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Trial Number 3

Client Number 7

Project Number 1

Trial Purpose:

Testing of four cleaners for Plating Job Shop

Date Run:

06/08/1995

Experiment Procedure:

The purpose of this trial is to find a cleaner that would be suitable for the needs of Plating Job Shop. A lift test was performed first. Melted Wax was poured in an Aluminum weighing dish. A heat gun was aimed at the Aluminum dish so that the wax would not solidify. Four different cleaners were tested against the Grace Daraclean 294xx (the best performing cleaner tested to date). These cleaners were Oakite Inproclean #3800, Oakite Inproclean #4000T, International Products Corp. Micro and Chem-Tech International Inc. CT-1 multipurpose cleaner. One drop of concentrated solution of each cleaner was placed in the dish of melted wax and the wax dispersion was noted. All of the cleaners except the International Products Corp. Micro compared well to the Grace Daraclean 294xx. Thus the Micro was not further evaluated. 
The three cleaners that performed well in the lift test were then used in a cleaning trial similar to previous for Plating Job Shop. Four coupons were cleaned in each cleaner (one of each substrate). For each cleaner the coupons were cleaned in two separate beakers. Beaker #1 contained the Aluminum and Copper coupons while Beaker #2 contained the Brass and Steel coupons. 
The coupons were weighed before and after contamination. The cleaning was performed in an air sparged beaker for 20 minutes at 150 F. The coupons were then rinsed for 5 minutes at 150 F in a tap water bath aggitated with air sparging. Drying was performed by running the coupons through air knives for two minutes and then placing the coupons in a convection ovenfor 90 minutes at 120 F. The coupons were cooled down overnight and weighed the next morning.

Trial Results:

The Oakite Inproclean 4000T did an exceptional job of cleaning each substrate. There was no signs of etching, in fact the Inproclean 4000T removed all of the oxide that was previously on the copper coupon. The Aluminum coupon showed a large amount of wax spotted on one side but the other side of the coupon was very clean. This spotting is most likely the result of dragout. The most negative aspect of the Daraclean 294xx is after the trial, when the solution cooled down, the cleaner started to partially solidify. This would propose a great problem with bath life and reusability of the cleaner.

The Oakite Inproclean #3800 performed excellent on all substrates except for the copper. A thin film of wax was left on the copper coupon. This could be resolved with either a higher temperature or higher agitation. There was no etching on any substrate. The wax readily separated from the cleaning solution making it very easy to remove upon cooling. The one problem that was encountered was the foaming of the Inproclean #3800.

Although performing well in removing the wax, the Aluminum coupons were etched pretty bad by the CT-1. There was also the problem of a large amount of foam generated by the air sparging. A reduction in the cleaner concentration would probably solve both problems but the vendor claims 20% is the greatest efficiency for the cleaner.

EXPERIMENTAL DATA LOG

                                                    GRAVIMENTRIC ANALYSIS

sample # and substrate clean mass (g) mass with contamination (g) mass after cleaning (g) contaminant removed (g) Percent Removal
#21 Al 20.9934 22.7973 20.9977 1.7996 99.76%
#1758 Cu 35.1760 36.2230 35.1751 1.0479 100.09%
#1803 Br 34.1807 35.2509 34.1826 1.0683 99.82%
#46 Steel 162.9043 164.5036 162.8918 1.6118 100.78%
#11 Al 20.9846 22.1741 20.9840 1.1901 100.05%
#4407 Cu 35.4422 36.5618 35.4547 1.1071 98.88%
#4801 Br 34.4818 35.5275 34.4810 1.0465 100.08%
#55 Steel 156.7471 158.2888 156.7472 1.5416 99.99%
#23 Al 20.9820 23.0850 20.9811 2.1039 100.04%
#2744 Cu 35.2751 36.4564 35.2770 1.1794 99.84%
#3130 Br 34.3138 35.2844 34.3128 0.9716 100.10%
#49 Steel 151.3639 152.9239 151.3685 1.5554 99.71%

Success Rating:

Results successful using TACT (time, agitation, concentration, and temperature, as well as rinsing and drying) and/or other cleaning chemistries examined.

Conclusion:

From the three trials performed, it appears that the Oakite Inproclean #3800 is the most effective cleaner for Plating Job Shop's needs.  The only concerns are the large amounts of foam that is created by the air sparging and the ineffective cleaning on the copper coupon.  Reduction in concentration should be considered as well as chemical defoamers to reduce the foam level.

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