Best Practice Bulletin

1/26/16

Courtesy of Brian Teague and Microcare

Reason for cleaning connectors

• Mating dirty connectors might cause scratching and/or pitting ruining termini endfaces
• Cleaning both endfaces before mating will extend the service life and ensure reliable data transmission

Some Common Sources of Contamination

• Wear debris that moving parts generate when connectors are mated and unmated
• Debris attracted by the electrostatic charge generated from friction of a dry cleaning processes
• Cross contaminated alcohol that has been diluted from atmospheric moisture, lint from paper based wipes, or the broken cellular structure of foam tipped sticks

*Image of a dust contaminated endface courtesy of Promet Optics

1. Cleaning Performance

• The use of a cleaning fluid will break up heavy oils and residue contamination
• The strands in the cleaning stick tip create a capillary action, which wicks up contamination from the endface

2. Elimination of the Ferrule and Socket Electrostatic Charge

• Cleaning fluid is a dissipative medium that eliminates the electrostatic charge on the ferrule
• Cleaning with a moistened cleaning stick does not create an electrostatic charge during the wiping process
• The cleaning stick’s tip makes contact with the socket wall of MIL-PRF-29504/5 termini during the rotation process which dissipates the electrostatic charge
• Using the cleaning fluid will ensure compliance to IPC 8497-1 Sect 10

3. Largest Effective Cleaning Region

• The cleaning stick’s tip diameter is able to reach contamination that resides in the outer regions of the ferrule endface
• Removing contamination from endface periphery significantly reduces particle migration

Limitations of Mechanical Cleaners

• Dry wiping with a mechanical cleaner generates an electrostatic charge from the contact friction between the cleaner’s cleaning strands flowing across the ferrule endface
• Wet-dry cleaning with a mechanical cleaner is ineffective because the cleaning strand wicks up on both sides of the cleaning strand requiring multiple engages
• The cleaning tip outer diameter is reduced to prevent contact with socket walls that would interfere with the cleaning strand flow
• The effective region for current cleaners is limited to < Ø0.6mm for Ø1.6mm terminus

MIL-PRF-29504/5 Termini – MIL-DTL-38999

MIL-PRF-29504/4 Termini – MIL-DTL-38999