Cleaning equipment

The cleaning equipment technology at Fraunhofer FEP offers innovative and reliable solutions for the thorough and precise pretreatment of surfaces. Using state-of-the-art cleaning processes, such as wet chemical cleaning, plasma cleaning, and special dry cleaning processes, substrates are optimally prepared for subsequent coating processes.

Our equipemt is designed for the efficient removal of particles, organic residues, and other contaminants, ensuring high surface cleanliness and maximum adhesion of coatings. Thanks to individually adjustable process parameters, different substrate materials and sizes can be treated, enabling a flexible and customized cleaning solution. Continuous process monitoring and optimization contribute to high quality and reproducibility of the cleaning processes.

• Aqueous ultrasonic cleaning
• 6 basins with a capacity of 100 liters per basin
• Flexible control of individual ultrasonic generators
• Variations in the direction, frequency and power of the ultrasound
• Adaptation of cleaning processes to various contaminants and components
• Automated sequence of cleaning processes in six basins
• Practical training on the system possible, e.g. via the LinTR learning laboratory
• Training possible on a test component with typical industrial geometries and materials

• Pilot-scale plant for the production of plasma-treated liquids
• Dissolution and fixation of reactive species (nitrogen, oxygen) in the liquid through plasma treatment
• Variation of production parameters (frequency, flow rate, process gas, base fluid, duration)
• Volume per production process up to 20 L
• Production of liquids with different compositions

Tasks

• Hygienization of surfaces and liquids
• Removal of organic impurities
• Also suitable for temperature-sensitive materials

CO₂ snow jet cleaning is a so-called "dry" cleaning process and thus prevents corrosion caused by cleaning. The technology works with liquid CO₂, which is pumped from a storage cylinder. As it escapes, it expands to form so-called CO₂ snow, which is directed onto the items to be cleaned at high speed using compressed air. Small amounts of both filmic and particulate contamination are dissolved there, as the cleaning effect is based on several effects: the contamination is loosened by mechanical force, sublimation, thermal and solvent-like effects and removed from the surface by the effect of the compressed air. At the same time, the use of CO₂ as a cleaning medium results in a residue-free surface. The component is then immediately ready for use.

The technology is very gentle on the surface, as there is practically no deep penetration into the material.

Application examples

• Ultra-fine cleaning of sensitive surfaces such as electronics or optical systems
• The prime application is the removal of fingerprints from polished paintwork, polymers or metal surfaces

• Vacuum blast method without high pressure
• Minimally abrasive vacuum blasting, also known as negative pressure or soft blasting
• Vacuum blasting process in which the granulate is drawn out of the storage container for cleaning by the vacuum generated in the blasting hood and accelerated to 400 km/h in the blasting lance
• Dirt and paint are quickly removed from the surface thanks to the high impact speed of the blasting agent
• For cleaning of:
  • cleaning and exposing corroded steel surfaces for restoration
  • fire damage restoration
  • saltpetre removal
  • graffiti, facades, floor cleaning and much more
• Advantages of cleaning technology
  • no high pressure (max. – 220 mbar negative pressure)
  • free choice of blasting media (from very sensitive to highly abrasive)
  • no water or chemicals, low blasting media consumption
  • can be used in clean rooms
  • no protective measures necessary
  • low noise level
  • no hazardous waste produced
  • 100% CO2 neutral

For thin-film applications, an optical roll-to-roll inspection system is required that meets the defect resolution requirement down to the 1 μm range.

The Fraunhofer FEP has developed a winding/rewinding system with an integrated optical inspection system that is installed in an ISO class 6 clean room.

The web inspection system, consisting of CCD line scan cameras, is a powerful instrument for detecting defects in uniformly running web products. The system can automatically detect both bright (light scattering) and dark (light absorbing) defects that deviate from the normal product in terms of contrast or topography. From this, a defect map is generated which shows the positions of the defects along and across the web. The defects are classified according to their brightness and shape.

Our offer

• Measurement of surface roughness using an atomic force microscope
• 100 % strip inspection
• High-resolution defect analysis from defect sizes 1 μm
• Determination of defect density
• Separate defect density determination of individual defect types
• Thermal infrared measurement
• Luminescence Current-voltage measurement
  
• White light interferometry

• Combines various wet-chemical processes for optimum cleaning of sheets, small parts made of metal, glass or plastic, as well as metal strips
• Fully automatic cleaning with cleaning bath and process control
• 2 cleaning baths
• Ultrasonically enhanced cleaning
• Three-fold rinsing
• Nitrogen injection into the rinsing bath
• Rinsing by spraying
• Hot air drying
• Application of intermediate layers possible for surface protection  

Substrates

• Metal strips (width up to 300 mm, thickness up to 1.5 mm, weight up to 1000 kg
• Sheets and components made of metal, glass or plastic in transport baskets
  • sheets of size up to 500 mm × 500 mm
  • components of size up to 450 mm × 450 mm × 300 mm and weight up to 50 kg