Study of Moisture Control in Electronic Workpiece Storage Cabinets Using Nitrogen Gas

Abstract

Northern Industrial Estate located in Lamphun Province is mainly a manufacturer and exporter of electronic equipment and components. During the process of preparing or waiting for the assembly of electronic components, one element that must be controlled in the construction and assembly work is moisture because moisture causes oxidation resulting in the non-standard quality of electronic workpieces. This may affect the export of goods because consumers do not accept or claim the workpieces. The use of nitrogen gas contained inside the cabinet to maintain the quality of electronic components and repel the moisture from the workpieces is one way to solve the problem. Other processes include keeping the work piece clean and maintaining the quality of the equipment or parts in the electronic work before delivering it to the consumer. Therefore, controlling the amount of nitrogen gas to suit the required humidity is such a solution. This research used microcontrollers as the main control via moisture sensor to monitor gas consumption rates, and to record gas supply periods with the aim of studying nitrogen gas moisture control in 1,200 x 500 x 1,930 mm³ electronic vacuum cabinets. It was found that the RH averaged of 22% with the average consumption time of 4.61 consumed 5.34 cubic meters of nitrogen gas; the RH averaged of 23% with the average consumption time of 4.37 consumed 5.00 cubic meters of nitrogen gas; the RH averaged of 24% with the average consumption time of 4.17 consumed 4.84 cubic meters of nitrogen gas; the RH averaged of 25% with the average consumption time of 3.99 consumed 4.61 cubic meters of nitrogen gas; the RH averaged of 26% with the average consumption time of 3.67 consumed 4.27 cubic meters of nitrogen gas; the RH averaged of 27% with the average. consumption time of 3.09 consumed 3.05 cubic meters of nitrogen gas. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the nitrogen and the average time consumption were inverse variation with the RH values.