Everyone knows that you have to keep a close eye on your machinery during the hot summer months, but cold winter weather doesn’t necessarily mean smooth sailing. People sometimes assume that hot means bad, cold means good, and that’s all there is to it. However, it’s not quite that simple. Yes, high temperatures are dangerous because they can cause your machinery to overheat, or cause your blowers to fail, but there are other things you have to consider. It’s not all about the temperature. Just like warm weather, cold weather can cause damage to your motion control system.
If you think that you can take advantage of colder weather by shutting off your air conditioning, think again. Here are some things to consider when it comes to cold weather and your servos.
Moisture can be just as damaging to your machinery as high temperatures, if not more so. If you’re trying to cool your servos using low winter temperatures, you could potentially expose your electronics to humid air. High humidity can cause moisture to build up on your electronics, which will of course destroy them.
The forecast calls for 0% humidity? Well it’s still not a good idea to try and cool your servos by exposing them cold winter air. Humid air causes moisture build up, but a lack of humidity can cause static electricity to build up. If there’s enough static charge build up in your circuits, they can discharge at random. This can destroy the electronics in your motion control system.
Even though low ambient temperatures outside might seem like a great way to save money and keep your machinery cool, there are some serious problems that can occur if you expose your servos to outside air. That’s why you should always keep your units in air-conditioned cabinets rather than expose your electronics to the cold, damp little fingers of the winter air.
If you’ve already made the mistake of exposing your servos, and you’re now in need of repair, go ahead and give us a call. We can take care of all of your Indramat needs!