TABLE OF CONTENTS Metal parts, as manufactured, may contain residues of lubricants, shop dirt and dust, abrasives, splinters of materials, and a host of other impurities or contaminants. Often these parts have to be cleaned in order to prepare the surface for some other finishing process, such as painting or other coating application.
The proper cleaning method of such parts must be well chosen, with many factors in mind. First, the type of soil or contaminant to be removed has to be identified, since a different method of surface cleaning is needed for removal of grease than for metal chips. The surface requirements of the finished part must be taken into account in order not to use a method which may become detrimental to some special feature of the product. As an example, openings for certain sheet-metal hardware should not be deburred, as the roughness of one side is important for its installation.
Further, the problem has to be assessed with regard to the subsequent finishing processes, while bearing in mind the cleaning capacities of the particular company or plant.
There are several methods of parts cleaning, each using a different principle and each being applicable to a different range of cleaning applications. Some attack the elements to be removed by mechanical means; others use chemical compounds or steam or electrolytes or ultrasound, salt baths, and other variations. Main categories of these cleaning processes are listed below.
Mechanical cleaning utilizes a mechanical action of abrasives and...
