What Are Cleaning Agents
Cleaning Agents are equipment that remove dirt and make parts clean to meet requirements.
If contamination does not occur and adhere during the manufacturing process of a part, or if the part’s requirement level is met in terms of cleanliness, no cleaning agent or equipment is needed.
Types of Cleaning Agents
Cleaning methods can be broadly divided into the following two categories:
1. Wet Cleaning
Wet cleaning is a method in which the object to be cleaned is doused with a wet liquid cleaning agent and the dirt is wiped off. Typical equipment used for this are ultrasonic cleaning equipment, which are often used to remove contaminants such as machining oil that have adhered to parts during the production process. Cleaning is usually done in batches, with the parts to be cleaned placed in a bath filled with solvent and the equipment operated for a certain period of time. Test washes are performed to determine the vibration frequency and duration, depending on the type and degree of contamination.
The cleaning solution is usually selected based on the type of contamination and the material of the workpiece. For machined parts, the majority of cleaning is for degreasing, chips, and dust, so aqueous solutions are generally neutral to alkaline with surfactants as the main ingredient. Non-aqueous systems include solvent- and hydrocarbon-based systems. Solvent-based systems include fluorinated, brominated, and alcohol-based systems. There are four types of hydrocarbon systems: normal paraffinic, isoparaffinic, naphthenic, and aromatic.
In wet cleaning, the drying process of the wet media as a post-cleaning treatment is also an important factor in the finished product.
2. Dry Cleaning
Dry cleaning is a process using plasma or vacuum ultraviolet light. Dry cleaning has the advantage of requiring no solvent and no drying process. For accuracy, gases are used as media, but these processes are not required.
Cleaning Agents and Semiconductors
In the semiconductor manufacturing process, both wet and dry cleaning methods are used, but dry cleaning is most commonly done.