Metalworking & Precision Manufacturing

Q. We have a new product to clean small precision parts of aluminum 6061-T6 which have been trough heat-treating (surface oxide) and afterwards machined (cutting fluids). What Alocnox product do you recommend?
A. For manual, soak and immersion cleaning of the aluminum, we recommend using a warm or hot 2% Citranox (2.5 oz/gal or 20 mL/L) mild, citric acid based detergent followed by …

Q. We need a chelate-free detergent to avoid dissolved copper in our waste stream.

A. The only such product we make is Detergent 8. Note that Detergent 8 is a corrosive liquid and must be handled with appropriate personal protective equipment. Detergent 8 will attack aluminum and darken copper, forming copper oxide. Detergent 8 will not chelate copper.

Q. We need wetting agent that is stable in high temperature and high pH for a metalworking manufacturing application. What would you recommend?

A. We have Alconox powder and Liquinox liquid detergent that have excellent wetting as well as lifting and emulsifying characteristics that are stable at high temperatures and high pH. When you ask about high temperatures, know that …

Q. We are looking for a neutral ultrasonic cleaner and currently use Liquinox. Should we be considering Alconox or Alcojet?

A. Since you have Liquinox and you’re doing ultrasonic cleaning, I would recommend continuing to use Liquinox. We recommend a 1% Liquinox solution in most cases, depending upon the residue being removed and the material of construction.

Q. We have an other department that makes a vacuum tube that is nearly identical to ours and they have a much better yield. They use Liquinox for their cleaning agent. I would like to talk to one of your engineers regarding their view of our present cleaning method (Sodium Hydroxide, Muriatic Acid, DI water, Methanol) vs. Liquinox. I have no historical information as to why we use the mentioned chemicals. The items that are cleaned are: tungsten plates, kovar pins and glass.
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