The cleaning of industrial parts is now widely acknowledged as a key value-adding step in the overall production chain. But new trends such as Industry 4.0, miniaturization, electromobility, lightweight construction and new or modified manufacturing and coating technologies are posing new challenges for the cleaning of industrial parts and surfaces.
It’s the same story in the automotive industry, the component supply industry, mechanical engineering, aviation, precision engineering, medical technology, and many other industry sectors: The cleaning of parts and components is essential to preventing quality issues further downstream – e.g. at stages such as coating, adhesive bonding, welding, tempering, and assembly – as well as for the proper functioning of the finished product. The cleaning of industrial parts and surfaces has thus gained the recognition as a value-adding step in manufacturing chains, and a major quality factor in staying competitive.
Photo: Hoeckh_elektropolierte AK. For fine-cleaning applications, features such as an electropolished chamber with integral wall flushing help to avoid recontamination of the cleaned components by the backflow of dirt or the formation of dirt traps inside the chamber. Source: Hoeckh Metall-Reinigungsanlagen
New trends impacting industrial cleaning technology
In many industries, the main emphasis after machining used to be on the removal of particulate contaminants using wet chemical cleaning methods. The removal of film-type contaminants has been a priority, notably when preparing parts and surfaces for coating, welding, tempering or adhesive bonding. The need for these cleaning steps is unlikely to change in the future. But new trends are posing fresh challenges for the cleaning of parts. One example is the trend towards ever smaller and more complex parts and components as well as shorter product life cycles, smaller production runs (including one-offs), the use of new materials and combinations thereof (typically in lightweight construction) and new production processes. Not to mention major technical developments such as electromobility, autonomous driving, and the digitisation of production. As a result of these new developments, wet chemical fine and ultra-fine cleaning will become more mainstream, as will alternative cleaning processes such as CO2 snow blasting. This in turn will lead to increased demand for controlled manufacturing environments engineered for cleanliness.
More adaptable cleaning systems
Wet chemical cleaning will undoubtedly remain the most common technology used. But in order to be prepared for changing market needs and shifting technical demands, the flexibility respectively future viability of parts and surface treatment facilities is becoming more and more important. The parts cleaning industry is already anticipating emerging needs by designing plants with built-in adaptability to handle different types of parts, different standards of cleanliness and alternative cleaning methods. This means not only installing more efficient ultrasound systems, pressure pumps and filtration systems, but also incorporating technical developments that enable plant operators to adjust the cleaning parameters to match the specific size and geometry of the parts passing through the system. The ability to quickly and easily swap out cleaning tools such as spray units is one such development, along with the separation of cleaning and drying operations in the case of water-based cleaning.
Growing demand for fine and ultra-fine cleaning
To remove particulates and surface films and achieve the requisite degree of cleanliness, manufacturers are increasingly turning to fine and ultra-fine cleaning processes. Alongside the basic design and configuration of the cleaning plant (number of treatment stations and drying facilities) plus appropriate process technology (e.g. multi-frequency ultrasound), cleaning chemistry and process design, other technical aspects also need to be considered. These include such things as flow optimisation, parts carriers, piping, conveyor automation and air management.
Integrated and adaptive cleaning processes
The trend towards intelligent, networked production processes – enabling manufacturers to achieve greater productivity, improved product quality and flexibility while at the same time reducing their costs – is also driving changes in industrial parts cleaning. Already available now are fully automated inline plant solutions that can clean and dry bulk goods such as screws, and then transport them onwards to the next processing stage. The latest intelligent generators for use in ultrasonic cleaning can now configure themselves and then monitor and optimise their own operation. This means, for example, that the optimum operating frequency can be automatically determined and set before the ultrasonic pulse is triggered.
The continuous monitoring and logging of plant and process parameters in wet chemical cleaning plants is now a common feature. Plants can now be equipped with sophisticated instrumentation for the continuous inline monitoring and control/adjustment of cleaning baths. These systems not only permit accurate documentation of operating parameters during cleaning, but can also be used to inject additional cleaning agent into the bath as required, and the process is fully automated, needing no intervention by the machine operator. Initial solutions for the inline monitoring of cleaning results are also now available; these typically use fluorescence measurement technology to check for the presence of any film residue.
Staeubli
Foto: Stäubli_Roboter. For the cleaning of individual parts, robots designed and especially sealed for the use in cleaning machines, enable various processes such as deburring, spray and dip cleaning as well as drying. Source: Stäubli
Selective dry cleaning
Selective dry cleaning of functional surfaces and designated areas of components prior to adhesive bonding, sealing or laser welding, as well as pre-assembled parts, using CO2 snow blasting, laser cleaning or plasma cleaning techniques, has hitherto been something of a niche specialty. However, the selective cleaning of functional surfaces is set to become more mainstream in the future, given that a single workpiece can present a range of different cleaning challenges, depending on the degree of surface cleanliness required for selected areas destined for further processing, or on the use to which the component will be put. The fact that inline-capable processes are easily automated has also helped to drive this trend.
Controlled manufacturing environments engineered for cleanliness
Precision-made components are highly sensitive to particulate contaminants such as manufacturing residues, dust and fluff, so there is a growing need for controlled manufacturing environments engineered for cleanliness. And this is now true of industry sectors where components have mostly been produced hitherto in a “normal” manufacturing environment – sectors such as the car industry, mechatronics, precision/micro-engineering, electronics, hydraulics, the glass industry, and medical technology. Generally speaking, the objective is to protect the product against harmful particulate contaminants during manufacture and processing. The question is whether that calls for a clean zone, a white room or a clean room.
A clean zone is typically isolated from potentially critical areas by floor markings, moveable partitions or ceiling aprons. A white room is a permanently installed, structurally segregated enclosed space (an area within a room, a separate room, or a separate building), where the transfer of staff and materials is organised so as to avoid contamination, and the staff are specially trained. If the enclosed space is also equipped with clean air technology in the form of high-performance particulate air filters, then it is defined as a “clean room” when a specific ISO air purity class has to be achieved or maintained for the manufacturing operation. Clean room air quality has to be checked regularly, and so-called particulate traps are available for measuring the ambient cleanliness of clean zones and white rooms. The main technical difference between a white room and a clean room lies in the type of ventilation and filtration technology used. Furthermore, a minimum positive air space pressure must be maintained in a clean room, and the air in the room has to be adjusted and regulated to maintain the specific moisture and temperature conditions required for the product and its processing.
In the so-called “clean machine concept”, which may be a more compact and practical alternative to the clean room for highly automated production lines, the requisite decontamination technology is confined to the actual production line itself. In parts cleaning applications, this solution is used in multi-stage immersion cleaning systems, where the cleaning baths are fully enclosed and equipped with their own supply of purified air. The cleaned parts are frequently discharged into a clean room via a material airlock.
parts2clean – Leading international trade fair for parts and surface cleaning
Answers to these and many other questions on all aspects of industrial parts cleaning can be found at parts2clean. The leading international trade fair for parts and surface cleaning takes place from 22 to 24 October 2019 at the Stuttgart Exhibition Center, Germany. The show provides comprehensive information about cleaning systems, alternative cleaning technologies, cleaning agents, clean room technology, quality assurance and test procedures, cleaning baths and tanks, the disposal and conditioning of process media, handling and automation, services, consultancy, research and trade publications. The three-day parts2clean Forum is also a valuable source of know-how on various aspects of industrial parts and surface cleaning.
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