Old Archives - BFK Solutions LLC

June 2021

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at June 2021

Life Forms in Process Baths

Microbes could be growing in your cleaning process bath. Minimize unwanted microbes to achieve a more consistent, productive manufacturing process. Those of you not involved in producing pharmaceuticals or in final assembly of medical devices may think microbial contamination doesn’t apply. Think again! Let’s consider conditions that you and I […]

March 2021

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at March 2021

Fascinating Botanicals, Challenging Residue

In contrast with animals, plants don’t poop. While plants may release volatile chemicals, like pheromones and fragrances, more often they produce and store a wide variety of complex compounds. These chemicals may be useful not only to the plants themselves but also to people. Refined plant materials or extracts are […]

March 2021

Published by Barbara and Edward Kanegsberg at March 2021

The Price of Time and the Product Quality Cleaning Workshop21

We start with a shameless plug for the Product Quality Cleaning Workshop21 (PQCW21). The May workshop is virtual, convenient, cost-effective, and informative. PQCW21 provides the skills to become the expert that saves your company time, money and aggravation. PQCW21 gives you the weapons to defend critical cleaning process choices to […]

January 2021

Published by Barbara and Edward Kanegsberg at January 2021

Azeotropes – Critical cleaning with “Best Friend” Molecules

Some children hang out together constantly – they are inseparable. Many solvent blends for critical cleaning applications are marketed as “azeotropes” or “azeotrope-like”. In some ways azeotropes behave like childhood best friends – under certain conditions, the molecules seem inseparable. As a product manufacturer, it makes great business sense to […]

December 2020

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at December 2020

‘Tis the Season for Trichloroethylene (and Other Halogenated Solvents)

‘Tis the season to be brave – to get educated, to speak up, to consider your critical cleaning options, to strategize. The U.S. EPA, under what is sometimes referred to as TSCA reform, is looking not only at the environmental impact of certain chemicals but also at worker exposure. As […]

November 2020

Published by Ed Kanegsberg at November 2020

Stuck At The Edge; The boundary layer

Cleaning requires dislodging a soil and carrying it away from a surface. For this to happen, the cleaning or rinse fluid must energetically access the surface. However, a boundary layer of liquid with reduced flow velocities can impede cleaning. A similar effect occurs in flowing waterways, like a river or […]

September 2020

Published by Barbara Kanegsberg at September 2020

Critical Cleaning and Sedimentary Rock

Cleaning processes tend to build up; one layer of cleaning is added to another. The overall cleaning process becomes something that resembles sedimentary rock (or, to the surface of the desk of the Rocket Scientist). Recently, a manufacturing engineer involved in optics fabrication, called to brainstorm and, frankly, to vent. […]

August 2020

Published by Barbara and Edward Kanegsberg at August 2020

Human Factors in Critical Cleaning

“To err is human, to forgive divine,” Alexander Pope (1) To err is not an option in critical product cleaning. The stark reality for manufacturers is that error leads to low yields, unsatisfied customers, lost business. Error, often resulting from ineffective or avoided critical product cleaning, can jeopardize patients, passengers, […]

July 2020

Published by Barbara and Edward Kanegsberg at July 2020

Cleaning Perspective– parts2clean, Part II

For new perspectives on effective cleaning, simply go to a trade show. What trade shows? Explore cleaning options by continuing our virtual tour of the 2019 parts2clean trade fair in Stuttgart. In the first installment of “Cleaning Perspective “(1), we discussed cyclic nucleation, laser and CO2 processes. We continue with […]