Boost Business: Market Clean Surfaces

I presented a case study outlining how a client selected a new cleaning process. After the talk, one of the client’s customers commented that the care and effort expended in developing this quality cleaning process was fantastic. The take-home lesson is that cleaning components is important not only for successful manufacturing, but also for establishing a crucial differentiator in marketing.

When a customer selects a shop, price and service are major considerations. Products must also satisfy specifications for materials, dimensions, and configurations. Increasingly, as products become smaller and more complex and with the growth of additive manufacturing, the definition of the surface and the part itself are becoming one and the same. This is where critical product cleaning makes all the difference.

Cleaning, removing soil or matter out of place, is value-added. Adding that value means critical cleaning, performing the correct cleaning procedures at the right places and times before shipping a product.

A shop that takes the proper steps in the proper sequence, selects appropriate cleaning agents, and communicates those efforts can impress its customers, turn quotes into projects, and, ultimately, gain market share.

Skip the Shortcuts

Cleanliness is not necessarily a product specification per se. Too often, however, job shop customers experience the negative impact of inadequate component surface cleaning during downstream processes. For example, inadequate cleaning of helicoils may not be detected immediately but can show up weeks or months later when residual metalworking fluids interfere with final assembly. Tapping and other cutting fluids may be water-soluble, but the processes used to eliminate those fluids can result in chemical changes that make residues more adherent.

The overall cleaning processes must remove soils that are of concern to your customers without causing damage to the parts or an unexpected alteration in the surface chemistry.

Cutting corners during cleaning and/or rinsing steps can result in a residue of metalworking lubricants and of the cleaning agent chemistry itself. If the part is then coated, the defect caused by improper or insufficient cleaning may show up immediately as poor adhesion. Even if the part passes official adhesion tests, problems may become apparent during final assembly or, even worse, cause a catastrophic product failure in the field.

Some companies may attempt to cut production costs by doing minimal, or even no, cleaning. The assumption may be that the process can be eliminated because the customer includes cleaning as one of its own procedures. Some final assemblers do attempt to clean all incoming parts; however, expecting the customer to take care of the cleaning requirements can be a recipe for disaster. Soils trapped in crevices or on the part surface have a way of leaching out, and cured or dried dirt can be very challenging to remove.

Find the Tipping Points

Just as we say “ready, aim, fire,” there is a logical sequence to successful, cost-effective manufacturing, and it includes soil removal that leaves the material surface with characteristics that are appropriate for the next step.

To market those cleaning processes, establish reliable, effective, documented procedures. Every step needs to be logical, and you should have a full understanding of each operation—what it accomplishes and how it interacts with the components being produced.

A marketable cleaning process need not be costly. In most cases, putting marketable cleaning processes in place does not mean investing in cleanrooms or purchasing costly equipment. It means cleaning smarter; cleaning strategically. This means understanding what each customer needs.

To effectively market cleaning, you have to determine the tipping points in your own processes where effective cleaning will make a positive difference in the products going to your customers.

Then tell your customers. Make it part of your advertising and marketing. Just as price and on-time delivery are important selling points, a product that is hassle-free and reliable because you have paid attention to cleaning is a part of your competitive advantage.

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