New requirements for payroll cleaning

(Photo: LPW)

The accompanying inspection of technical cleanliness, also through direct cooperation with analytical service providers, is of central importance. (Photo: LPW)

Working under conditioned environmental conditions, even in cleanrooms, is an obvious consequence of the increased purity requirements. (Photo: LPW)

The incoming quality must be guaranteed. Pre-cleaning as a quality gate is mandatory to maintain process security. (Photo: LPW)

Water treatment (Photo: LPW)

Industrial cleaning technology is undergoing a fundamental change. Filmic and fine particulate contaminants are now also a topic in the automotive sector and are no longer solely the focus of traditional high purity industries such as semiconductor suppliers or the optical industry. Additionally, regulatory changes in medical device manufacturing are requiring new approaches, especially in the quality-relevant cleaning and drying processes. All of this has an impact on contract cleaning.

Contract cleaning is established across all industries. It is offered either alone or in combination with other services, such as mass finishing, coating, deburring, or heat treatment, as part of a process. Often in conjunction with packaging and logistics. In recent years, a lucrative and steadily growing market has emerged, primarily aligned with the requirements of the automotive industry and traditional machining sectors.

The "new" market

In the past, alongside traditional contract cleaning, a market has increasingly emerged whose requirements for technical cleanliness could no longer be met with conventional cleaning methods. The growing importance of filmic and fine particulate contaminants now presents a continuously increasing challenge across industries. Several providers, especially in the semiconductor manufacturing, optical industry, and medical technology sectors, have specialized in this service with extraordinary purity requirements for their respective industries.

Changed manufacturing processes and procedures (e.g., additively manufactured components, new coating methods, etc.) are making their way into all known industrial sectors. Existing cleaning solutions are often unsuitable, and the quantities initially do not justify the procurement of specialized cleaning technology in conjunction with the necessary framework conditions. The specifications and component ranges are constantly expanding.

In medical technology, a distinct demand is expected to develop around early 2020. This industry, particularly in Germany, is characterized by a broad network of small and medium-sized suppliers who have had to align their processes with the relevant regulations so far. The new EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which will come into force, increases regulatory and quality-related requirements, significantly impacting smaller and highly flexible market participants. Investments necessary for this, such as new cleaning systems and the associated personnel and organizational frameworks, often do not correspond proportionally to the production volume and turnover of these companies.

External testing and service centers

One possible solution is outsourcing to external service providers or direct cooperation with other manufacturers. For example, establishing a joint contract cleaning operation in the form of a "machine ring" with systems and processes that meet the respective regulations and are traceable and verifiable.

"New" cleaning service providers are challenged to understand this change and to demonstrate the new parameters related to the process conditions. These include, among others:

- the cleanliness of the environment through the provision of a cleanroom
- the avoidance of cross-contamination through pre-processing steps
- the provision of the media used and ensuring the required quality
- the quality and traceability of the processes
- the control and assurance of the quality of the components concerning incoming contamination, material quality, and finishing/deburring quality

Prepared for the future

LPW Cleaning Systems GmbH in Riederich has been supporting its customers through this transformation process across various industries for years with systems designed for the highest precision cleaning requirements. Additionally, since autumn 2019, the company has been providing qualified contract cleaning capacities for small series, pre-series products, and similar items.

Besides the mandatory pre-cleaning, the technical equipment allows for pretreatment using robot-assisted ultrasonic deburring and high-quality final cleaning in the existing ISO Class 7 cleanroom. Temporarily, conditions up to ISO Class 6 can also be realized.

The core is a three-stage chamber system (PowerJet 670 T3 CNp) integrated into the cleanroom for precision final cleaning, which, in addition to traditional cleaning and rinsing processes (ultrasound cleaning/rinsing, injection flooding), features CNp cleaning/rinsing and contactless IR/CNp drying for the highest demands.

The cleaning system is supplied by a pure water system with a pre-connected VE water supply.