Trial Purpose:
To evaluate top three cleaners on supplied parts
Date Run:
05/18/2004Experiment Procedure:
Three cleaners were selected from the previous trial and were diluted to 5% using DI water in 600 ml beakers heated to 120 F on a hot plate. Three pieces of titanium tubing were coated with all the oils and the flux at one time. Each part was cleaned in one solution for five minutes using an immersion process.
In addition, one titanium part with sharpie ink, another titanium part with printing ink, one steel part and one carbon fiber part were cleaned in two of the three products in an identical manner. The Today & Beyond was not used to clean a carbon fiber part (not enough pieces). One welded part with flux residue was cleaned in one solution (half of the part was immersed into SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner) for five minutes. Then the part was cleaned in a second solution (the other half was immersed into Micro 90) for five minutes.
The whole part was rinsed in tap water at 120 F for 15 seconds and dried using air blow off. Visual observations were made to determine which products were the most successful at cleaning the supplied parts.
Contaminants Cleaned: Tapping fluid, Castrol Industries Moly Dee Tapping fluid (63449-39-8, 64741-96-4); Tapping fluid, Master Chemical Corp Trim C270 (102-71-6, 63231-48-1, 141-43-5); Oil, Exxon Mobil DTE Light; Oil, Peanut Oil; Wolverine Ultra Flux (1332-77-0, 10043-35-3, 7789-29-9, 11128-29-3, 151-21-3); Ink, Sharpie Marker; Ink, Printed ink
Trial Results:
The table lists the observations made during the cleaning of the different parts.
| Product | Substrate | Contaminant | Observations |
| SC Aircraft & Metal | Removed oil and flux easily | ||
| Micro 90 | Titanium | Oils & Flux | Removed oil and flux easily |
| Beyond 2004 | Removed oil and flux easily | ||
| SC Aircraft & Metal | Ink-Sharpie | Ink easily wiped off | |
| Micro 90 | Ink wiped off with some effort | ||
| Beyond 2004 | Ink required most | ||
| SC Aircraft & Metal | Ink-Printed | Started to dissolve ink. | Easily wiped off |
| Micro 90 | Required effort to remove ink | ||
| Beyond 2004 | Required effort to remove ink | ||
| SC Aircraft & Metal | Steel | Oil | Appeared clean |
| Micro 90 | Appeared clean | ||
| Beyond 2004 | Appeared clean | ||
| SC Aircraft & Metal | Titanium, Steel | Flux | Dissolved flux, may have had some rust |
| Micro 90 | Dissolved flux, may have had some rust |
Success Rating:
Results suggest a scale-up feasible match for cleaning chemistry and equipment. Pilot plant study with actual parts recommended.Conclusion:
The SC Aircraft & Metal Cleaner and Micro 90 appear to well suited for cleaning all supplied contaminants using immersion cleaning. The Beyond 2004 required slightly more effort to remove inks but was effective at removing the oil and flux.
