Definitions
Cleaning Processes and Equipment Concepts

A cleaning process where parts are exposed to hot solvent vapour that condenses on the part, dissolving contamination and then evaporating cleanly.

Advanced Vapour Degreasing. A fully sealed, near-zero-emission, multi-stage cleaning system combining spray wash, immersion, vapour rinse and vacuum drying. Find out more here: AVD

Manually cleaning parts in solvent at room temperature, typically by dip, brush or spray, without using heated vapour.

Cleaning to exceptionally low residue and particulate levels, required in aerospace, medical, optical and semiconductor work.

Removing flux residues from electronic assemblies (such as PCBs) after soldering to prevent corrosion and electrical faults.

Water-based cleaning processes using detergents or alkaline/neutral chemistries, often in automated washers.

Cleaning that uses a chemical fluid (rather than water) to dissolve oils, greases, fluxes and other soils.

A cleaning process that uses two fluids in sequence, typically a higher-solvency ‘wash’ fluid followed by a lower-boiling ‘rinse’ fluid.

The amount of contamination a cleaning fluid can absorb before it needs refreshing; higher soil loading means less downtime.

The two tanks in a vapour degreaser- the boil sump heats dirty solvent, the rinse sump holds clean distilled solvent for final cleaning.

Small, unintended releases of solvent vapour from equipment seals or openings. AVD systems are engineered to minimise these.

High-frequency sound waves used in a cleaning bath to create microscopic bubbles that dislodge contamination from intricate parts.

Industry shorthand for contamination severity. For example, fingerprints and particulates are ‘light’, heavy greases and polishing compounds are ‘heavy’.

Holes drilled partway into a component that are hard to clean and dry because fluid can become trapped inside them.

Highly specialised cleaning of parts that will contact pure oxygen (e.g. aerospace or medical gas systems), where any hydrocarbon residue could ignite. Products such as Opteon™ SF30 or Vertrel® MCA – an approved chemistry for Oxygen cleaning applications and meets the ASTM G93 standards can be used.

Using a carrier fluid to deliver a thin, even coating of lubricant onto components (e.g. hard-disk-drive assembly).

A fluid used to transport another substance (adhesive, lubricant, coating) to a surface before evaporating cleanly away.