COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
4 key questions to ask when selecting your parts cleaning agent Richard Starkey , Sales Manager UK , Ireland and Scandinavia , SAFECHEM
In many manufacturing sectors , parts cleaning is critical to quality reassurance . Insufficiently cleaned parts can affect the quality of many subsequent industrial processes such as coating , welding , bonding and assembling . This can have a detrimental effect on the functionalities of the parts .
When deciding for the right cleaning method , many people instinctively ask : “ Which is better – solvent or aqueous ?”. The answer is : it depends . In fact , the question has never been about which one is better . It is rather : what are your requirements , goals and expectations and how can these demands be best fulfilled ?
Achieving the cleaning quality required is just one part of the equation . It is equally important to ensure that your parts cleaning process is economically viable , safe and sustainable . Identifying the right cleaning solution would require some critical reflection across the technical , economic , safety and health aspects . Some key questions you should consider include :
1 . What are your cleaning quality requirements ?
Different industrial applications necessitate varying degrees of surface energy of the metal surface , which is influenced by filmy contaminations . With nitriding , for example , a higher surface energy is required than with standard coating or assembling . The required surface energy should therefore match the ability of the cleaning agent .
In aqueous cleaning , as soils and contaminations are emulsified and flooded off the surface which remain in the water ( unless specific procedures are performed to purify the water ), the quality of cleaning will mainly depend on the quality of the rinsing baths , as well as the number of the rinsing baths with demineralized water . The higher the required quality of cleaning , the investment and space requirements for the aqueous systems will increase accordingly .
2 . What is the affinity of the cleaning agent to the soils ?
Effective cleaning is based on the principle “ Equal dissolves equal ”. For water-based types of contaminations such as coolant and lubricant emulsions , aqueous cleaning agents are typically the first choice .
When removing mineral oil based , non-polar contaminations , such as machining oils , greases and waxes , solvent will commonly be the preferred cleaning agent .
Above contaminations can be classified as filmy contaminations , which can be dissolved in a suitable cleaning agent . Another important category of contaminations are particles like chips , dust and residues of polishing pastes . These contaminations cannot be dissolved in a cleaning agent . To remove those , sufficient mechanics are required in the cleaning machine to flush off the particle contaminations .
The graphic shows what types of contaminations are best cleaned off by which cleaning agent . To achieve optimal cleaning results , the cleaning agent should be chemically similar to the contaminant .
4 OCTOBER 2021 read online : www . surfaceworld . com