ACP SYSTEMS AG
Optimum preparation of bonding sites with CO2 snow
Cleaning structural joining
surfaces effectively and efficiently
In order to save weight, an
increasing number of assemblies
used in the automotive industry
today are made of plastic or
lightweight metal which need to
be glued together. The reliable
pretreatment of the joining
surfaces is a must, especially
where structural components are
concerned. This is where
quattroClean comes into play.
The climate-neutral technology
has a number of advantages over
other dry cleaning processes.
Lightweight construction is not new to the
automotive industry. However, as electromobility
is becoming more popular and CO2 emissions
continue to be reduced, this topic is becoming
increasingly relevant. OEMs and suppliers are
therefore turning to lighter materials such as
aluminum and plastics for body parts, e.g. doors,
vehicle roofs, trunk lids, tailgates and engine hoods.
Changes in manufacturing and joining methods
such as bonding instead of welding, riveting or
screwing, enable further weight savings. To
guarantee the necessary adhesive strength when
bonding structural body parts or battery housings,
for example, the joining surfaces must meet high
cleanliness and wettability requirements.
Efficient partial dry cleaning instead of
full-surface wet cleaning
For various reasons, conventional wet-chemical
cleaning processes with water-based media or
solvents are not suitable for this. Among others,
the areas to be joined invariably have to be much
cleaner than the rest of the component.
When it comes to the selective cleaning of
structural joining surfaces, such as body
parts or battery housings, the robust,
cold and dry quattroClean process with
its wide working window ensures that
cleanliness requirements are met.
Such cleaning processes cannot be integrated
into a production or assembly line - or can only
be integrated with extreme effort. Consequently,
dry processes are preferable, for example the
environmentally-friendly quattroClean snow jet
cleaning technology from acp systems AG. It is
implemented in a wide range of industries for the
selective or full-surface cleaning of components
made from practically all types of material.
The cleaning process is so gentle on materials
that even delicate substrates can be treated.
The cleaning medium used by the technology
is liquid carbon dioxide, which is generated
as a by-product from chemical processes and
energy generation from biogas and therefore
environmentally neutral. It is guided through
a wear-free two-component ring nozzle and
expands on exiting to form fine CO2 snow.
This core jet is then bundled by a separate jacketed
jet of compressed air and accelerated to supersonic
speed. When the easily-focused jet of snow and
compressed air impacts on the surface to be
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