Lab machinery on/off cycling question

[Jeswin]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if turning on/off vs running 24/7 reduces the lifespan of lab equipment and its components (the high voltage stuff, with lasers, whatnot)? Any thoughts?

Thanks

--

In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.
-Marco Antonio Dominis

[Avery louie]

For some items it is an issue, and for some it is not- its depends on what the machine is doing when it is on and idle, and the expected life of the components. Some machines even need to be power cycled every now and then.  I will give some examples below:

Laser cutter: ok to leave in an idle state, but you will run your fans/ventilation system more, meaning you will need to replace those filters more.

Spectrometer: some sepectrometers have consumable bulbs.  Leaving these on will use up the life of the bulb.

Robots/cnc machines:
These should be powered up and warmed up/oiled regularly.  Sometimes leaving them sedentary allows oil to dry up and gum things together, or components can rust.

You should also be aware of any material usage when the macjine is on- some machines will self lubricate or self test, which uses up machine life.

Generally

--A

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[Nathan McCorkle]

On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 5:46 AM, Avery louie <inact...@gmail.com> wrote:
> For some items it is an issue, and for some it is not- its depends on what
> the machine is doing when it is on and idle, and the expected life of the
> components.

I think that's a reasonable explanation. I know systems that depend on
vacuum (GC/MS, SEM, FIB) often are kept running or mostly running 24/7
because wasting power is much much cheaper than getting some expensive
part oxidized in the presence or air/moisture, even if the part isn't
expensive (it likely is), the replacement service probably is just as
much if not more expensive.

It probably also depends on the equipment's design... a well made
piece of equipment might handle startup and shutdown more effectively,
more gently, while a cheaper one might just cut/turn-on power which in
some cases could add stress. This is probably more of a concern with
things that use high-voltage... lots of bulbs, detectors, lasers,
anything that says 'ionization' on it, etc.