Cleaning and pretreatment

Save two thirds of CO2 - without disadvantages

CO2-neutral by 2040: that is the goal of Miba AG, based in Laakirchen in Upper Austria. It is not only the technology group's products, which are used throughout the entire energy value chain, that should contribute to this goal.

Electrode cleaning for solar modules

Die Rolle-zu-Rolle-Produktion ermöglicht die kostengünstige Fertigung gedruckter Photovoltaikmodule. Um Kurzschlüsse zu vermeiden, mussten leitfähige Grate bisher manuell entfernt werden. In einem Verbundprojekt wurde eine integrierbare, vollautomatisierte CO2-Schneestrahl-Reinigungslösung entwickelt, die diese Schwachstelle beseitigt.

From individual steps to overall processes

The upheaval in mechanical and plant engineering has rarely been felt as clearly as in the last four years. Almost all areas of production are affected, not least industrial cleaning technology. What used to be standard simply no longer meets today's requirements.

How to choose the best filtration

Numerous parameters determine the effectiveness and efficiency of an aqueous cleaning process. How do you choose the right filtration?

Structural change as an incentive for progress in technical cleaning

What does the future of technical cleaning look like? What developments can currently be observed and what new challenges are there for the industry? We asked LPW CEO Gerhard Koblenzer about these topics.

Improving the pre-treatment of car bodies

Thanks to a new system design, the construction of a flexible and scalable wet system for the pre-treatment of car bodies requires significantly less space and time than conventional dip tanks. The system saves energy and materials and is particularly suitable for small to medium production capacities.

acp systems: Cleanliness for the aerospace industry

Satellites are extremely complex devices. Very high demands are placed on their surfaces. To achieve this, an aerospace specialist uses snow blasting.

acp systems: Snow blasting to the beat

New snow jet nozzle technology expands the range of applications through more abrasiveness and saves CO2

Good discussions and exciting topics at parts2clean 2023

At the third event since the end of the Corona lockdown, there was clearly more dynamism than in previous years. The highlight topic High Purity met with a good response and quite a few visitors came with concrete tasks.

GusChem: Understanding and combating biofilms

Those who know their enemy can counter them more effectively - this also applies to microbiology. Those who understand the rules behind growth can take precautions more easily and prevent bigger problems.

N2J: Contract cleaner for special demands

A new contract service provider promises to meet the highest standards of quality and reproducibility

Deutsche Messe: parts2clean 2023

Increasing product quality and cost efficiency is in the focus of many companies. The range of solutions, trends and knowledge that will be presented to the trade by over 150 exhibitors at parts2clean from September 26 to 28 provides an excellent opportunity to find new approaches.

Pero: Actively shaping the future

Attracting international trade visitors from a wide range of industries, parts2clean brings together suppliers and users to learn about the latest developments in industrial cleaning technology. A renowned plant manufacturer summarizes the current challenges.

Silberhorn: High Purity in a Compact Format

When you say high purity, you often also have to say yes to high investments, both financial and in terms of the specialist knowledge required from the user. However, both aspects can be mitigated with optimized plant technology, as demonstrated by the example of a compact single-chamber plant.

Schulz: New challenges for parts cleaning

New products, materials and manufacturing technologies call for adapted cleaning solutions. Topics such as energy and resource efficiency as well as the advancing digitalization also change the requirements in industrial parts and surface cleaning.

FiT: Trends and perspectives

From pressure-swing cleaning processes to practical applications and cleanliness testing with UV light, FiT's Industrial Component Cleaning Conference provided a broad cross-section of current industrial cleanliness requirements.

Harter: Little energy, much profit

In the drying building block, there is a lot of potential to save valuable resources - in the form of electricity or gas, of time and cycle, of scrap and rework, of heat and exhaust air. The list goes on. A look at an alternative drying process that has been deemed an eligible technology by the government.

acp systems: Nanometer cleanliness

High-purity cleaning applications are now the order of the day for high-end components due to the sometimes extremely high requirements - up to now mainly wet-chemical cleaning. For some components, however, these have their limits, for example due to dimensions, pre-assembly or because only partial cleaning is required.

LPW Cleaning Systems: In the fast lane

A developer, manufacturer and supplier of high-end vacuum valves placed the follow-up order for further expansion in Asia just one year after installing a XXXL High Purity Grade 1 system for high-vacuum components in the semiconductor environment - and promptly raised the bar in terms of minimum requirements.

MTM: Increasing efficiency for large tasks

As part of a major order from a ship engine manufacturer, a specialist in the development and manufacture of high-end cleaning systems was given the task of automating up to nine manual deburring stations in the future in order to minimize throughput times and space requirements in the hall.

