Future proofing parts cleaning: Design & Engineering

Manufacturing high-precision parts with complex interior geometries requires a high level of quality along the entire production chain. To be optimally prepared for future cleanliness requirements, a Swedish manufacturer needed to replace one of its existing solvent cleaning systems.

When Willo AB founder Willy Loeffel came from Switzerland to Växjö in Sweden in 1956, he brought entrepreneurial spirit and extensive technical know-how about operating sliding spindle lathes. The second-generation, family-run business specializes in machining small, complex parts primarily for the medical, power engineering and valve technology industries. Since its start, Willo has seen double-digit growth rates on average in these fields. This growth is why the manufacturer plans to expand its production area by about 1,500 sq. m (16,146 sq. ft.) in the next two years by adding a building.

The list of workpiece materials includes steel, aluminum, titanium, copper, brass and plastics. According to the company, its state-of-the-art machinery ensures that parts meet tight-tolerance specifications.

“This also concerns parts cleaning, where particles and residues of machining oil have to be removed from exterior and interior part contours,” said Technical Manager Peter Hultkvist. “On the one hand, the quality of downstream processes, such as heat treatment or coating, depends on this cleanliness. On the other hand, the observance of defined cleanliness specifications in final cleaning is a must for both potential further processing in validated processes at our customers’ facilities and for the function of the parts in the final product.”

The EcoCcompact’s Ultrasonics Plus feature complements conventional ultrasonic cleaning and ensures that contaminants are removed from complex interior part geometries. Image courtesy of Willo

The company has cleaned parts with solvent cleaning systems from Filderstadt, Germany-based Ecoclean GmbH for more than two decades. (Ecoclean Inc. is in Southfield, Michigan.) When Willo decided to replace its almost 25-year-old system, it was clear that the new cleaning system had to meet not only present but future cleanliness requirements.

“It was important for us that we would be optimally prepared for our customers’ future higher demands regarding particle and film-type cleanliness specifications, process consistency and productivity,” Hultkvist said. “Maximum process stability, as well as being prepared for automatic data transfer to our MRP, were further requirements.”