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Data recovery and disk repair questions and discussions related to old-fashioned SATA, SAS, SCSI, IDE, MFM hard drives - any type of storage device that has moving parts
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Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

January 16th, 2015, 12:34

Hello inflex. According to this site, those filters are 99.95% efficient at removing particles 0.3um in diameter, which I think should be fine. This eBay post says they are 15.5 x 14.5 x 2.8 cm, which is rather small--you might end up using a lot of filters. If they have larger filters, I would think they would be a better choice. The fact they are only 2.8cm thick means their static resistance will be fairly high, so I'm not sure that car blower will be powerful enough to deliver the airflow you will be happy with. The thicker the filter, the lower the static pressure they present for a given filter material. You just have to experiment to find what works, because I doubt specs on static pressure are available for that motor; same for mine. Will you be using the acrylic for the body? If so, it should look really cool! For the lid/cover, I found 5mm to be perfectly adequate.

I'm looking forward to seeing your creation. If I can be of any help, don't hesitate to ask.

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

January 23rd, 2015, 9:17

LarrySabo wrote:Hello inflex. According to this site, those filters are 99.95% efficient at removing particles 0.3um in diameter, which I think should be fine. This eBay post says they are 15.5 x 14.5 x 2.8 cm, which is rather small--you might end up using a lot of filters. If they have larger filters, I would think they would be a better choice.


I'll have a look at the filters you're using too. I was designing the hood to be able to take any sort of filter shape/size (within the limits of the hood itself) just by using a different adapter plate.

the lower the static pressure they present for a given filter material. You just have to experiment to find what works, because I doubt specs on static pressure are available for that motor; same for mine. Will you be using the acrylic for the body? If so, it should look really cool! For the lid/cover, I found 5mm to be perfectly adequate.


Because I'm getting it all cut out of a single sheet, I'll be ending up using 10~12mm acrylic, which is going to be a bit heavy for the lid, but maybe I can change that to 6mm separately.

Do you think there's any difference in having a top->bottom compared to back->front airflow?

Enjoying watching your project here.... while the hoods might be comparatively cheap, those specialiast head-comb tools really will hurt the money-budget ( 400~600 euro! )

I'm looking forward to seeing your creation. If I can be of any help, don't hesitate to ask.


I'll post up when things start moving along :)

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

January 23rd, 2015, 9:45

Do you think there's any difference in having a top->bottom compared to back->front airflow?

There are a lot of opinions but I haven't come across any systematic analysis/testing of the benefits of one over the other. I think it comes down to personal preference or just throwing the dice. Some people find the breeze in the face bothersome after prolonged use with horizontal units. I wear glasses so it doesn't bother me.

I've tried both with version 1 of my project, and I prefer horizontal because I've seen particles fall onto the platters with vertical when I accidentally touched my head to the cover while peering closely at the drive. With horizontal and good air flow, I believe that is less likely to happen.

Agreed, re. the cost of head combs. Thanks for the update on your project; looking forward to pictures. Good luck!

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

March 20th, 2015, 9:24

Wooow!!! :shock:

Very very nice job!!! :idea:

Thank you for sharing! :D

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

March 20th, 2015, 10:03

Thanks, xose_maria. I'm still waiting for others to post pictures of their efforts.

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

March 20th, 2015, 10:22

Nice, how much it cost you to build? how long you`ve spent on it?

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

March 20th, 2015, 11:02

DRforensic wrote:Nice, how much it cost you to build? how long you`ve spent on it?

Thanks! It cost me $275 CAD and about 12 days of part-time effort to build. The parts list and individual costs are in the first post. The cost does not include the cost of a high-pitch blade (for especially smooth cuts in plywood) for my 7 1/4" saw, because it will be used for other purposes. Just as the cost of my drill, etc. are not included.

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

May 16th, 2017, 15:10

not sure which one would be best to reply on, but how have you found using this over the last 7 years etc ?
does it still do the job or have you improved/purchased the big boxes?

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

June 25th, 2017, 15:44

@dragonsrage99, my apologies for the late reply -- I just came across your post. Yes, I still use it and it has worked perfectly for me. While I wish it were larger, to hold all the head comb kits, tools, etc., I don't do enough data recovery to justify building a larger unit. This one is more than adequate.