Ecoclean: FDA- and MDR-compliant intermediate and final cleaning of knee implants

Geiss: More stable process and throughput

ElringKlinger AG manufactures 350,000 transmission components and 130,000 service covers per year at its headquarters in Dettigen an der Erms. The demands on the quality of the parts are high - especially when it comes to cleanliness. This is where the AG company relies on a regional professional in contract degreasing.

FiT: Films under control

The requirements for component cleanliness have steadily increased. This development confronts parts manufacturers and processors in all industrial sectors with new and more demanding tasks. The FiT guideline "Controlling Filmic Contamination" provides recommendations for optimizing the process chain in component cleaning.

B-TEC: ATEX-compliant cleaning of paint-contaminated parts

A pneumatic basket washer facilitates cleaning processes with highly flammable cleaning liquids and ensures reproducible results and health protection.

LPW: Holistic or not at all

In industrial component cleaning, holistic concepts and all-inclusive services are in demand. The equipment manufacturer no longer acts only as a supplier, but as a partner at all levels.

Ecoclean: High Purity for Small, Large and Complex

Whether millimetre-small, metre-sized or complex in design - the high cleanliness requirements for high-tech components are usually no longer achieved with conventional cleaning systems. A specialist in precision and high-purity cleaning is constantly developing new solutions for this area, including specially designed equipment packages.

acp: Automated snow blasting removes paint from noble control panels

Using the in-mold decoration (IMD) process, a Swiss plastics processor manufactures, among other things, control panels for premium dishwashers. An automated snow-blasting process can be used to gently and automatically remove paint flakes from high-quality control panels for household appliances.

Maximum cleanliness for precision sheets

A rigorous selection process and customised solutions enable a manufacturer of precision sheet metal to ensure technical cleanliness for a wide range of industries.

The proof of the pudding is in the new Ecocleans Test Center

The new High Purity Test Center of a leading cleaning technology provider was officially inaugurated at the end of November 2022 at the Dettingen unter Teck production site. It complements the company's 15 existing technology centers in the high-purity sector and enables cleaning tests for high-tech components with extremely high purity requirements.

Gemeinsam zu sauberen Kontaktierungen

A specialist for snow jet cleaning and a supplier for ultrasonic wire bonding solutions join forces. With combined know-how, they develop fully automated solutions for clean wire bonding of battery cells.

Development impetus through industry change

The restructuring of the automotive industry is in full swing. Now that the internal combustion engine is no longer considered a supporting drive concept, industrial component cleaning is facing new tasks. The effects of the change become clear in the example of the implementation of a prototype system for a battery sleeve manufacturer.

Cleaning 240 product variants

A manufacturer of drive and control technology integrates a cleaning system into its production line that cleans around ten different part families automatically and in a production cycle. The targeted individual part cleaning of the approximately 240 very different workpieces succeeds with the help of a sophisticated feeding system.

Cleaning with less energy

In view of rising electricity, oil and gas prices, energy efficiency is also becoming increasingly relevant for component cleaning. Measures to reduce energy consumption can be implemented in existing and new cleaning systems.

Inline cleanliness for critical parts

Components that are coated or measured after machining require very clean surfaces. CO2 snow blasting can ensure these requirements as an integrated process even for very small workpieces such as valve components or indexable inserts.

Energy-efficient cleaning

In the wake of rising electricity, oil and gas prices, energy efficiency in component cleaning has gained in importance. Possibilities to reduce energy consumption can be implemented in existing cleaning systems as well as in new ones to be procured.

Selective cleaning saves resources

The Laura robotic sword brush cleans car body surfaces at renowned car manufacturers worldwide before painting using air and brush technology. The gel dryer can be dispensed with thanks to the non-contact cleaning of the weld seams, thus saving a considerable amount of energy.

Cleaning differentials with light

A machine builder from Ravensburg is developing a laser cleaning system for cleaning rotationally symmetrical components for an automobile manufacturer. Laser cleaning reduces the risk of corrosion. He adapts the system exactly to the end customer's range of components.

A new test center for wet chemical cleaning processes

A leading manufacturer of cleaning systems has expanded its production and development site by around 1,300 square metres. An investment volume of around 2.5 million euros was spent on the new customer centre. The test centre was inaugurated in 2021 and has since been actively used by customers to determine specific solutions for specific cleaning tasks.

Not a single fingerprint remains

If subsequent processes or product functions require it, component cleaning is shifted to the cleanroom. Developing a suitable system for this requires all kinds of design tricks and finesse. One mechanical engineering company has chosen dry snow blasting technology for these applications.

Clean to the last atom

Modern manufacturing, joining and coating technologies in combination with strict regulatory requirements lead to ever higher demands on particulate and filmic component cleanliness. In order to meet these values in series production, it is necessary to have processes, equipment and software that meet the requirements.

