipment with more reliable performers.
Introducing the element of planning into your maintenance function is likely to reduce the
need for repair and manpower requirements.

14.2. INDICATIONS FOR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE ACTION


Besides the scheduled maintenance routines, many types of devices are used to provide
indicators to help maintenance technicians identify or pre-empt the problems that may be
developing. Some of these are:

a. Visual indicators, such as lights, fuses and switches;


b. Meters and gauges;
c. Audio indicators such as noisy motors and gears, squeaky belts, etc.; and
d. Corrosion and dirt.
The tasks in these areas are related to both mechanical and electrical parts of the electronic
equipment. The technician should, therefore, be conversant with the working of the
mechanical system commonly employed in electronic equipment. It is important to know
and be able to identify information regarding the removal and replacement of mechanical
components from the technical literature. Such information is usually provided in the
equipment service manual.

Visual inspection usually leads to the detection of such defects as broken connections,
improperly seated semiconductors, damaged circuit boards and heat damaged parts. The
corrective procedure for most visible defects is simple and can be immediately attempted.
However, special attention should be paid to heat damaged parts. Over-heating usually
indicates other trouble in the equipment. Therefore, it is important that the cause of over-
heating be corrected to prevent recurrence of the damage.

Periodic checks of semiconductor devices are not recommended. The best check of
performance of such devices is actual operation in the equipment.

In order to ensure accurate measurements, with some of the test and measuring electronic
equipment, it is often necessary to check the electrical adjustments after each 1,000 hours
of operation or every six months, if used infrequently. Also, the replacement of components
may sometimes necessitate adjustment of the affected circuits. The service manuals of the
equipment usually give information on performance checks and adjustments which can be
helpful in localizing certain troubles in the equipment and in correcting them.

14.3. PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE OF ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS


Dirt and dust are great enemies of electronic circuits. The accumulation of dust on printed
circuit boards consisting of integrated and other solid state devices results in
malfunctioning of the circuits in a number of ways.

Dirt can cause over-heating and component breakdown. It acts as an insulating blanket and
results in inefficient heat dissipation. It also provides an electrical conduction path which
may result in equipment failure. Therefore, the equipment must be cleaned periodically
both on the exterior as well as in the interior.

Loose dust accumulated on the outside of the equipment can be removed with a soft cloth
or small brush. The use of a brush should be preferred for dislodging dirt on and around the
front panel controls. Dirt which remains can be removed with a soft cloth dampened in a
mild detergent and water. It should be ensured that abrasive cleaners are not used. When
cleaning the front panel of an oscilloscope, the CRT (cathode ray tube) face plate should be
cleaned with a soft, lint-free cloth dampened with denatured alcohol.

The need for cleaning the interior of the equipment arises only occasionally. The suggested
method to clean the interior is to blow off the accumulated dust with dry low velocity air
(approximately 5 lb/in2). Remove any dirt which remains with a soft brush or a cloth
dampened with a mild detergent and water solution. Use a cotton-tipped applicator for
cleaning in narrow spaces or for cleaning more delicate circuit components.

When cleaning the interior of an equipment, the high voltage circuits should receive special
attention. Excessive dirt in this area can often cause high-voltage arcing and result in
improper and unreliable equipment operation.

The use of chemical cleaning agents which might damage the plastics used in the
equipment should invariably be avoided. Use a non-residue type of cleaner, preferably
isopropyl alcohol or total denatured ethyl alcohol. Avoid chemicals which contain benzene,
toluene, xylene, acetone or similar solvents.

The following two precautions are essential while cleaning the equipment:

1. In order to avoid electric shock, power must be disconnected from the equipment
before attempting to remove the cabinet panels and operating the equipment.
2. After completing the cleaning operation, ensure that circuit boards and components
must be dry before applying power to the equipment to prevent damage from electrical
arcing.
14.4. PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE OF MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
Preventive maintenance in mechanical systems is much more important than those for
electronic systems. This is because the operation of mechanical systems often comes to a
standstill due to failure of components requiring regular inspection and replacement. For
example, a cracked or worn out belt on a motor drive will cause equipment failure and
results in unscheduled downtime. Therefore, it is essential to periodically inspect
mechanical system visually, clean them properly and lubricate as recommended.

The visual appearance of the equipment often indicates what type of maintenance is
performed. If the equipment is clean and spotless, it is probably reasonable to assume that it
has been well-maintained and its operational capability is good. On the other hand, if the
equipment looks dirty, it is evident that maintenance work has been crudely performed, and
the system failure is inevitable.
The reliability of potentiometers, switches and other moving parts can be maintained if they
are kept properly lubricated. However, over-lubrication is as detrimental as too little
lubrication.

However, in many cases, it is either difficult to accurately predict the time at which a
particular component would enter the wearing out stage or it may be uneconomical to carry
out preventive maintenance.

The following activities are involved in preventive maintenance of mechanical


components/systems:

Cleaning external surfaces to remove corrosion, dust, dirt and other deposits;
Cleaning internal components such as blowers, filters, fans, coils, heat exchangers
and debris, etc.;
Replacing batteries prophylactically;
Lubricating motors, gears, bearings and casters;
Replacing motor brushes;
Aligning and tightening external control knobs, switches and indicators;
Tightening fasteners and mounts; and
Replacing cracked/damaged tubing and flushing fluid lines and reservoirs.

Book Details

Title: TROUBLESHOOTING ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT: Includes Repair And Maintenance,


Second Edition

Publisher: McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited: New York, Chicago, San Francisco,
Athens, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, New Delhi, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto

Copyright / Pub. Date: 2003 McGraw-Hill Education (India) Private Limited

ISBN: 9780070483576

Authors:

Dr R.S. Khandpur is presently Director General, Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala, a joint
Project of Government of India and Government of Punjab. He has steered the development of the
Science City from scratch. A former Director General of Centre for Electronics Design & Technology
of India of Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India, Dr Khandpur is the Founder
Director of CDAC, Mohali. He has served as Scientist for 24 years in CSIO, Chandigarh, as head of
Medical Instruments Division (1975-1989) and Electronics Division (1985-89). He is AICTE/NAE
Distinguished Visiting Professor; Member, IEEE, USA; Fellow, IETE, USA; and Member, Society for
Engineering in Medicine and Biology, USA. He has authored 8 books of international repute, 4 of
which have been published by McGraw Hill, USA. He holds 7 patents for innovative designs and
has published over 60 research and review papers.
Description: Electronic Equipment are used in various activities. This proliferation has resulted in a
demand for and a corresponding shortage of qualified technicians for repair and maintenance. This
book covers devices and components related to equipment like test instruments, medical
instruments, digital equipment, microcomputers and microprocessor-based equipment. The reader
will quickly learn the systematic procedures for identifying causes of faults and the practical
methods of repairing them. The revised edition of the book has been thoroughly updated and
includes new topics on: Preventive Maintenance of Electronic Equipment Repair and Reworking
on SMD-based Equipment Maintenance Management; Troubleshooting Microprocessor-based
Equipment The wealth of practical information in this book will make it an invaluable reference for
electronic service technicians and students.

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