Rugged Hardware Service Basics - part 1: Intro & General Maintenance

Introduction

 A while back I was asked to present a training course for our Service Partners at one of our Partner conferences.  I came up with a presentation, with a lot of help from my colleagues, that was fairly well received.  Since it was a rather long presentation I will break it up into various sections that over the next few weeks will share with you as a blog.  As always, comments are most welcome and will help identify areas that we could add to the presentation in the future.

To be presented are some common fundamentals that are not meant to be product specific. These fundamentals are things that should be kept in mind when installing, maintaining or repairing rugged products such as the mobile terminal product offerings of Psion Teklogix Inc.  Areas to be covered over the next few weeks include such things as:

• General Maintenance (this week's topic)
• IP sealing
• Batteries
• Hardware and Torquing
• Lock Enhancers
• Tape and Adhesives
• Lubricants and Contact Enhancers
• Cable Routing and Shielding

General Maintenance

Maintaining equipment properly is essential for reliable performance. A preventive maintenance program should be set up at the customer site that takes care of items such as cleaning, lubrication, adjustment, calibration, inspection and replacement of damaged or worn items.

• Electrical contacts between terminals and cradles should be cleaned and inspected for dirt build-up and corrosion on a regular basis especially when operating in condensing freezer or other environments that are hostile to EE equipment.
• When cleaning the terminal, use only mild detergent, soapy water or isopropyl alcohol; avoid abrasive cleaners, solvents or strong chemicals. The plastic case of a terminal is susceptible to harsh chemicals such as oils, mineral spirits, gasoline and strong alkaline solutions. When using a dampened cloth to clean the terminal, make certain that the battery cover is in place to protect the battery compartment from moisture. Consult the user manual for more guidance on this topic.
• Pogo pins and latching mechanisms on cradles should be replaced if worn or damaged. High vibration environments such as equipment mounted on forklift trucks poses severe 'G' forces to equipment and involuntary disconnects may occur especially if the contacts have higher resistance than normal and return springs have lost effectiveness due to dirt build up.
• Wear on cradles and terminals may cause the latching mechanisms to fail or allow more movement than usual. This can accelerate wear if left unchecked causing major issues if ignored. Replace latching mechanisms if wear is suspected.
• When equipment is mounted in high vibration environments, a periodic check of the mounting fasteners is recommended to ensure the equipment is not working itself loose. More on this later when the "Lock Enhancers" and " Hardware and Torquing" portions are presented.
• Touch screen recalibration may need to be performed especially when working in a high vibration and extreme temperature environments.
• Examine external cable routings to ensure any damage to the cables due to physical deformation/abrasion, cuts/nicks, or bending fatigue due to poor cable routing at installation. Water ingress into connectors can also pose issues and waterproofing of these connections may need to be considered.
• When contact enhancers are employed outside the enclosure of the unit, they may need to be reapplied on a regular basis. The frequency of reapplication will depend on the environment to which the terminal is exposed. More on this later when the "Lubricants and Contact Enhancers" portion is presented.