The cleanliness requirements specific to coating applications are crucial to delivering high-quality products and consistent results. This tutorial will help explain the basic principles of surface cleaning and what influences “How clean is clean?” and “What considerations go into the selection of the equipment, chemistry, and processes of cleaning parts?” Given the specific cleanliness requirements necessary to achieve high-quality coating results, including those in both metal and optical applications, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the fundamentals of cleaning better.

The goal of the course is to reveal the fundamentals of Time, Temperature, Chemistry, and Mechanics and how they influence the cleaning process. Prior to coating, it is crucial to understand how to evaluate the surface cleanliness to ensure that parts are ready for the coating process. Anyone who would like to understand equipment options and their evolution, as well as the differences and impact of Aqueous vs. Solvent cleaning methods, will benefit from this course. The course will include case studies of Optical/Glass and metal substrates.

Depending upon the level of exposure or experience of the attendee, this course could be considered both an Introduction and re-introduction of the cleaning basics as the course builds up to an Intermediate level of understanding. Upon completion of this course, attendees will have the basic knowledge to identify contamination challenges and make informed judgments on the cleaning solutions that can be applied to overcome these challenges.

Learning Outcomes:

This course will enable you to:

• Apply cleaning principles to metal and optics component manufacturing applications.
• Identify cleaning technologies and how to deploy them effectively.
• Differentiate between solvent and aqueous cleaning solutions.
• Identify contamination types: organic and non-organic, molecular, filmic, grease, oil, etc.
• Determine a chemistry type suitable for specific contamination removal.
• Quantify cleanliness results according to recognized industry standards.