Cleaning of old robotic arm

[cborsky]

Hello,

(This is background information, you can skip it if you'd like to save some time, question is after the 3 white spaces)

I was recently given a Scrobot ER-III from a friend, but most of it is rather dirty.
I will be building a control panel (I have circuitry planned out, just have to plot it down on a couple perfboards and debug or add components from there) and cleaning the arm.

What are a few methods of cleaning mechanical structures safely?
The arm has 6 motors: body; upperarm; forearm; wrist-pitch; wrist-roll; gripper. I haven't tested these motors yet, but they're 12vDC as far as I know.
There is an attachment on the back of each motor to figure out its position through the use of LEDS and phototransistors. On the front of each motor, there is a gearbox.

I have not taken any detail on the amount of muck that's on the arm, nor the majority of cleaning that needs to be done.

Here's a link to an image of the SCORBOT:
http://www.purplewaveauction.com/i/a/2011/20110412govt/4411.JPG
And here's a link to another, close up of the pulley system:
http://static.flickr.com/6029/5968563226_990b5525a7.jpg


(question)
I am just looking for some advice on cleaning mechanical parts, gearboxes, and safely testing motors and phototransistors.

Any advice/help would be appreciated!
Thank you,
C

[Soeren]

Hi,

You can get various degreasing sprays that foams up on contact and then left to do its work for some time (read the specifics on the product). they make it a breeze to clean complicated structures, just hose off and leave it to dry - remember to lube up where needed.

However, you need to make sure it's not harming the material of the timing belts, so read the labels carefully.
I used a spray like that for cleaning out guns (in a distant time as a pro soldier) immediately followed by a coat of Gunol (a weapon spray lube).

Personally, I'd demount the arm from the base plate, remove the belts and soak it in a detergent for some hours (or a day), but the paint may take offense.

Whatever method, remember to flush it thoroughly and lube up the relevant parts afterwards!