Assembly and

Repairs of
Equipment
Prepared by:
RAQUEL B. VIAS

Equipment
- a tool, clothing, or
other items needed
for a particular activity
or purpose

Assembly
- fitting components
together to make a
finished product

Equipment
Maintenance
Preventive care
Corrective

repair

a
program
of to
restore
routine
actions
something
such as cleaning,
broken
or
lubrication,
damaged to good
adjusting
or
condition
testing to keep
equipment ready
for use.

General Advise on
Repairs
The equipment must be
packaged
and
transported between the
school and the
supplier.

A check must be made to

ensure that a fault actually
exists (failure to read the
instructions is a common
reason for the return of
unbroken equipment!).

 The equipment must be

packaged and transported
between the supplier and the
manufacturer (where these
are
not
the
same
organisation).

 The exact nature of the fault

must be identified. If the
equipment is complex
(such as an oscilloscope),
or the fault is intermittent,
this can be a costly process.

 The faulty items must be replaced

or adjusted (if non-standard
components are required, as often
occurs when obsolete equipment
is returned for repair, the costs
may be high - sometimes to the
point where a repair becomes
uneconomic).

 The opportunity may be

taken to upgrade the
item to meet current
performance or safety
standards.

Sources of Repair

the original manufacturer

the supplier
a specialist company
a local repair scheme
individual teachers or technicians

The original manufacturer

an option for equipment that has
been purchased directly from the
manufacturer. It is generally
offered for specialised equipment
such as certain electrical and
electronic equipment.

Repair by the supplier

Supplier only repair items that they
originally supplied.
they usually act as an agent between the
customer and the manufacturer.
repairs organised by a supplier are
inevitably slower than those carried out
directly by a manufacturer or a repair firm.
the cost of the initial evaluation and
administrative costs must be added to the
charge made by the repair firm.

Repair by a repair firm

able to offer a rapid service,
particularly if they operate in a limited
locality.
specialist repair companies
sometimes appear expensive.

can

efficiency and cost of firms are

affected by a number of factors, these
include:
The difficulties they may have in
obtaining circuit diagrams, software
information and spares,
the range of complexity of the items that
they regularly receive for repairs, and
the efficiency of their use of staff.

Repair through a local scheme

a technician, does repair work for
schools, using the facilities of a
laboratory or workshop to do so.
service is limited to checking the
equipment, repairing the most
obvious faults and suggesting how to
deal with the more complex ones.

Repair by a technician or teacher

whether this is feasible, depends on
the abilities, interests and priorities of
the teacher or technician concerned.
it is vital not to attempt to repair such
equipment without having both a clear
understanding of the hazards involve
and the necessary resources to carry
out a proper repair.

Procedures necessary to carry

out maintenance
Check all new and repaired equipment as
soon as possible after its arrival certainly
within a few days of delivery.
Check the functioning of the equipment
carefully, making full use of the instruction
booklet.
Before you try it your way,
please try it ours!

 Having established that a fault actually

exists, report the problem to the supplier
and obtain its advice before returning the
item.
If it proves necessary to send the
equipment for repair, make sure that the
firm you intend to use is prepared to
receive it.

 The teacher or technician most familiar

with the faulty equipment should contact
the selected repair firm to ensure that the
symptoms are authoritatively discussed.
Ensure that a record is made of the name
of the contact person at the firm.
keep a record of all the points agreed and
the date(s) of the conversation (s).

Discuss cost, method of transport and

time scale with the firm.

Cost
Obtain a written estimate before
authorising the work.
If the cost of repair is such that it
approaches the cost of a replacement,
decide to buy a new one.
Costs of routine servicing or repairs may
be reduced if the items can be brought
together to one place for the technician to
work on.

Transport
If the firm is local, find out whether it is
possible to deliver and collect the
equipment in person.
Where a firm has a van service, precise
arrangements are made concerning the
time and place of collection.
Postal services are unsatisfactory.

Time scale
Firms may charge higher rates for
urgent repairs. Unless there is a real
need for an express service, be very
careful about saying that a repair
needs to be done quickly.

Preparing the equipment for

dispatch
Attach a tie-on or self-adhesive label
to the equipment giving the name and
address of the school
Include an information sheet listing:
The exact symptoms of the fault that
you are reporting;
Your own contact details;
The reference number on any
correspondence from the firm.

 the dates of any telephone

conversations and the name(s) of
the person contacted, and
Any request for an estimate
(including the name of the person
to whom this is to be sent) or
agreed upper limit for cost, where
appropriate.

 Keep a copy of all the paperwork

sent with the equipment, together with
details of the quantity, type and serial
number of the item(s).

Packing up equipment for

transport

Use the original packing in which the

item was supplied.
Put into a stout box large enough to
enable it to be surrounded with at
least 80mm of wood wool or foam
plastic chippings.
Make use of any transit plates or
clamping screws that are provided.

 Label its destination and the name of

the carrier (where appropriate).On a
separate label, give the name and
address of the sender.
Keep the written receipt from the
carrier to confirm collection of the
equipment.

Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with the service

or repairs, complain vigorously in

writing to the firm concerned.

