In aerospace manufacturing, a part can look clean and still not be clean enough.
Machining oils, cutting fluids, grease, waxes, fingerprints and other residues can remain behind after machining and fabrication. Even small amounts of contamination can cause problems later, particularly when a component is headed for bonding, coating, plating, welding, sealing, inspection or final assembly.
Then there is the part itself. Blind holes, internal cavities, narrow channels, threaded features and tight tolerances can make contamination difficult to reach and even harder to remove consistently.
For aerospace manufacturers, cleaning is more than another box to check in the production process. Getting it right helps ensure the component is ready for whatever comes next.
That is where precision vapor degreasing can make a difference.
Why Vapor Degreasing Works Well for Complex Parts
Vapor degreasing uses specially engineered, low-boiling cleaning fluids to remove contamination from manufactured components.
Depending on the equipment and the application, parts can move through a combination of immersion, rinsing, vapor rinsing, ultrasonics or spray-under-immersion.
One of the advantages is the ability of low-surface-tension cleaning fluids to get into small spaces and complex geometries that can be difficult to clean using other methods. The fluids also evaporate quickly, so parts come out of the process clean, dry and ready to move on.
For manufacturers processing large numbers of precision parts, that combination of cleaning performance, speed and repeatability can be particularly valuable.
Aerospace Parts Don't Make Cleaning Easy
There is rarely one contaminant, one material and one straightforward surface to clean.
Aerospace components may be made from aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, specialty alloys, polymers, elastomers and coated materials. A finished assembly may contain several of these materials at once.
The soils are just as varied. Manufacturers may need to remove:
So instead of simply asking, “What will remove this oil?”, it helps to look at the entire application.
What exactly needs to be removed? What is the part made from? Where is the contamination hiding? How clean does the component need to be? And perhaps most importantly, what happens to it next?
Those answers can completely change the cleaning recommendation.
Clean for What Comes Next
A part being prepared for adhesive bonding may have very different cleanliness requirements from one headed for inspection or mechanical assembly.
That is why a part simply looking clean isn't necessarily enough.
Residual oil, grease or other contamination can interfere with subsequent manufacturing steps. The cleaning process needs to consistently remove the unwanted soil while leaving the component and its surfaces ready for the next operation.
For the right aerospace application, vapor degreasing can offer several practical benefits:
The Right Fluid for the Right Job
Not every cleaning fluid performs the same way on every contaminant or material.
MicroCare offers Tergo™ Performance Fluids and other engineered fluids for precision vapor degreasing. Different formulations are available to address a range of manufacturing soils and process requirements.
For particularly stubborn contamination, Tergo™ HDF Heavy Degreasing Fluid is designed for difficult soils including heavy hydrocarbons, greases, waxes, caramelized residues and silicone oils.
Tergo HDF can be used in open-top and vacuum vapor degreasers and recovered through distillation. Its low surface tension and low viscosity can also help the fluid reach contamination in difficult areas of complex parts.
But more cleaning strength isn't always better.
A fluid that removes a heavy grease quickly isn't the right solution if it damages a polymer, affects a coating or creates problems during the next manufacturing step.
Fluid selection needs to consider the entire application: the soil, substrate, equipment, production requirements and what happens after cleaning.
Don't Guess. Test.
Sometimes a cleaning fluid looks like the obvious choice on paper. Put it on the actual part, however, and the result can be very different.
Alloys, plastics, elastomers, coatings and markings can respond differently to cleaning fluids. The condition of the contamination matters too. An oil that has been sitting on a component for a few hours may behave differently after it has been heated or allowed to age.
Part geometry, cleaning temperature, dwell time and equipment configuration can also influence the result.
This is why testing is such an important part of developing a precision cleaning process.
The MicroCare Critical Cleaning Lab gives manufacturers an opportunity to test actual parts and contaminants with the help of chemists, chemical engineers and technical specialists.
Instead of relying only on specifications and theoretical compatibility, manufacturers can see how a potential cleaning fluid and process perform under controlled conditions.
MicroCare Critical Cleaning Lab capabilities include:
For manufacturers considering a process change, that testing can answer important questions before a new fluid or cleaning method reaches the production floor.
Start With the Part, Not the Product
When a manufacturer brings MicroCare a difficult cleaning problem, our first question isn't, “Which product can we sell you?”
We start with the part.
