VDA 19 / ISO 16232 Marhan Standard Particles Expanding Consulting Division

Contaminated hard drive with particles

Technical cleanliness according to VDA 19 / ISO 16232 is gaining increasing importance in the automotive industry. Technical cleanliness, unlike cleanliness in the conventional sense, exclusively refers to the consideration of the particle-free state of a component. Complex vehicle components are becoming increasingly sensitive to particulate contamination. As a result, many purchased parts already have very demanding cleanliness requirements today. Due to the high demand for technically clean products, the number of providers of systems necessary to implement corresponding part cleaning concepts is steadily increasing. Therefore, the search for suitable providers to implement one's own cleanliness concept has become very extensive.

The majority of individual components for complex vehicle assemblies are not manufactured by the leading and most well-known automotive suppliers; they typically assemble the individual parts into highly technical components, but are produced by many small and medium-sized enterprises. The topic of technical cleanliness was initially initiated by leading OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers and was further developed and applied by the respective companies. However, closer examination revealed that cleanliness-sensitive components are not only relevant during assembly and in the finished part regarding technical cleanliness, but that a cleanliness concept must already begin during planning and with all individual parts required for a complex component.

Thus, increasingly small companies and SMEs are confronted with the issue of cleanliness according to VDA 19 or ISO 16232. The concepts required for increased demands on technical cleanliness are very costly and now require a high level of experience. Small companies, which are often also manufacturers of C-parts, often reach their limits with the costs and the development of appropriate concepts. When producing so-called C-parts, where a reduction in manufacturing costs by a few cents is now quite relevant, it is hard to imagine applying cost-driving cleaning measures to these parts. The first question for manufacturers is whether an in-house cleanliness concept, from internal part cleaning to their own testing laboratory, is justified or if it is better to rely on external service providers. Both approaches are valid. Determining costs and re-calculating manufacturing costs by including part cleaning initially appears less demanding when using service providers. But are the service-part cleaners really capable of meeting specific customer requirements for particular components? Often, parts that seem simple at first glance are associated with very high expertise. Surface coatings or specially modified or developed materials for a component are exemplary cases. Are the cleaning media used by a service provider and the cleaning procedures suitable for this material or for the specific surface coating? The relationships and interactions are often very complex. Therefore, if one decides, possibly also to increase competitiveness, to establish an in-house part cleaning system, it is first necessary to develop a suitable process for the component to be cleaned. The design of this process is no less complex, especially since the creation of the cleanliness concept involves very high investment costs. The same applies to setting up an internal cleanliness laboratory. Cleanliness investigations according to VDA 19 are usually very cost-intensive when they have to be carried out in external laboratories.

When is an in-house laboratory worthwhile?

The employees of Cleantec Consulting have many years of experience in the field of technical cleanliness. This enables the company to support small and medium-sized enterprises as an independent consultant in developing cleanliness concepts, from cleanrooms and part cleaning to the establishment of a standard-compliant testing laboratory. The high demand and customer satisfaction with previous projects involving well-known automotive manufacturers and leading German and international automotive suppliers confirm the concept of Cleantec Consulting. Cleantec Consulting maintains an extensive network with reputable manufacturers of cleanrooms, industrial part cleaning systems, and testing equipment.