Material Cleaning Overview

WPC offers methods of material cleaning to meet your needs in piece part assembly or final product preparation. Bare metal and material cleaning is an important step in the treatment before plating and our cleaning methodologies reliably prepare material for the plating process. We offer cleaning methods to assist with removal of machining fluids, light oils, debris, rust, tarnish and other corrosion. WPC cleaning methods can burnish, deburr, polish and help resist corrosion, while also improve bonding or solderability, surface roughness/smoothness, and appearance.

All processes leave finished parts with a clean surface, free of water marks and stains. WPC cleaning processes, packaging, and handling provides for easy utilization of highly critical pieces in hermetic sealing, high voltage, electrical vacuum, and pressurized applications.

Chemical Cleaning
worker cleaning components

WPC provides chemical cleaning utilizing:

Ultrasonic Cleaners

WPC has ultrasonic cleaners in various sizes devoted to specific chemicals and material types. Ultrasonic cleaning greatly improves chemical ability to reach blind, one-way holes; materials with greater surface defects; pitting; and recesses. Ultrasonic cleaning is far safer and less damaging to individual pieces than mechanical or manual action.

Chemical Deburring

This process utilizes a variety of chemicals and methods depending on shape, size, and material type to remove machining burrs and reduce edge sharpness. Chemical deburring can be safer for pieces that may be damaged from mechanical cleaning.

Passivation of Stainless Steel

WPC offers room temperature and heated nitric acid passivation of most austenitic stainless steel grades. WPC understands different grades of stainless steel require specific passivation techniques and has the experience to match the appropriate passivation technique with the grade. WPC can meet the requirements of nitric acid passivation under ASTM A967 and SAE AMS 2700 (WPC does not offer processes involving sodium dichromate).

Kovar Bright Dip

Creates an incredibly mirror-bright finish on Kovar. Kovar Bright Dip can greatly improve surface roughness/smoothness of a machined or stamped Kovar pieces. This chemical process can assist with solderability, brazing, welding, appearance, and improve adhesion of plated metals.

Copper Bright Dip

Creates a mirror-bright finish on copper, brass, and other copper alloys. Copper Bright Dip greatly improves surface roughness/smoothness of a machined or stamped pieces. This chemical process assists with electroplating adhesion, solderability, brazing, welding and appearance. This process is also recommended for copper parts exhibiting rapid tarnishing following machining, plating, or other handling.

Steel Bright Dip

WPC knows flash and deep-pitting rust happen to even the most critical steel and iron alloy components. Steel Bright Dip can remove most surface rust and heat treatment scale chemically without further effecting the steel surface. WPC processes and handling of bare steel can help preserve pieces to slow future rust development.

Carbon Removal

This process can remove carbon that has adhered from furnace fixture operations or other heat treatment processes. WPC has extensive knowledge and the ability to remove carbon from delicate components such as single-pin electrical terminals, and electrical relays with glass-insulated pins that must be assembled with carbon fixtures in a furnace. These trace amounts of carbon must be removed before the plating process can occur or any remaining carbon will result in poor adhesion of any plating.

Chemical Etching

This process provides micro-level surface etching to improve glass-to-metal seals, solderability, welding, brazing, bonding, and change overall appearance. WPC can work with you to determine your specific needs based on application and material type.

Nitriting of Tungsten

WPC offers small-part nitrite cleaning of tungsten through this electro-chemical process of applying current to a tungsten part in solution. The process evenly dissolves the outermost layer of tungsten to create a smooth and desirable surface. This is a widely utilized method of cleaning tungsten for medical and electrical devices.

Electropolishing of Stainless Steel, Nickel alloys, and Molybdenum

Electropolishing creates an incredibly smooth, mirror-like surface from the even removal of the outer-most layer of metal by removing micro-bumps and peaks over the surface of a part. WPC specializes in small-part electropolishing of a variety of stainless steels, exotic nickel alloys, and molybdenum. WPC has the experience to identify the chemical solution to meet your needs depending on material type. We also understand that electropolishing can change part dimensions if applied incorrectly or for too much time, and have the experience to correctly apply this method of metal finishing to meet our customers’ requirements.

Electropolishing can be used for a variety of applications including reducing contact resistance, reducing surface roughness, and improving appearance.

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WPC offers the following mechanical cleaning options:

Vibratory

This method can be completed with a variety of media sizes and types (burnishing/carbide or smooth) as either wet or dry cycles. WPC utilizes a variety of chemicals to achieve the best results depending on substrate and material. Process can be used to provide a cleaning, burnishing, deburring, polishing, or corrosion treatment depending on needs and material.

Tumbling

This method is often the best option to clean parts with complicated geometries, one-way-holes, or parts best suited to high part-on-part action. We apply the most effective chemical and media combination process to fit your needs.

Bead Blasting

Bead blasting is an excellent method of surface preparation before plating to assist with cleaning and adhesion of plating. WPC offers bead blasting in glass bead sizes 6 and 10 to meet most appearance and cleaning needs.

Endurance Finish

A dry burnishing and deburr process directed at small-part copper alloys and similar substrates to improve endurance life and reduce edge radius.