Competencies bundled worldwide

Manufacturers of medical technology must meet strict requirements. A cooperation between Ecoclean and VC999 Medical aims to make the packaging of medical technology products even safer.

Clean into the operating room

In order to make the cleaning of gunmetal parts as economical as possible, Eckerle Industrie GmbH relies on a spray flood machine. Thanks to the vector kinematics, the selected model reliably meets the high cleanliness requirements of medical technology.

Save costs via distillation

A recent benchmark study on wastewater treatment plants conducted by the Volkswagen Group clearly shows that water consumption is increasingly becoming a key performance indicator in the automotive industry. In their investigations, the VW experts focused specifically on the evaporation principle for wastewater treatment. The reason for this: membrane plants and other processes require very constant waste water for optimal functioning.

Pre-treatment errors: cause number one

Large-scale delamination of the coating occurred in anodised aluminium profiles. DFO's task was to find out the cause of this. In general, when analysing damage, it is important to approach the investigation systematically and to get to the bottom of the cause step by step.

More than just a cleaning process

Additive manufacturing is now a global growth market. It is not only used in research and development, but increasingly also in series production. Ensuring a defined level of technical cleanliness presents industrial cleaning technology with new tasks.

Meeting Medical Device Regulation standards

The new Medical Device Regulation increases the cleaning requirements for manufacturers of medical devices. The turnkey solutions of a renowned plant manufacturer for cleaning and packaging help to meet these requirements.

Save on reallocations

Borderline for ultrasound: Manometer housings in 1,000-litre grid boxes were to pass through a cleaning system without being transferred to cleaning containers. With 26 kilowatts of ultrasound, soiling could be removed right away.

Clean lightweight components for electric vehicles

In the engine compartment of an electric vehicle, new elements made of lightweight materials are responsible for the rigidity and strength of the body. In order for these to be bonded and welded properly, thorough aqueous cleaning beforehand is indispensable.

Efficient cleaning before back spraying or painting

In both moulding processes and painting, even the smallest particles on the surface cause clearly visible defects. Cleaning with Sword Brushes meets the highest quality requirements and saves costs at the same time.

Less foam, higher quality

Quattroclean snow blasting technology has established itself as an economical and reliable process for the complete and partial cleaning of a wide range of components. A newly developed two-substance ring nozzle for a pulsating jet now makes it possible to realise further economic and technical advantages in CO2 cleaning.

Innovation in CO2 snow jet cleaning

Quattroclean snow blasting technology has established itself as an economical and reliable process for the complete and partial cleaning of a wide range of components. A newly developed two-substance ring nozzle for a pulsating jet now makes it possible to realise further economic and technical advantages in CO2 cleaning.

Reliable and resource-saving coating of aluminum parts

The share of components made of aluminium, e.g. in the field of vehicle, railway, ship and aircraft technology or in construction, has been steadily increasing for several years. In the field of mobility, for example, considerable weight savings and thus lower fuel consumption can be achieved through lightweight construction with aluminium.

Energy-efficient ultrasonic deburring

Conventional deburring processes, such as high-pressure water jetting, vibratory grinding, chemical, electrochemical as well as manual deburring or brushing, tend to cause high costs, the removal takes place in an untargeted manner and can lead to high environmental pollution or secondary burrs. A funding project wants to change this.

Pinpoint laser processing

New technology: Laser cleaning as well as laser pre- and post-treatment of surfaces and for sealing and connecting surfaces. There are about 30 applications in automotive engineering alone, especially in electromobility.

Innovative CO2 snow jet cleaning

Quattroclean snow blasting technology has established itself as an economical and reliable process for the complete and partial cleaning of a wide range of components. A newly developed two-substance ring nozzle for a pulsating jet now makes it possible to realise further economic and technical advantages in CO2 cleaning.

Flawless paint job thanks to good bath mainenance

Bath maintenance plays a central role in the quality assurance of high-quality painting and coating processes. A Dutch company has developed effective technologies for this purpose, from magnetic separators for ultra-fine particles to fluid dynamic oil separators and active vacuum belt filters.

Cleanliness of materials

The terms cleanliness and purity of materials require a more detailed definition. Since the materials, whether as moulded parts or films, are present in their surface, the term cleanliness may be appropriate here, since cleanliness of materials can refer to the structure, i.e. also the internal structure of an overall body.

Evomat instead of washing machine

The cleaning process with Sword Brushes requires very little maintenance and achieves a consistently high cleaning performance even in continuous operation. The precise conveying system of the new EVO 500 enables the loading robot to transport narrow multiple blanks in exactly the right position.