Enhancing Industrial Component Cleanliness: Best Practices and Tips

How to improve the cleanliness of Industrial Components parts.

Specifications for particulate and film-residue cleanliness are a matter of course for many machined components. In addition to the parts cleaning procedure, manufacturers must consider the entire process chain when seeking to efficiently achieve and maintain the required level of cleanliness.

Even the tiniest particle or a microns-thick film residue can negatively impact later processes, part quality, and the functionality of the finished product. For example, cutting tools are often coated with hard materials, such as diamond-like carbon, to improve their performance and service life. Depositing these coatings requires a high level of surface cleanliness, and any particulate or trace of film-forming residue will degrade the adhesion of the coating to the tool substrate, which can cause premature tool failure.

The question is all about seeking effective solutions for:

· Increasing the cleaning efficiency.

· Reducing costs.

· Protecting your washing utility against misuse, time, and wear.

SS ENGINEERS & CONSULTANTS, having an excellent track record of providing cleaning solutions to all industrial & food processing lines for the past two decades, recommends the following actions & guidelines which can significantly upgrade your cleaning results to the next level.

Clean your parts first and store them next:

If you store the parts made with coolants before cleaning, it takes a longer time to clean dried and spotted marks on the parts later. So the best thing is to clean first and stores next to reduce costs.

Hydrocarbon bathing of parts before cleaning for improved results:

Hydrocarbon bath dipping is used for the parts which have water or coolant on them. This bathing is to be done prior to loading the basket into the washer to remove unwanted water.

Use brushing or High pressure before cleaning:

Regular washers probably cannot remove burrs. So prior to cleaning, deburring with a brush or high pressure gives optimal results. In such industrial needs, a washing facility that can do deburring, cleaning, and drying renders effective results.

Compromising affects the quality of cleaning:

The cleaning process generally gets affected by the change/compromise in/with the coolant.
Compromise with tooling generates chips (a result of dull tooling). The solution is to use new tooling or chip breaker.

Try to avoid the direct contact of humans with the parts:

Oily hands, hair fall of humans affect the cleaning. So it is better to encourage workers to use lint-free gloves, hairnets, and body aprons/coats, whenever possible.

Avoid using galvanized perforated metal baskets:

To increase the efficiency of cleaning, use round-wired baskets made of stainless steel. This improves the cleaning area and reduces the deflection of ultrasonic waves (used for cleaning).

Selection of cleaning process versus contaminants:

This influences cleaning cycle times, cleanliness levels, and repeatability. The composition of contaminants validates the cleaning process:

Use Isoparaffin (Hydrocarbon) cleaning for parts made under oily-based cutting fluids.
Use aqueous parts cleaner for water-based contaminants such as emulsions, or lapping compounds.
Use a modified alcohol cleaning process for cleaning parts produced through a mix of oil and water-based coolants.

The role of intermediate cleaning:

Phase-wise intermediate cleaning of parts is good for some multi-stage production processes. When end cleaning is unsatisfactory for multi-stage production, the application of this cleaning method gives optimal results.

Good maintenance of washer makes the difference:

Good machine maintenance yields good results. It reduces the likelihood of unseen issues and rejected parts or batches.
Use fine cleaning machines for specified purposes only, not for general cleaning, to prevent the degradation of the machine’s efficiency.
To prevent environmental effects on cleaned parts, they are to be transported to an apt clean room immediately after cleaning, if there is a delay for packing or storing.
Wrap the parts in protective packing after cleaning avoids dirty shipping and packaging and prevents the introduction of new contaminants by containers such as crates or boxes if they have dirt or debris.
The parts washers and solvent degreasers should meet EPA and OSHA standards. Manufacturers should get assurances/awareness about the present and future regulatory impacts for their regio
ns.

Use demineralized water in water-based machines:

It is the best option for cleaning with a vapor degreaser. This can prevent water spots on the cleaned parts. Otherwise, wipe the parts with a clean cloth after washing.

Cleaning awareness influences quality cleaning:

Basic training for operators and application of best practices can impart good end results and effective machine service.

Handling and Packaging of Components:

Once parts leave the cleaning facility, simply enclosing or covering the area where cleaned parts are removed from the cleaning system protects them from recontamination by environmental impurities, such as dust and oleiferous air.

For parts with high cleanliness requirements, it is advisable to perform parts removal, inspection, and packaging in a clean area or cleanroom with properly trained and equipped personnel. Volatile-corrosion-inhibitor packaging materials are available to protect cleaned parts from corrosion. These packaging materials create a corrosion-proof atmosphere inside a package while providing protection from outside contamination.

When all elements of the parts cleaning process are properly in place and in harmony with the overall production chain, dirt and debris are rendered defenseless.

Effects of contamination on automotive components:

Pistons in automotive engines repeatedly reciprocate with a clearance of only a few micrometers and are kept air-tight with engine oil. If a slight amount of metal contamination adheres to the side surface of a piston ring, repeated reciprocation will damage the inner wall of the cylinder liner, causing engine problems.

The importance of contamination analysis has increased with the number of automobiles equipped with high-capacity batteries, such as electric vehicles (EVs), as lithium-ion batteries contaminated with metal components or other particles can generate heat or even fire.

In addition to the complete cleaning of these components after manufacturing, cleanliness analysis in compliance with international industrial standards is also required.

Why choose us?

SS Engineers are a professional cleaning solutions provider for all capacity industries right from small to large. We are customer-focused and know the value of your purpose and money.

Our standard machines are being in use in India and abroad at various industries: