Surface World March 2019 SW_March_2019_LR | Page 70

PRE-TREATMENT, SURFACE PREPARATION, DEGREASING & CLEANING
Manchester assembling and packaging fi rm
invests in medical grade cleaning facility
At a cost of more than
£1 million, Assembly
Techniques Ltd (ATL) -
www.assemblytechniques.
com - in Dukinfi eld, Greater
Manchester, is opening
a new, two-story facility
featuring a Class ISO8
(US FED STD 209E
100,000) cleanroom for
component washing and
drying on the ground floor.
Adjacent to it is a class (IS07/10,000) area
for processing critical clean sub-assemblies
for future customers in the medical sector.
On the upper level is a white room for
assembling less critical kits that are currently
supplied to manufacturers in the analytical,
food, water and other industries.
At the heart of the new operation is a Pro
550 six-stage, ultrasonic, aqueous cleaning
line from Turbex (www.turbex.co.uk), which
was installed in the Class ISO8 area in
October 2018. It has taken over from an
older aqueous washing system and will
assist ATL in attaining ISO 13485 medical
accreditation, which it expects to achieve
by the end of October 2019, enabling ATL
to supply components to the medical sector.
By March 2020, companies will have to
comply with the traceability, risk and other
requirements of the upgraded ISO 13485
specification, which was defined in 2016.
When auditing is complete and accreditation
has been granted, the company will be
able to carry out subcontract cleaning of
prostheses, surgical instruments and other
medical items, which will be a new area of
activity. It will also be able to use the system
for processing components used within the
food industry.
ATL director Nigel Downing commented,
“All of our metallic and high-end plastic
components are supplied by external contract
machinists and a large percentage of those
will require degreasing and removal of
cutting fluid residue before assembly.
“The Turbex line is so efficient that nearly all
components including non-critical parts can
The Class ISO8 (100,000) clean room housing the
Turbex aqueous, ultrasonic component washing
line at Assembly Techniques, Dukinfi eld.
68
MARCH 2019
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