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Fujitsu Leaf Spring 3rd gen, cleaning
Posted: 06 Jan 2021, 02:41
by TNT
Heya,
is it a bad idea to clean (like wash) 3rd gen leaf spring sliders? I have a board on which the sliders are kinda dirty and I wanted to give them a good bath before reassembling the board. Like with ALPS, I'd give them 30-45 Minutes in warm water + dental cleaning tablets, since I do not have an ultrasonic cleaner.
However, are those lubed switches or to be precise, sliders, and will I therefore basically ruin them by doing this? They are not super dirty, but I have the board disassembled anyway, so I figured I might just clean them while I still have them lying around.
Re: Fujitsu Leaf Spring 3rd gen, cleaning
Posted: 06 Jan 2021, 02:47
by ZedTheMan
Those things are fine to clean and I'd encourage it. I'd also recommend using some dry or light wet lubricant, can help with any off center binding on particularly dirty ones.
Re: Fujitsu Leaf Spring 3rd gen, cleaning
Posted: 06 Jan 2021, 02:54
by TNT
Thank you for the quick answer.
I'm still waiting for Nek to reveal the results of his ALPS lube research and I'm going to purchase some of that stuff that he recommends. Do you think that one will work for those too?
Re: Fujitsu Leaf Spring 3rd gen, cleaning
Posted: 06 Jan 2021, 18:18
by ZedTheMan
Frankly, no idea. I think these take well enough to traditional lubes though that such a thick grease as what he's looking at won't be needed.
Re: Fujitsu Leaf Spring 3rd gen, cleaning
Posted: 07 Jan 2021, 01:16
by hellothere
I owned a Tandy 1000 for about a month
.
The only thing I'd caution is to make sure that whatever you use isn't runny/liquidy and doesn't have anything conductive. There might be some other things to caution you about, too, but I'm not an expert.
The main difference between the Alps lube conversation and lubing the FLS is that the Alps switches are all discrete. FLS? The slider contacts the spring and that's directly on the PCB. I could see contaminating other leaves being a problem.
Re: Fujitsu Leaf Spring 3rd gen, cleaning
Posted: 07 Jan 2021, 01:39
by xxhellfirexx
hellothere wrote: ↑07 Jan 2021, 01:16
The main difference between the Alps lube conversation and lubing the FLS is that the Alps switches are all discrete. FLS? The slider contacts the spring and that's directly on the PCB. I could see contaminating other leaves being a problem.
I don't see this being a problem. The switch plates that the leaf springs press on are sealed. These switches are used for industrial applications.