Perhaps, but so does everyone else - none of us started by fly kites in storms or building Leyden jar before we each invented electrical machines, valves and transistors . I would just like some examples of others experience's so I can get an understanding as to how fragile they really are. I have of course used crystals before but I can't say for sure I have ever broken one - although some I may have dismissed as faulty from the manufacturer might have been my fault.
It really isn't a "how high is up?" question - because it is bounded by the addition of "for a crystal".
Didn't find your answer? Ask the community — no account required.
D
David Eather
I also add that I do not have a G meter of any sort and I do not think anyone would prescribe dropping crystals off my desk onto random surfaces as a good way to get data.
W
whit3rd
But... the internal structure of a packaged quartz crystal is a few support wires and a breakable chunk of rock. There's a limit to the force that those wires can snap back from (the elastic limit, I mean, not the complete-destruction limit), and that is a force. And the wires support the mass of the rock, so
F = m A
and for any given wires and rock, there's a limit to the permissible A value (that means acceleration). So, of COURSE shock can damage the unit, and the shock is naturally measured as an acceleration. If you 'don't have a G meter', then you'll have to measure things you CAN measure (flexing of parts under load) and relate that to the masses and times of interaction. A variety of 'shockwatch' acceleration sensors are used in shipping and in packaging research, if you really need to do a measurement.
M
mrstarbom
Too many variables? Slight differences in manufacture. Angle of impact.
T
Tim Wescott
Perhaps if you go back to your original post, then, and amplify the fact that you're looking for anecdotal guidelines on how to handle crystals, rather than engineering data.
Telling us what you intend to do may help as well. If, for instance, you're going to make some hand-held gizmo then take apart some other hand- held gizmos and see what they do. If you're going to make a bare circuit board that's going to get whacked with a hammer, say that. If you're more interested in pre-assembly handling, then tell us if you're planning on the kid glove treatment, or if you want to put them into a bucket and give it a shake.
And if shock is really important to your application -- well, accelerometers are relatively cheap.
Shock specifications are interesting critters, because the more structure there is between the item that's shock sensitive, then (in general) the more isolation there is from the shock.
So when I was working with little gyros whose warranties would be voided if you put them on a table and heard a "click", you could put them into a
50-pound payload assembly and put it on the table with a "THUNK" and everything would be OK -- even though it was solid aluminum all the way from the gyro to the table.
www.wescottdesign.com
M
mrstarbom
formatting link
slide 20
Join the Discussion
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Didn't find your answer?
Ask the community — no account required
Report Content
You are reporting this content to the moderators. They will look at it
ASAP.