For machine shops, metal fabrication work-spaces, and the industry at large, cleaning the metal product is a necessity. This becomes even more important for those shops that are making metal products with tight tolerances. Cutting oils, chips, dust, turnings, and more should be removed. All contaminants and residue of polish need to be removed before the metals products can be shipped. Cleaning metal parts before their shipment is a must for the industry. No matter what is the size of the facility where metals parts are being cleaned, a powerful rust cleaner for metals like an ultrasonic cleaner probably is the best solution. By using the best quality Rust Cleaner for Metal, one can achieve optimum cleaning of parts.
Industry experts point out correctly that the process of metal forming has one of the most critical operations, which is preparing it for the finishing operations. Plating of metal parts, painting, chroming of metal parts or even e-coating requires the parts to be compatible and ready for the finishing process. For any process to be successful in terms of its quality, proper cleaning metal parts is essential.
Many company’s even employ strong testing programs to check the effectiveness and quality of the various cleaning methods. This is sometimes done after the part is cleaned and has undergone welding or painting.
Techniques for cleaning metals parts
Metal cleaning has two most important and frequently used cleaning techniques. One of them is degreasing and the other one is passivation. There are other processes as well that involve removing debris from metals parts using deburring and electropolishing. Let’s look at how the above-mentioned processes work.
Degreasing: Aqueous and vapour
Aqueous and vapour degreasing is at the top of the list for metal cleaning.
Aqueous degreasing is accomplished either by in-line spray or even by immersing metal parts in acidic or alkaline water-based cleaning solution to remove any kind of stamping. Cleaning of metals parts becomes easy with the introduction of ultrasonics, that aid in the removal of residues.
Vapour degreasing includes the placement of cold parts inside the degreaser to be cleaned by solvent vapours. These solvent vapours condense on the metal part and help in dissolving the oils or any other contaminants. Until the condensation comes to a stop, the parts are heated and the solvent drains out. There are other ways as well for vapour degreasing. In one of those, you use ultrasonics for the Metal Surface Cleaner and immerse the parts and add rotation. Ultrasonics are usually used for smaller or even fragile components.
It’s important to achieve the desired result of the industry while caring for the environment. Over a period of time operations involved in degreasing have become pro-environment. Now, less toxic solvents are used and the run-off oils can be distilled and even processed. Vapour degreasing is an easy as well as essential solution as it is compatible with metals including stainless steel, aluminium, bronze and many more. In the case of more fragile stampings, vapour degreasing is very successful. For those situations where intensive cleaning is required, for example, cleaning of medical device parts, again vapour degreasing works wonders. As opposed to this, aqueous degreasing is great for metal parts where water-soluble lubricants have been used for stamping.
Cleaning metal parts using passivation
When stamped metals parts are immersed in nitric acid or citric acid in order to remove free iron or any other contaminants, it is called passivation. This process helps in removing any unwanted particles that were introduced during the stamping process. When metal parts are treated like this, they form a layer or a film-like coating of chromium oxide and this does not let rust or corrosion destroy the metal part. This also enhances the sterilization of the metal part.
Passivation is great and works wonders in situations where high-volumes of metals parts need to be cleaned and made rust-free. However, passivation does not offer a smooth appearance or even resistance against corrosion as compared to the more expensive electropolishing technique. Stainless steel parts usually employ the passivation technique, titanium or even some other metals may also undergo this process. Aluminium, carbon steel, and copper cannot withstand acids that are used in the passivation process.
For a successful metal cleaning process, choosing the right Metal Rust Clean process is a must. An expert understanding of the type, strength, fragility, size of the metals, the level of cleanliness required, and also the metal finish that will follow the stamping process is a must.
Zavenir is a growing company that manufactures speciality chemicals for the metalworking, paint shop, and corrosion protection. Zavenir delivers outstanding solutions as per the global market demands and at affordable prices. The company envisions to evolve into a globally recognized, technology-driven, innovative group of businesses focused on harnessing growth in the range of speciality chemicals with an aim to have products used in every business and household.