YILI Electronic is specialized in potentiometer, rocker switches, tact switches and rotary switches.
YILI Electronic produces adjustable resistors, trimmer potentiometer, Straight key switches etc.
Extending the service life of potentiometers
Date：2019-01-15
Views：3647
The characteristics of trimmer potentiometer include small size, long life, high reliability and simple structure. According to the difference of output function, Digital Potentiometers can be divided into three categories: exponential, linear and logarithmic. Then, how can potentiometers be used to maintain their normal service life? We summarize the following 10 points for your reference.
1. For potentiometers with grounded solder plates, the solder plates must be grounded to prevent external interference.
2. When current flows through a high resistance potentiometer, the voltage drop shall not exceed the maximum operating voltage allowed by the potentiometer.
3. In order to prevent the deterioration or burnout of the contacts and conductive layers of the trimmer potentiometer the working current of the small resistance potentiometer shall not exceed the maximum allowable current of the contacts.
4. Various fine-tuning potentiometers can be installed directly on printed circuit boards, but attention should be paid to the arrangement of adjacent components to ensure that the potentiometer can be adjusted conveniently without affecting adjacent components.
5. The bourns potentiometer must be firmly and reliably installed. The fastened nuts should be tightened in place with sufficient torque to prevent loosening and dislocation during long-term operation and circuit failure caused by collision with other components.
6. Because some parts of bourns potentiometer are made of synthetic resins such as polycarbonate, so don't use them in environments with high concentration of chemical substances such as ammonia, amine, alkali solution and aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, halogenated hydrocarbons, etc. in order to prolong the service life of potentiometer.
7. The quality of trimmer potentiometer should be checked before use. The shaft handle of potentiometer should rotate flexibly, tightly and appropriately without mechanical noise. The nominal resistance value shall be checked with a multimeter and meet the requirements. If the multimeter is used to measure the resistance between the fixed end and the sliding end of the potentiometer, the needle should rotate smoothly without jumping when slowly rotating the spindle axis of the potentiometer.
8. Unsealed potentiometers are most prone to noisy faults, which are mainly caused by oil pollution and wear. At this time, we must not use lubricating oil to solve this problem. On the contrary, lubricating oil will aggravate the accumulation of internal dust and conductive particles. The correct treatment is to wipe the dirt on the resistor lightly with a cotton ball dipped in anhydrous alcohol, and remove the contact brush and the oil burst on the reed.
9. Potentiometers should not be overloaded, but should be used within the rated value. When the potentiometer is used as a rheostat to regulate the current, the allowable power consumption should be reduced in proportion to the stroke of the brush contacting the moving contact, so as to ensure that the current flowing through does not exceed the allowable rating of the bourns potentiometer and prevent the potentiometer from failing due to local overload. In order to prevent the current exceeding the allowable maximum when the resistance value of the potentiometer is adjusted close to zero, it is better to connect a current limiting resistor in series to avoid damage caused by overcurrent of the potentiometer.
10. When the potentiometer is seriously damaged, a new potentiometer needs to be replaced. At this time, it is better to choose the potentiometer with the same type and resistance value as the original potentiometer. It is also necessary to pay attention to the matching of the length and shape of the axis end of the potentiometer with the original knob. If the potentiometer of prototype number and original resistance value can not be found, it can be replaced by potentiometer of similar resistance value and model. The resistance value of substituted potentiometer is allowed to increase by 20%-30%. The rated power of substituted potentiometer should not be less than the rated power of original potentiometer. In addition, the substituted potentiometer should also meet the requirements of the circuit and use.
1. For potentiometers with grounded solder plates, the solder plates must be grounded to prevent external interference.
2. When current flows through a high resistance potentiometer, the voltage drop shall not exceed the maximum operating voltage allowed by the potentiometer.
3. In order to prevent the deterioration or burnout of the contacts and conductive layers of the trimmer potentiometer the working current of the small resistance potentiometer shall not exceed the maximum allowable current of the contacts.
4. Various fine-tuning potentiometers can be installed directly on printed circuit boards, but attention should be paid to the arrangement of adjacent components to ensure that the potentiometer can be adjusted conveniently without affecting adjacent components.
5. The bourns potentiometer must be firmly and reliably installed. The fastened nuts should be tightened in place with sufficient torque to prevent loosening and dislocation during long-term operation and circuit failure caused by collision with other components.
6. Because some parts of bourns potentiometer are made of synthetic resins such as polycarbonate, so don't use them in environments with high concentration of chemical substances such as ammonia, amine, alkali solution and aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, halogenated hydrocarbons, etc. in order to prolong the service life of potentiometer.
7. The quality of trimmer potentiometer should be checked before use. The shaft handle of potentiometer should rotate flexibly, tightly and appropriately without mechanical noise. The nominal resistance value shall be checked with a multimeter and meet the requirements. If the multimeter is used to measure the resistance between the fixed end and the sliding end of the potentiometer, the needle should rotate smoothly without jumping when slowly rotating the spindle axis of the potentiometer.
8. Unsealed potentiometers are most prone to noisy faults, which are mainly caused by oil pollution and wear. At this time, we must not use lubricating oil to solve this problem. On the contrary, lubricating oil will aggravate the accumulation of internal dust and conductive particles. The correct treatment is to wipe the dirt on the resistor lightly with a cotton ball dipped in anhydrous alcohol, and remove the contact brush and the oil burst on the reed.
9. Potentiometers should not be overloaded, but should be used within the rated value. When the potentiometer is used as a rheostat to regulate the current, the allowable power consumption should be reduced in proportion to the stroke of the brush contacting the moving contact, so as to ensure that the current flowing through does not exceed the allowable rating of the bourns potentiometer and prevent the potentiometer from failing due to local overload. In order to prevent the current exceeding the allowable maximum when the resistance value of the potentiometer is adjusted close to zero, it is better to connect a current limiting resistor in series to avoid damage caused by overcurrent of the potentiometer.
10. When the potentiometer is seriously damaged, a new potentiometer needs to be replaced. At this time, it is better to choose the potentiometer with the same type and resistance value as the original potentiometer. It is also necessary to pay attention to the matching of the length and shape of the axis end of the potentiometer with the original knob. If the potentiometer of prototype number and original resistance value can not be found, it can be replaced by potentiometer of similar resistance value and model. The resistance value of substituted potentiometer is allowed to increase by 20%-30%. The rated power of substituted potentiometer should not be less than the rated power of original potentiometer. In addition, the substituted potentiometer should also meet the requirements of the circuit and use.