Old Archives

Process monitoring takes more and more time; and it costs more and more money.  Examples include air in the room and air that is released to the environment, water before during and at the end of the process, assorted liquid chemicals for cleaning, metalworking fluids, other process chemicals, process gasses, […]

Cousin Samantha (Sam) insisted, “you’ve got to take a look at Lake Mendocino; it will change your whole outlook.” We were in Northern California for a winter break.  I groaned inwardly. I know about the drought in California. I wanted to do a wine tasting, not look at a lake.  […]

Location means everything when you’re buying or selling a house. Location is also important in critical cleaning, especially with line-of-sight cleaning. In line-of-sight cleaning, the cleaning force is directionally-aimed at the part or component. Do you use line-of-sight cleaning?  Most electronics assemblers remove flux and other residual soils using in-line […]

Suppliers of cleaning chemistry or cleaning equipment may claim their product “successfully cleans” heavy greases, particles, fluxes, and other soils. Private companies, military, and governmental agencies report successful cleaning in selecting a particular cleaning agent. What does “successful cleaning” actually mean for your manufacturing process? Success is a matter of […]

Last year, our vacation was a day and an evening in Cleveland. Cleveland has much to offer – the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, innovative restaurants!  Truth be told, our vacations end up getting squeezed in around conferences and committee meetings.  Recently, our travels have taken us to PCx […]

If you are involved in manufacturing, if you are part of a supply chain, rugged critical cleaning processes will improve your productivity and profitability. You may be an OEM, a job shop, even a repair/rework facility. You may be the ultimate customer and have little or no direct contact with […]

I was in the middle of my program “Cleaning Catastrophes” at the Parts Cleaning Expo (PCx) in Columbus. The sea of faces in the audience brightened expectantly when I began the topic of mixing acetone with water or with aqueous cleaners.  I had to squelch everyone’s enthusiasm by explaining that […]