What is it made from? What are you trying to remove? Has the contamination been heated, cured or polymerized? Is it sitting on an exposed surface or trapped deep inside the component? What equipment are you using? How many parts are you cleaning? And what needs to happen immediately afterward?
Once we understand those details, our technical experts can begin narrowing down the options.
Sometimes an existing MicroCare fluid is the answer. Sometimes the fluid is right, but the process needs to change. Adjusting dwell time, temperature or agitation may improve the result. Ultrasonics or spray-under-immersion may help reach difficult areas.
And occasionally, the application calls for a different cleaning approach altogether.
The objective isn't to make the process more complicated. It's to find the simplest, most reliable way to achieve the required result.
More Than a Cleaning Fluid
A successful vapor degreasing process is a combination of chemistry, equipment and process knowledge.
MicroCare technical experts work with manufacturers to understand how those pieces fit together. Support can begin with cleaning-fluid selection and laboratory testing and continue through process development, optimization and troubleshooting.
That can be especially valuable when a manufacturer is introducing a new part, replacing an existing cleaning fluid, bringing in new equipment or trying to understand why a cleaning process that once worked is no longer producing consistent results.
The cleaner in the machine makes a difference.
So does knowing how to use it.
Put Your Toughest Aerospace Cleaning Challenge to the Test
Aerospace components aren't getting simpler. Parts are becoming more intricate, tolerances tighter and manufacturing requirements more demanding.
Cleaning processes have to keep up.
Precision vapor degreasing can provide a fast, repeatable way to remove difficult contamination from complex aerospace components. But the best results come from matching the right cleaning fluid and process to the actual part.
That’s where the right expertise and testing make a difference.
Bring MicroCare your part, your contaminant and your cleaning challenge.
Our Critical Cleaning Lab and technical experts can test potential solutions, evaluate your application and help identify a precision cleaning process that works for your manufacturing requirements.
Ask a MicroCare Expert and put your toughest aerospace cleaning challenge to the test.
Machining oils, cutting fluids, grease, waxes, fingerprints and other residues can remain behind after machining and fabrication. Even small amounts of contamination can cause problems later, particularly when a component is headed for bonding, coating, plating, welding, sealing, inspection or final assembly.
Then there is the part itself. Blind holes, internal cavities, narrow channels, threaded features and tight tolerances can make contamination difficult to reach and even harder to remove consistently.
For aerospace manufacturers, cleaning is more than another box to check in the production process. Getting it right helps ensure the component is ready for whatever comes next.
That is where precision vapor degreasing can make a difference.
Why Vapor Degreasing Works Well for Complex Parts
Vapor degreasing uses specially engineered, low-boiling cleaning fluids to remove contamination from manufactured components.
Depending on the equipment and the application, parts can move through a combination of immersion, rinsing, vapor rinsing, ultrasonics or spray-under-immersion.
One of the advantages is the ability of low-surface-tension cleaning fluids to get into small spaces and complex geometries that can be difficult to clean using other methods. The fluids also evaporate quickly, so parts come out of the process clean, dry and ready to move on.
For manufacturers processing large numbers of precision parts, that combination of cleaning performance, speed and repeatability can be particularly valuable.
Aerospace Parts Don't Make Cleaning Easy
There is rarely one contaminant, one material and one straightforward surface to clean.
Aerospace components may be made from aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, specialty alloys, polymers, elastomers and coated materials. A finished assembly may contain several of these materials at once.
The soils are just as varied. Manufacturers may need to remove:
- Machining and cutting oils
- Heavy greases
- Hydraulic fluids
- Waxes
- Silicone oils
- Particulates
- Fingerprints
- Other processing residues
So instead of simply asking, “What will remove this oil?”, it helps to look at the entire application.
What exactly needs to be removed? What is the part made from? Where is the contamination hiding? How clean does the component need to be? And perhaps most importantly, what happens to it next?
Those answers can completely change the cleaning recommendation.
Clean for What Comes Next
A part being prepared for adhesive bonding may have very different cleanliness requirements from one headed for inspection or mechanical assembly.
That is why a part simply looking clean isn't necessarily enough.
Residual oil, grease or other contamination can interfere with subsequent manufacturing steps. The cleaning process needs to consistently remove the unwanted soil while leaving the component and its surfaces ready for the next operation.
