Fastening & Assembly Solutions & Technology July 2012

Innovative cleanliness
compliance concept
The VDA 19 guideline and the ISO
16232 standard define new requirements
for the automobile industry for verifying
technical cleanliness. The
Cleancon cleanliness concept developed
by Arnold Umformtechnik goes a step
further and provides a process that
encompasses cleanliness requirements all
the way from production to the customer
application.
All OEMs currently rank electronics
failures as the top cause of vehicle problems.
Consequently, the technical cleanliness
of not only electronic components,
but also pneumatic and hydraulic components,
used in brakes, engines and chassis,
is increasingly a matter of concern for the
automobile industry. With the ongoing
trend of increased performance and
reduced size of units and modules, microscopic
particles on component surfaces
can easily cause malfunctions.
Arnold Umformtechnik says it has
come up with a suitable solution in the
form of its Cleancon cleanliness concept,
which consists of five steps. First limits
are defined In the customer requirements
profile, the environment is analysed, surface
and inspection specifications are
recorded, and the packaging is specified.
Then during production, the entire process
is accompanied by cleaning processes.
In the cleanroom, the parts are microcleaned,
anti-friction coatings are applied
as necessary, and the components are
packaged.
In the VDA 19 compliant cleanliness
analyses, an adapted extraction method is
used and the particle size distribution and
gravimetrics are investigated. And finally,
the components are placed in Cleanpack
multi-layer packaging to preserve cleanliness,
with an internal layer that secures
the components and an outer layer that
can be printed or marked according to
individual requirements.
The system eliminates the need for an
external specialist firm that microcleans
the fasteners before they are used in
assembly.
The company suggests that a comparison
of the Cleancon process to the conventional
process leads to a clear conclu-
FAST JULY 2012
To fulfil the latest requirements of the vehicle buildingindustry, manufacturers must identify and
quantify any particle contamination present in their components. FAST examines a cleanliness
concept that can run right through the manufacturing cycle
Using the Cleancon process dramatically
reduces the number of metallic particles
CLEAN MANUFACTURE
sion that the number of metallic particles
is reduced dramatically. This is accompanied
by improved assembly security and
the opportunity for further component
miniaturisation, which translates into
higher power density and smaller structures.
A new cleanroom design provides conditions
similar to those of a high-class
cleanroom. This is where the fastener
components come at the end of the production
process for microcleaning using
advanced equipment, for the application
of anti-friction coatings immediately after
cleaning, and for cleanliness-preserving
packaging in Cleanpack containers.
The latter two operations safeguard
component cleanliness against the effects
of external downstream process steps.
The special internal layer of the
Cleanpack packaging provides antistatic
protection and mechanically secures the
components so they cannot move relative
to each other during transport, unlike bulk
transport, putting an end to post-production
particle contamination.
ARNOLD +49 7947 821 170
Round the clock CAD availability
In situations where fastening components are
needed, design and development departments in
the automobile and electronics industries are
faced with the challenge of reducing costs by
using innovative fastener technologies. To
achieve this goal, access to design data in electronic
form is increasingly important.
ArnCAD has been developed as a solution to
this challenge. This engineering tool combines
a portfolio of innovative fastener components
for the direct assembly of metals and plastics
with the advantages of an electronic design database. To ease the incorporation of
fastening components into the user’s drawings and applications, CAD data in 2D
and 2D form are now available online. The high-quality data can be used in every
CAD system and can be included directly in the design process by means of a
simple download.
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