Effective Vapor Degreasing Operations

Cleaning can be an expensive step in the production process, but its value can be measured based on losses that would be incurred without these procedures. Are reject rates kept to a minimum? Are subsequent surface finishing operations consistently successful?

In some critical applications such as medical and aerospace, the importance of the part finish is obvious. But in others it might not be so clear. In either case, though, when the parts go out the door, the customers better be happy with what they receive. The further into the production schedule that flaws are found, the more costly they become, and when they’re found while in the customer’s hands, the biggest expense may be the loss of future business.

In the article "Appreciating the Value of Secondary Production Processes," we look at a job shop that offers services for parts cleaning, impregnating and final leak testing. About half of the parts the company processes go through its closed-loop vapor degreasing system with built-in distillation, heated vacuum solvent recovery. With low emissions and more than 97-percent recovery from the waste stream, this system performs very effective deep cleaning and drying on complex features.