Shrink wrapped motherboards

[Phryq]

Ya, I'm thinking I will go the dust-mesh filter route.

 

[Runamok81]

sidebar - wealth of heatsink and passive cooling info in the antimemetic thread.

Dust filters - I have that on my MC600. They are nice, but are also a maintenance point. Must be cleaned every 3-4 months or they will start to clog, starving the case of air.

 

[Phryq]

This guy is covering his motherboard in Vaseline, because he's using liquid nitrogen cooling. But why not do this to just protect the motherboard from dust; then have a case with lots of air-vents?

 

[jØrd]

Think about what you say before you say it. Like any grease / oil / lube it will get fucking filthy. Dont get me wrong the stuff is super versatile, you can use it for everything from mommy & me time to rebuilding a kitchen faucet to condensation proofing a motherboard but its straight up the wrong tool for the job if your looking to dustproof anything.

 

[SeñorDonut]

adding a non-conductive liquid that somehow can transfer heat to an outside heatsink would help.

Mineral oil? Look up aquarium PC

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Perfectly sealed case and HSE air filter (like the ones used in cars). Should give a nice dust filter while not killing intake airflow.

Also, about connectors, you can get caps to cover them. I have caps for all my unused connectors

 

[Phryq]

Ya, I saw that aquarium PC. It's cool, but not for me.

I'm just a little over-the-top paranoid about dust, but my computers always seem to end up dusty. Watching him blow-dry the Vaseline made me think it somehow hardened. I don't really have much experience with Vaseline.

 

[Biowarejak]

You can get conformal coating on Amazon. Then just go ham dusting the damn thing with whatever.

 

[grumpyrobin]

So if you make the components waterproof you could just throw the thing in the bathtub/pool/ocean and not worry about cooling anymore?

 

[EdZ]

Only if you pot the entire thing including cables. Boards, contacts, anything exposed needs to be coated. That rules out any USB, audio or video connections as those connectors are not sealed.

 

[VegetableStu]

Sorry, had to post to get this thought out of my head

 

[Phryq]

Well, if the whole thing was controlled via Wifi, I could throw it in my bath-tub... but there's still the power cable.

 

[Biowarejak]

I was under the impression that wifi has a hard time penetrating water. Could be wrong though!

 

[SeñorDonut]

Well, if the whole thing was controlled via Wifi, I could throw it in my bath-tub... but there's still the power cable.

How many Qi chargers could power a PC?

 

[grumpyrobin]

whats wrong with perma locking the cables into the IO and sealing them together with the main unit, just like an old diving suit.

 

[Biowarejak]

Wireless periferals works best for that me thinks

 

[|||]

Only if you pot the entire thing including cables. Boards, contacts, anything exposed needs to be coated. That rules out any USB, audio or video connections as those connectors are not sealed.

Not necessarily...you could seal on adapters that take that I/O to rugged connectors

 

[EdZ]

Not necessarily...you could seal on adapters that take that I/O to rugged connectors

You'd need to be very careful sealing the non-rugged ends into the board connectors. You can't put adhesive on most of the connector mating surfaces (because those surface have the conductors on them) so it would be very easy to shift the connector after coating and fracture the coat.

 

[wiretap]

I have purchased quite a few computers that use conformal coating on the circuit cards and motherboards. (for HELB/LOCA nuclear applications where a humid environment could be possible) All I/O connectors go through weatherproof seals and mil-spec Amphenol connectors. For the boards, it's a pain in the ass to perform component-level repairs, since the conformal coating needs to be removed and reapplied after for something as simple as replacing a surface mount component. (I recommend taking IPC 7711/7721 training at a minimum if you plan to do so) For our upcoming plant process computer replacement project, I ordered the Neousys Nuvo-5100VTC rugged models for all our workstations -- with i7 6700's, SSD's, and dust seals on all unused ports. (this is for mild control room environments only) It's quite hard to schedule taking equipment out of service for preventative maintenance for cleaning and fan replacement since it needs to stay running for several years straight. I figured fanless and solid state would make a nice upgrade. I'm also powering them via auctioneered external Phoenix DC power supplies, so they can stay running in divisional power outages, or when a UPS needs to be swapped.

 

[Biowarejak]

I have purchased quite a few computers that use conformal coating on the circuit cards and motherboards. (for HELB/LOCA nuclear applications where a humid environment could be possible) All I/O connectors go through weatherproof seals and mil-spec Amphenol connectors. For the boards, it's a pain in the ass to perform component-level repairs, since the conformal coating needs to be removed and reapplied after for something as simple as replacing a surface mount component. (I recommend taking IPC 7711/7721 training at a minimum if you plan to do so) For our upcoming plant process computer replacement project, I ordered the Neousys Nuvo-5100VTC rugged models for all our workstations -- with i7 6700's, SSD's, and dust seals on all unused ports. (this is for mild control room environments only) It's quite hard to schedule taking equipment out of service for preventative maintenance for cleaning and fan replacement since it needs to stay running for several years straight. I figured fanless and solid state would make a nice upgrade. I'm also powering them via auctioneered external Phoenix DC power supplies, so they can stay running in divisional power outages, or when a UPS needs to be swapped.

I suppose for Surface Mount Components it's a pain, but the one I'm thinking of doesn't nessesarily have to be removed prior to desoldering. Worth noting there are MANY kinds of conformal coatings