Enhancing Efficiency and Eco-Friendly Practices: A Case Study of Equipment and Chemistry Evaluation
This case study focuses on a contract manufacturer’s pursuit of evaluating new cleaning equipment and aligning with eco-friendly practices. The CM sought to upgrade their cleaning equipment and chemistry to optimize their operations and meet internal ISO 14001 goals. The CM was using water-soluble paste and had previously recognized the limitations of using DI-water so understood that a water-based cleaning agent was required for reliability. ZESTRON, a comprehensive provider of cleaning solutions, offered a one-stop shop to evaluate different equipment and chemistries in their Manassas, VA technical center.
THE PROBLEM: Equipment Upgrade and Process Optimization
The customer sent boards to ZESTRON, where a dedicated Applications Engineer facilitated trials in the ZESTRON technical center. With an extensive amount of equipment in the technical center the customer chose two different batch machines and an inline system to be evaluated along with two ZESTRON cleaning agents, Hydron® WS 400 and Vigon® NX 728. Both cleaning agents are known for their environmental advantages over the customer’s current process. Hydron® WS 400 offered low VOC properties, while Vigon® NX 728 boasted a pH-neutral composition.
Following the completion of the trials, ZESTRON provided the customer with a comprehensive technical report, free of charge. The report included detailed results of visual inspections and ion chromatography analysis, allowing for a thorough evaluation of the cleaning effectiveness of each equipment tested and chemistry combination.
Armed with the technical report and trial outcomes, the CM received the boards back from ZESTRON and proceeded with additional steps at their facility, then incorporating further inspections into their workflow. Based on the specific needs and throughput requirements, an equipment and chemistry combination were selected by the customer.
Through collaboration with ZESTRON the CM successfully evaluated different cleaning equipment and chemistry options to improve process efficiency and promote eco-friendly practices. The trials and subsequent analysis provided valuable insights into the suitability of each equipment and chemistry combination. By selecting the optimal solution based on their requirements, the contract manufacturer was able to enhance their cleaning process, align with ISO 14001 goals, and further improve their overall operations.
SOURCE: Zestron’s Cleaning Chronicles