For the right aerospace application, vapor degreasing can offer several practical benefits:
- Fast cleaning and drying
- Repeatable batch processing
- Effective cleaning of intricate geometries
- Reduced manual handling
- Consistent process control
- Cleaning-fluid recovery through distillation
- Integration into automated production processes
The Right Fluid for the Right Job
Not every cleaning fluid performs the same way on every contaminant or material.
MicroCare offers Tergo™ Performance Fluids and other engineered fluids for precision vapor degreasing. Different formulations are available to address a range of manufacturing soils and process requirements.
For particularly stubborn contamination, Tergo™ HDF Heavy Degreasing Fluid is designed for difficult soils including heavy hydrocarbons, greases, waxes, caramelized residues and silicone oils.
Tergo HDF can be used in open-top and vacuum vapor degreasers and recovered through distillation. Its low surface tension and low viscosity can also help the fluid reach contamination in difficult areas of complex parts.
But more cleaning strength isn't always better.
A fluid that removes a heavy grease quickly isn't the right solution if it damages a polymer, affects a coating or creates problems during the next manufacturing step.
Fluid selection needs to consider the entire application: the soil, substrate, equipment, production requirements and what happens after cleaning.
Don't Guess. Test.
Sometimes a cleaning fluid looks like the obvious choice on paper. Put it on the actual part, however, and the result can be very different.
Alloys, plastics, elastomers, coatings and markings can respond differently to cleaning fluids. The condition of the contamination matters too. An oil that has been sitting on a component for a few hours may behave differently after it has been heated or allowed to age.
Part geometry, cleaning temperature, dwell time and equipment configuration can also influence the result.
This is why testing is such an important part of developing a precision cleaning process.
The MicroCare Critical Cleaning Lab gives manufacturers an opportunity to test actual parts and contaminants with the help of chemists, chemical engineers and technical specialists.
Instead of relying only on specifications and theoretical compatibility, manufacturers can see how a potential cleaning fluid and process perform under controlled conditions.
MicroCare Critical Cleaning Lab capabilities include:
- Cleaning evaluations
- Solubility evaluations
- Non-volatile residue evaluations
- Cleaning-process failure analysis
- Process development
- Process-control recommendations
- Analytical services
- On-site cleaning audits
- In-lab cleaning trials
For manufacturers considering a process change, that testing can answer important questions before a new fluid or cleaning method reaches the production floor.
Start With the Part, Not the Product
When a manufacturer brings MicroCare a difficult cleaning problem, our first question isn't, “Which product can we sell you?”
We start with the part.
What is it made from? What are you trying to remove? Has the contamination been heated, cured or polymerized? Is it sitting on an exposed surface or trapped deep inside the component? What equipment are you using? How many parts are you cleaning? And what needs to happen immediately afterward?
Once we understand those details, our technical experts can begin narrowing down the options.
Sometimes an existing MicroCare fluid is the answer. Sometimes the fluid is right, but the process needs to change. Adjusting dwell time, temperature or agitation may improve the result. Ultrasonics or spray-under-immersion may help reach difficult areas.
And occasionally, the application calls for a different cleaning approach altogether.
The objective isn't to make the process more complicated. It's to find the simplest, most reliable way to achieve the required result.
More Than a Cleaning Fluid
A successful vapor degreasing process is a combination of chemistry, equipment and process knowledge.
MicroCare technical experts work with manufacturers to understand how those pieces fit together. Support can begin with cleaning-fluid selection and laboratory testing and continue through process development, optimization and troubleshooting.
That can be especially valuable when a manufacturer is introducing a new part, replacing an existing cleaning fluid, bringing in new equipment or trying to understand why a cleaning process that once worked is no longer producing consistent results.
The cleaner in the machine makes a difference.
So does knowing how to use it.
Put Your Toughest Aerospace Cleaning Challenge to the Test
Aerospace components aren't getting simpler. Parts are becoming more intricate, tolerances tighter and manufacturing requirements more demanding.
Cleaning processes have to keep up.
Precision vapor degreasing can provide a fast, repeatable way to remove difficult contamination from complex aerospace components. But the best results come from matching the right cleaning fluid and process to the actual part.
That’s where the right expertise and testing make a difference.
Bring MicroCare your part, your contaminant and your cleaning challenge.
Our Critical Cleaning Lab and technical experts can test potential solutions, evaluate your application and help identify a precision cleaning process that works for your manufacturing requirements.
Ask a MicroCare Expert and put your toughest aerospace cleaning challenge to the test.