Big electrolyitc failure!

[Cliff Schecht]

From another forum I frequent..

This is what happens when a capacitor the size of a beer can explodes inside a servo drive.

[img:799:597]http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g287/ ... 545c56.jpg[/img]

[img:799:597]http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g287/ ... 694965.jpg[/img]

[img:799:597]http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g287/ ... 01111c.jpg[/img]

[mad_dog]

That is insane. That looks like it could have started a house fire

[JamesHealey]

wooohooo BANG!

[David Root]

Impressive! What caused it to fail?

[morcey2]

Impressive! What caused it to fail?

Lack of parental support.

[xtian]

Musical genre? I mean, if I was forced to play Pat and Debbie Boone, I'd blow up.

[FYL]

Impressive! What caused it to fail?

Looks like a big thermal problem inside the box, leading to the electrolyte boiling and <kaboom>.

[Cliff Schecht]

This was the control logic and motor drive box for some servo application. Supposedly one of the boxes went out, they put this one in (it was an old spare) and it blew up as seen above . I recommend the troubleshooter check the caps for bulging next time..

[skyboltone]

OT but applicable. I installed the first set of Variable Frequency Drives at Stanford University Hospital a million years ago. I had them up and running on a pair of hot water circulation pumps for heating in the hospital.

After getting them up and working I briefed the on duty maintenance guy and let them run the night before a scheduled "in service" briefing for the engineering and project management staff the following day. The briefing included the supplier's representative, the design engineer, and of course my boss.

To make a long story short, the maintenance guy told me one of the drives had been running hot and he shut it down during the night. "It's OK I said, they run hot". Over his objections I turned it back on and put it on line then turned around and began my spiel. As I went on, pretty soon I see everybody's eyes getting wider and some look of real concern developing in the group.

I turned around and the drive was ON FIRE! Somebody grabbed the fire extinguisher and doused the errant drive and me while I slammed the switch open. Good thing the manufacturers rep was there. We had a replacement in two days. These things just happen he said.

[Noel Grassy]

I've heard that the ensuing hork of dielectric goo that coats everything will
begin to destroy the other components it's splashed on. Does anyone have
confirming info in that regard?

I had a little 'lytic blow in a pedal [flipped polarities] and that shit managed to get practically everywhere. I was cleaning with alcohol for hours afterwards.

[Structo]

Yes I believe the paste used in the electrolyte is caustic and can harm other things it gets on.

When I was a kid we used to take small E caps and hook them up to wall voltage with a switch.
Flip the switch and BAM!
They would explode.

Of course we did this from a safe distance and they could throw bits of the casing like shrapnel.

[azatplayer]

Haha Tom, when i was a kid, i remember my first dealings with electricity, i cut a cord off an old tv, hooked up the ends to a fly screen, and flipped the switch to watch the screen cut a line. I did that till the fuse blew, and had to rewire the old fuse before my parents got home. I was 8yo..

[Structo]

Yeah, as my avatar shows, I was a rather inquisitive kid.
No, that's not a real picture of me.

When I was about 12 I had everything in my bedroom that was powered routed to a box that I had a row of toggle switches on.
I could control my lights, phonograph, tape player, etc. from that box.
My dad who worked for the telephone company looked in the back of the box one time and said, get rid of all that hay wire before you burn down the house!

So that was my first introduction to lead dress......