I did build another one for a colleague to use in a mobile setup. It's narrower (24" vs 30" wide) but deeper (12" vs 10 1/2") and runs off the vehicle battery+inverter but still uses the same 110v motor as the V2 version. Because it is transported in a vehicle, I added a layer of 1/8" x 3/8" closed-cell weatherstripping between the acrylic cover and the enclosure, plus snap-down clasps to keep it tightly sealed when not in use. It also uses a filter that is larger (14.25" x 18" x 2.8"), more effective (99.97% @ 0.1 micron) and is user changeable. The unit has a LED (rather than CFL) light.

Here are a few pictures of V2.1, as I named it.
1. Front-Centre View.jpg

4.Cover Latch.jpg

5. Covers Open.jpg

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

June 27th, 2017, 18:26

Is that a can of compressed air?

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

June 27th, 2017, 19:14

Yes, although I now use this instead...
Bellows.jpg
Bellows.jpg (12.07 KiB) Viewed 33449 times

PS - I missed a chance to quip that, no, it's a can of WD40... for freeing up seized bearings. :)

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

June 27th, 2017, 20:09

LarrySabo wrote:Yes, although I now use this instead...
Bellows.jpg

PS - I missed a chance to quip that, no, it's a can of WD40... for freeing up seized bearings. :)

you joke, but there are people.... :)

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

June 28th, 2017, 3:38

LarrySabo wrote:Yes, although I now use this instead...
Bellows.jpg

PS - I missed a chance to quip that, no, it's a can of WD40... for freeing up seized bearings. :)


Not hard drive spray then ?

:)

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

June 28th, 2017, 8:31

scratchy wrote:Not hard drive spray then ? :)

Before I got the bellows, I did (reluctantly and cautiously) use compressed air to clean top platters of visible particles, having seen others do that in their videos. I certainly do not recommend it. It's good for cleaning the outside of drives before working on them, of course, but that's about it.

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

October 11th, 2019, 16:34

I apologize for the expiration of the pictures and other references in my earlier posts. I have uploaded them to DropBox and shared them using this link.

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

February 1st, 2021, 22:48

I have also uploaded them to:

http://files.hddguru.com/download/Other ... mber%20V2/

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

February 6th, 2021, 8:02

LarrySabo wrote:I have also uploaded them to:

http://files.hddguru.com/download/Other ... mber%20V2/


Hello.

I am interested in knowing more information about your laminar cabin unit. How does it behave? Are you still using it today?

It looks great in this photo.

Image

Thank you.

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

February 6th, 2021, 11:19

Hi @deVIL,

It works great, thanks! I use it all the time -- well, as much as I have DR that requires internal inspection, head swaps and curing stiction. DR is an adjunct to my computer repair business, so I might get just 3 -4 cases a month. Nevertheless, it's an important supplement to my income and would be much less it I didn't have the clean chamber.

I tested it's effectiveness with a Dylos laser particle counter and verified that the cabinet provides class 100 conditions, as you can see here.

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

February 6th, 2021, 11:26

Hmm, I just replied but don't see the reply, so here it is again...

It works great; I use it all the time -- well 3-4 times a month, given that DR is just an adjunct to my computer repair business. Nevertheless, it's a valuable addition to my income and is much higher than it would be without the clean chamber.

I have verified that the cabinet provides Class 100 conditions, as can be see here.

What else would you like to know?

Larry

Clean Chamber particle count, 2020-06-16.JPG

Re: DIY clean chamber, v2

February 7th, 2021, 10:51

LarrySabo wrote:Hmm, I just replied but don't see the reply, so here it is again...

It works great; I use it all the time -- well 3-4 times a month, given that DR is just an adjunct to my computer repair business. Nevertheless, it's a valuable addition to my income and is much higher than it would be without the clean chamber.

I have verified that the cabinet provides Class 100 conditions, as can be see here.

What else would you like to know?

Larry

Clean Chamber particle count, 2020-06-16.JPG


Hi LarrySabo

I was just going to ask you to measure air particles with a meter. It looks great, I will try to replicate its cabin in aluminum instead of wood. Does the HEPA 14 filter come in various sizes? Do you also have pre-filters before you get to the HEPA filter?

regards
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