Industrial Degreasers – Ensuring Quality in Manufacturing

Taster: Many manufacturing and re-manufacturing processes require the use of petroleum products. If the are in the wrong place, quality can suffer. To ensure that your products are of the best possible quality, using an industrial degreaser is essential.

During manufacturing processes, oils and greases are often used. If these are not thoroughly removed from the work piece, they can interfere with subsequent operations, weakening bonds between surface coatings or joints. Industrial degreasers are therefore a crucial element of your production. If you select the wrong one, or one that does not work consistently well, your company’s reputation for quality could well be on the line.

Choosing A Degreaser

There are two main families of industrial degreaser, solvent based and aqueous i.e water based. Solvent based degreasers are frequently used in the electronics and automotive industries whilst aqueous based products are commonly used for degreasing metals prior to coating and for cleaning machinery and heavy equipment. APT offer you a range of surface cleansers, covering virtually all manufacturing areas.

The Electronics Industry

Soldering fluxes are petroleum based. Despite that, the slightest traces of oil or grease on the surfaces to be joined can impair the effectiveness of the bond, leaving it weaker than expected with the potential for premature failure.

After soldering, all traces of the flux need to be removed in order to avoid corrosion issues.

Solvent based industrial degreasers, for example Lec 3, Kagez 703 and Microtec 41-80 from APT, are formulated to remove all traces of contaminants and flux thus ensuring that your product will meet your quality control standards, however stringent. They are chlorine free and evaporate quickly and completely leaving no surface residue.

Surface Coating

Whether your company produces painted panels, anodised aluminium parts or plastic coated items, you need to ensure that thorough cleaning takes place prior to the finishing processes. Inefficient removal of manufacturing oils, greases and other surface contamination will lead to poor coating adherence.

Water based industrial degreasers such as UltraMax OPT, Industrial Metal Cleaner are the perfect solution for filling your dip tank or ultrasonic bath.

We appreciate that the needs of anodised aluminium producers are very specific. Traditionally, you will have used caustic products, however, APT produce a non-caustic alkaline cleaner, Metasoak HDI. This powerful product degreases aluminium thoroughly, leaving your aluminium parts ready for etching prior to the final anodising process.

Re-manufacturing

Parts for re-manufacturing will almost inevitably arrive in a dirty state. Much of this contamination is likely to be bound in oil or grease and can be removed using solvent or aqueous based degreasing products. For small parts re-manufacturers, a citrus based solvent degreaser like Citrus RTU in a parts cleaner proves a cost effective and efficient solution.

Parts that have been subjected to high temperature use such as engines and engine parts can also have heavily carbonised areas. APT’s Carb Clean solvent based degreaser has been specially formulated to remove this tough coating.

In Conclusion

Removal of surface contamination is an integral part of any manufacturing process. If you compromise on this important step, your customer complaints department will probably find itself increasingly busy!

Choose the right industrial degreaser to ensure that your manufacturing quality standards are maintained. APT do not compromise on quality of raw materials thus giving you the confidence and peace of mind that this link in the manufacturing chain will not let you down.