We sat down with Dr. Nelson Sorbo, Vice President of Research & Development at Cool Clean Technologies, LLC to discuss his presentation at PMTS/PCx 2015.
At the technology show, he gave a twenty-five minute featured presentation on CO₂ technology, how it works, the process applications it has improved, and how it has been changing the future of traditional cleaning. He also showed brief video demonstrations of cleaning and answered questions at the end of the presentation.
We asked him a few questions and had him share his experience.
Q: What was the most rewarding part about presenting at PMTS/PCx?
A: I was pleased with the number of people who attended the presentation and the quality of the questions. Based on this experience, there is a good deal of interest in CO₂ technology.
Q: What was the focus of your presentation?
A: It was on CO₂-based atmospheric spray technologies that have been effectively used to meet a range of demanding precision cleaning and surface preparation applications. Further highlighting the industries that have seen improvements in adding CO₂ to their process and covering the basics on CO₂ cleaning. Capabilities including dry, non-condensing, residue-free departiculation, thin film removal, fingerprint removal, and surface activation/functionalization of the substrate. The presentation summarized CO₂-based atmospheric spray technologies, how they have been used in these manufacturing applications, the advantages and disadvantages of these systems, and operational costs.
Q: Can you tell us about any specific examples of this technology being successfully used in precision manufacturing?
A: These technologies have been effectively used in the residue removal in automotive paint applications and critical cleaning of automotive components. We have systems in Hard Disk Drive (HDD) manufacturing processes for precision cleaning drive components and rework cleaning. Along with cleaning of optical surfaces and lens before AR (Anti-Reflective) coating. Some other applications include departiculation in medical device manufacturing, surface preparation prior to adhesive bonding and painting, and cleaning of wire bond surfaces on populated electronics boards to name a few.
Q: How long does the process take as compared to traditional processes?
A: In general, our spray processes are designed to keep up with the flow of work through the production process. Because our process is fundamentally dry, additional required cleaning is eliminated from the operation.
Q: What are the other practical benefits of using CO₂ for cleaning and surface preparation?
A: Key benefits are dry cleaning, cleaning without solvent residues, and using only environmentally friendly compounds. Surfaces need to be cleaned completely with consistency and having the ability to automate our cleaning provides the same degree of cleanliness in every operation.
Q: Which cleaning processes/cleaning applications could most benefit by adopting this technology?
A: Those that could benefit from ‘dry’ cleaning, no-touch cleaning, and spot cleaning. Most manufacturers are looking to replace their existing cleaning process, but they need to have a compelling case to change. Our process is proven to lower operating costs and provide better yield, which is what every business could benefit from.
Thank you Dr. Nelson Sorbo for taking some time to answer our questions. Do you have any questions that you would like to direct to Dr. Sorbo? Contact Cool Clean Technologies directly by calling us at 651-842-8600 or emailing at info@coolclean.com.
