Here at Rom-Control, repairing and refurbishment of industrial electronic control systems is our main bread and butter. Irrespective of make, model, function or age, our clients require us to repair their electronic/electrical equipment back to brand new condition without the aid of manuals or schematics, and usually without a clear description of the fault.
Whether it be a motor speed controller, power supply, microprocessor, or even single bespoke circuit boards, we need to be sure we have identified the correct issue so that we can provide our full 2 year warranty in confidence.
Therefore, our life hack which we adhere to religiously is something we have learnt over many years. It is like the belt that holds the suitcase closed, or the rubber band that holds your pencils together. This life hack does take extra time to complete but the knowledge that the equipment will work reliably after we return to the client is paramount. So, what is the life hack we recommend? It is simply that we replace every capacitor on every circuit board we repair. Why might you ask? The explanation is simple.
Capacitors have a limited life. By the time we see the equipment (or circuit board) for repair, the capacitors are usually well over ten years old and even if the equipment is locked in a cabinet, they have experienced many environmental impacts such as heat, cold, dust, mechanical damage, and sometimes vibrational movement. In the very rare case when a warranty claim is requested (we rarely see this as we maintain a 98% success rate) we know more than likely that a capacitor is not meeting its designed specification.
So if your industrial machine has a control system has a fault in any printed or soldered circuit boards, we recommend locating the fault then simply replace all capacitors with new, just make sure you test each new capacitor before fixing into place.
If you have any questions about this blog, or just wish to discuss your particular situation, call us at Rom-Control on 1300 766 287 or message via https://www.rom-control.com.au/contact-us/