Choosing Ideal Detergent for Cleaning Metal Parts
Q. We are currently writing a protocol for conducting a process validation activity for our cleaning procedures for metal parts after our machining manufacturing process. What are the differences between cleaning effectiveness of Alconox detergent for cleaning various metallic surfaces such as stainless steel, titanium and cobalt chrome? Also, does Alconox detergent effectiveness change based on contamination characteristics, surface geometry or any other factors?
Brix vs. Conductivity: Measuring Ultrasonic Bath Concentration
Several years ago, our plant was directed to use the Refractive Index as a method of letting us monitor bath concentration during ultrasonic cleaning with your Liquinox detergent. More recently, our factory in Asia switched to Liquinox and were directed to use a conductivity measurement to monitor concentration. I decided to measure our cleaning bath using both methods and found a discrepancy — the brix (Refractive Index) reading was slightly above 1% concentration, but the Conductivity reading was nearly 2% concentration.
Cleaning Zinc Plated Metal Parts
Q. We would like to verify compatibility of zinc plated metal parts with Alconox. A. Zinc plated metal parts can be cleaned with Alconox detergent. Depending on the metal and whether there is any defect in the zinc plate coating, you can get galvanic reactions between the zinc and the underlying metal because…
Cleaning Glass Castings: Alconox or Detonox?
Q. Q. We are having an issue plating aluminum on glass castings. It appears there is mold release left on the glass after the casting. The glass manufacturer recommended Alconox detergent. Is that what you would your recommend for cleaning the glass? Whatever we use, it probably needs to be a soak at a high temperature (>170°)? Is this procedure good or should we use an ultrasonic at the higher temperature?
Ultrasonic Cleaning of Glass Molds (Detergents vs. Alkali)
Q. We have heard that Alconox is recommended for glass mold cleaning. Other than release agent, can the product also remove oxidation from the mold surface? And finally, why is the concentration on the Alconox detergent only 1-3% when we typically use concentrations of 20-30% when cleaning molds with sodium or potassium hydroxide based chemicals?
A. Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner is what we tradtionally recommend for mold release cleaning applications, but many also find Detonox® Ultimate Precision Cleaner to be particularly effective.
When it comes to removing oxidation…