The quality of precision stamping parts is an assurance that manufacturers offer to their customers about the ability of the metal part to perform as desired. Precision stamping dies help in the completion of mass production of high-quality precision metal parts at the optimum time. Apart from the design of precision dies, cleaning the precision metal stamping parts plays a crucial role in deciding the quality of the products.
This article discusses some of the best methods to clean precision stamping parts and their importance.
But before that, here’re some of the characteristics of an ideal precision metal stamping part.
What makes a good precision metal stamping part?
A precision metal part has:
- High strength
- High accuracy
- Good rigidity
The precision metal stamping process helps in creating metal parts with high repetition accuracy and accuracy to the design specifications.
Precision metal stamping accounts for a USD42.5B industry. It finds applications in various industries like consumer electronics, aerospace, agriculture, and even oil and gas because the metal stamping technique offers:
- High production rate with low turn-around time
- Cost-efficient precision dies cut down the costs.
- Low Secondary costs for precision metal stamped parts
- High-end automation programs for high accuracy.
Why is cleaning precision stamping parts an integral and crucial process?
At the end of the precision stamping process, there is residue like lubricants, shavings, and dust on the parts, which affect the part’s design accuracy. This, in turn, lowers its usability and therefore, could affect the metal part’s desired function.
Making the precision metal stamped parts free from such redundant residues is a crucial step that manufacturers must do before sending the metal part for secondary operations like welding. If there are no secondary operations involved, the metal part needs cleaning before going into the manufacturing line.
Therefore, metal stamping companies like Eigen offer a wide range of cleaning services and have highly skilled teams to ensure specialized cleaning services. In some cases, cleaning may be required more than once.
Methods to Clean Precision Metal Stamping parts
There are numerous cleaning methods for metal parts. These are categorized into three types based on the requirements::
1. Precision industrial cleaning: As the name suggests it includes cleaning the processing and production of precision metal stamped products. It also includes cleaning various materials and equipment surfaces, etc. The method has an incredible method targeted to remove tiny dirt particles from the metal stamped parts.
2. General industrial cleaning agents: This method uses specific cleaning agents to wash the surfaces of vehicles, ships, and aircraft. In contrast to precision industrial cleaning, this method removes only coarse dirt.
3. Ultra-precision cleaning: This method includes ultra-precision cleaning of mechanical parts, electronic components, optical components, etc. The cleaning process is usually used in a precision industrial process to remove minute dirt particles from the surface of the precision stamping parts.
The most frequently used precision metal stamping parts cleaning processes are :
1. Degreasing:
The degreasing method is the process of removing grease using either of the two methods- aqueous or vapor degreasing.
In aqueous degreasing, the meal parts are either subjected to an in-line spray or immersed into an acidic or alkaline water-based cleaner. For best results, ultra-precision cleaning is used to remove minute residues.
In vapor degreasing, the cold metal parts are subjected to steam created using solvent vapors. These vapors tend to condense on the part and dissolve oil and other dirt.
Some notable advantages of degreasing are that the process is :
- Environmentally-friendly- solvents have low toxicity and are useful as run-off oils
- Compatible with a wide range of metals
- Compatible with fragile stamping
2. Passivation
In the passivation method, the precision metal stamping part is immersed in a nitric or citric acid bath. Over the designated time, this removes contaminants that may have been introduced during the stamping process.
Next, the metal stamping part is taken out from the acid bath and then rinsed and dried. This forms a chromium oxide film to resist rust and corrosion.
Some notable advantages of passivation are that the process:
- No change in the design of the parts
- Suitable for high-volume complex parts
- Works well with carbon steel, aluminum copper, and other metals
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