Parts Cleaning – the Underrated Factor

On the average, 27.5% of the production time required for manufacturing a cylinder head for a 4 cylinder diesel engine goes to cleaning, and manufacturing costs amount to 6.6%. Thus the cleanliness of components is not only a quality feature, it also plays an essential role as a factor in the value added chain. Considerable, but nevertheless unheeded quality and cost optimisation potential is frequently harboured by the parts cleaning process. Information regarding how this potential can be exploited will be provided by parts2clean, leading international trade fair for cleaning within the production process, at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre from the 20th through the 22nd of October, 2009.

The proportion of production time and costs required for cleaning is considerable for many components: Cleaning time comes in at roughly 10% for an auto body frame component made of steel, and the expenditures amount to about 5% of total manufacturing costs. This figure can be as high as 25% for ball bearings. These, as well as the above cited figures, were calculated by the Market and Trend Analysis division of the Fraunhofer Alliance for Cleaning Technology. Despite its great significance with regard to quality, as well as for efficient production of the respective components, cleaning in the production and value creation processes is underrated.

Cutting Costs and Increasing Quality with an Optimised Cleaning Concept
A requirements-oriented, well matched cleaning concept often makes it possible to exploit optimisation potential throughout the entire production sequence, and makes manufacturing more efficient. However, this can only be realised with the necessary know-how regarding the performance characteristics of the various cleaning technologies and how they can be ideally implemented. As the leading international trade fair for cleaning within the production process, parts2clean offers this know-how in a concentrated fashion at a single location. At the exhibition centre directly adjacent to Stuttgart International Airport, renowned foreign and domestic suppliers will present comprehensive product and service offerings covering the entire process sequence for cleaning within the production process from the 20th through the 22nd of October, 2008.

Solutions for Cutting Costs and Optimizing Quality
 
In order to efficiently and reliably obtain the required degrees of cleanliness for workpieces and components made of various materials parts2clean offers systems and equipment for individual parts cleaning and functional surface cleaning, as well as for batch processes, even in the cleanroom. The criteria which must be taken into consideration when selecting the ideal cleaning process include the spectrum of parts, contamination, the material or combination of materials, part geometry and cleanliness requirements with regard to film-like contamination and particulates, as well as production throughput. The most suitable process (wet-chemical cleaning, blasting with liquid or solid media, plasma or laser cleaning and shock-wave cleaning, as well as special processes and combinations), process parameters and the number of process steps can be derived from this data. 

In the automotive industry and for its suppliers, the growing variety of variants and ever shorter product life cycles necessitate a great deal of flexibility. The use of modern automation and handling systems such as robots allows for quick adjustment to varying components and changing requirements within the cleaning process itself, as well as in manufacturing. Where cleaning agents are concerned, the suppliers are assuring improved economy, environmental compatibility and shorter process times by means of ongoing development and innovations. Media treatment also has a great influence on the efficiency of the cleaning process – especially in the case of aqueous cleaning. In this respect, effective, ideally matched filtration and separation systems are in demand (e.g. oil separators, particle filters, membrane filters and water treatment), which will be presented by the exhibitors at parts2clean. 

If a batch process is used, the utilised cleaning racks have a great influence on cleaning results, time and costs. If the parts can be easily accessed from all sides, the right racks offer optimisation potential with regard to parts cleaning results, time and costs. The inspection for technical cleanliness of functionally relevant components for the automotive industry in accordance with ISO-DIS 16232 (part 1 -10) is also a significant factor for quality oriented manufacturing. Thus quality assurance and analysis systems for inspecting surface cleanliness on workpieces, as well as for monitoring cleaning baths, represent further exhibition topics.

Concurrent Event COROSAVE 

The new COROSAVE international trade fair for corrosion protection, preservation and packaging will take place concurrent to parts2clean in 2009. It covers the entire spectrum of temporary corrosion protection in production, as well as the preservation and packaging of parts and components during storage and transport. This makes it possible for visitors to gather information concerning product and service offerings for two important production tasks.

First International parts2clean Convention 

Within the framework of parts2clean 2009, an international, bilingual (German-English) convention named “Worldwide Requirements, Technologies and Markets” will take place for the first time. The driving force behind this convention is the great demand for information on the subject of industrial parts cleaning, in the industrialised nations as well as in growth markets all around the globe – because parts have to be manufactured today to nearly identical quality standards all over the world due to advancing globalisation. As a result, the requirements are also identical – for the parts cleaning step as well. For users of industrial cleaning technology, knowing how to fulfil the specified requirements efficiently is thus decisive for the company’s competitive edge. The parts2clean convention will explore this issue. On the other hand, the convention offers manufacturers important information regarding requirements in other countries as well. And this creates a basis for being able to penetrate new markets successfully.

Further information is available at www.parts2clean.com, and from fairXperts GmbH, Hauptstr. 7, D-72639 Neuffen, Germany, phone: +49 (0)7025 8434-0, fax: +49 (0)7025 8434-20.