BALANCES servicing and

repair
Mechanical

balances

with internal masses

or springs and torsionband

their
intricate
mechanical and optical
mechanisms
require
regular adjustment and
maintenance if they a
re to remain accurate.

Electronic balances
work on one of two
principles: balances
with load cells and
those with force
motors.
The main servicing
required is to check
their accuracy at
regular intervals.

INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS

1. An environment with no air currents or

sudden changes in temperature and free
from dust.
2. A perfectly levelled table/counter. A
platform of high inertia, isolated from the
structures located in its vicinity is ideal to
reduce the effect of vibrations from
certain equipment such as centrifuges
and refrigerators.

3.Avoid installing equipment which produces

elevated magnetic fields or vibrations like
centrifuges, electrical motors, compressors
and generators in its vicinity.
4. Avoid locating it directly under the airconditioning system (air currents) and
sunlight.
5. An electrical outlet which complies with the
current electrical standards in the country
or the laboratory. It must be in good
condition and equipped with a ground pole
and switches.

 trouble shooting balances.docx

Repairs
Check the fuse in the plug and any
fuse inside the instrument.
Find the instruction book for the
balance and its original packing.
If the balance is under guarantee,
contact the firm that you bought it
from.

MICROSCOPES servicing and

repair
require regular
maintenance of
the mechanisms
for adjusting the
illumination and
the position of
the lenses.

In house maintenance
1. Two or three times a year, clean the
accessible surfaces of objectives
and eyepiece.
2. Every three or four years;
clean the mechanical parts,
strip down the mechanism sufficiently to
inspect and lubricate the focus drives etc,
reassemble,
replace minor missing or damaged parts:
lamps, stage clips etc and possibly the
focusing rack.

3. School technicians can carry out this

maintenance, provided that they have
received proper training.

Professional maintenance
Check if a local group arrangement exists in
neighbouring schools for the servicing of
microscopes.
Services of a professional maintenance
company is expensive, so school need to
ensure that the best use is made of the time
available.
All faults should be reported to the
technician and it is advisable to check that
they have been successfully dealt with.

 If a microscope is damaged in between

maintenance visits, schools should
telephone the maintenance firm or the
manufacturer for advice.

pH Meter - is used for determining

the concentration of hydrogen ions
+
(H ) in a solution. This equipment,
provided it is carefully used and
calibrated, measures the acidity of
an
aqueous
solution.

INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS
The pH meter works using electric current
with the following characteristics.
Power: Single phase Voltage: 110 V or
220-230 V Frequencies;
50-60Hz depending on the World region.
There is also portable pH meters powered
with batteries.
Must be calibrated before use to
guarantee the quality and accuracy of the
readings.

GENERAL MAINTENANCE OF THE

pH METER

pH meters have two general maintenance

procedures: one concerning the analyzers
body, the other for the pH detection probe
(electrodes)
General maintenance procedures for
the pH meters body

Duration every six months

ph body.doc

BASIC
Frequency:
every four months
MAINTENANCE
OF THE
ELECTRODE
The measuring or detector electrode
requires periodic maintenance of the
conducting solution to obtain precise
readings.
basic maintenance of the electrode.doc

 trouble shooting table.doc

Biological Safety Cabinet

designed for controlling aerosols and
microparticles associated with managing
potentially toxic or infectious biological
material in laboratories in activities such
as agitation, centrifugation, pipetting, and
opening of pressurized containers. Safety
cabinets have been designed to protect the
user, the environment and the sample
manipulated using appropriate ventilation
conditions. They are also known as laminar
flow cabinets and/or biosafety cabinets.

 trouble shooting bio cabinet.doc

Centrifuge

 The centrifuge uses centrifugal force (the

force generated
when an object rotates around a single
point), for separating solids suspended in a
liquid by sedimentation, or liquids of diverse
density. The rotational movements allow
forces much greater than gravity to be
generated in controlled periods of time. In
the laboratory, centrifuges are generally
used in processes such as the separation of
solid components from
biological liquids through sedimentation and
in particular of blood components

INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS
Centrifuges require the following for normal
operation:
1. An electrical connection with a capacity
suitable for the equipment providing stable
single phase or triphase type voltage
(depending on the model and specifi
cation given by the manufacturer). In
general, centrifuges use 110V or 220 V/60
Hz.

2. A clean, dust free environment with a firm

levelled floor.
3. If the centrifuge is refrigerated, it needs a
free space on the side of the condenser
for adequate heat transfer.
4. A cabinet in which the centrifuge
accessories such as the alternate rotors
can be kept.

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE

The routines or specialized repairs will

depend
on
manufacturers
recommendations for each brand and
model.
Always disinfect the rotor bowl, centrifuge
head, buckets and trunnion rings as
applicable before any servicing of
centrifuges used to prepare clinical or
infectious samples.

 Verify that only qualified personnel

trained and familiar with the use,
care, risks and handling of the
centrifuge operates it.
centrifuge trouble shoot.doc
centrifuge tube.docx
centrifuge various system.doc

Multimeter

also known as a VOM

(Volt-Ohm meter or
Volt-Ohmmilliammeter ), is an
electronic measuring
instrument that
combines several
measurement
functions in one unit.

 Digital Multimeter
Troubleshooting and
Repair.docx