Understanding technical cleanliness: importance, assessment, maintenance

Abstract

Development of the automotive industry, including so-called dowsizing and rightsizing, entails the need to ensure, and hence to verify, the stringent cleanliness levels of an increasing number of car components. The assurance of proper cleanliness level requires knowledge of the entire production process and precise information on the contaminants that will allow to identify their sources. Obtaining reliable cleanliness information requires establishing of many different factors, i. a. selection of proper contamination extraction and collection technique, proper parameters of extraction, validation of extraction procedure, methods of particles analysis. Analytical techniques which are implemented include gravimetric, optical microscopy and advanced techniques like scanning electron microscopy. This work present’s actual state of knowledge regarding technical cleanliness analysis of components. Important aspects of QA&QC in technical cleanliness assessment are also discussed.