Why do I need a cleanliness tester?

Cleanliness testers are indispensable in modern industry and scientific research, and their core needs stem from strict requirements for product quality, safety, compliance and production efficiency. Here are the key dimensions of its necessity:

1. Ensure product reliability and prevent failure risk

Precision manufacturing:

Mechanical parts （such as bearings, gears） with residual cutting fluid or metal chips may lead to early wear or lubrication failure; Surface particles or ion contamination of electronic components （such as chips, PCBS） can cause short circuits or signal interference.

Case: Space engine due to small particles clogged the fuel nozzle, resulting in fuel system failure, resulting in a major accident.

Medical Device Safety:

If endoscopes or surgical instruments are not cleaned thoroughly, microbial or protein residues may cause infection in patients.

Data support: The FDA reports that about 12% of hospital-acquired infections are associated with inadequate equipment cleaning.

2. Meet industry regulations and standards

Mandatory compliance requirements:

Automotive Industry: The VDA 19 standard specifies the cleanliness level of engine components （e.g. ≤200μm particle quantity limit）。

Semiconductors: ISO 14644 classifiers clean room air cleanliness to ensure chip yield.

Medicine: ISO 15883 requires microbial residue ≤10³ CFU/ piece after instrument cleaning.

Quality certification threshold:

Enterprises must pass ISO 9001, IATF 16949 and other system certifications, cleanliness data is the key item of audit.

3. Optimize the cleaning process to reduce hidden costs

Precise location of pollution sources:

Identify contamination types （such as grease, metal shavings, microorganisms） through testing data, and improve the cleaning process （such as adjusting ultrasonic power, changing solvents）。

Example: An auto parts manufacturer reduces cleaning steps by 2 times through cleanliness testing, saving solvent costs of more than $500,000 per year.

Extend equipment life:

Regular monitoring of lubricating oil cleanliness （ISO 4406） prevents particles from wearing hydraulic components and reduces maintenance frequency.

4. Promote technological innovation and research and development

Material verification:

Analyze the pollutant precipitation of new materials （such as medical coatings, polymer composites） in extreme environments to accelerate development iterations.

Failure analysis:

By detecting the pollutant composition of faulty components （such as aero engine blades）， tracing the failure mechanism and optimizing the design scheme.

5. Adapt to high-precision manufacturing trends

Technology-driven requirements:

With the development of products to miniaturization （such as MEMS sensors） and high integration （such as 3D packaged chips）， it is no longer possible to detect micron level contamination with traditional eye inspection or simple testing.

Comparison: The optical cleanliness tester can identify ≥1μm particles, which is much higher than the lower limit of 10μm accuracy for manual detection.

Sum up

Cleanliness tester is not only a "microscope" for quality control, but also a "safety valve" for risk prevention. By quantifying pollution data, it helps enterprises to change from passive response to problems to active optimization of processes, and achieve double improvement of cost reduction and efficiency and brand reputation in the fierce market competition. With the advancement of Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing, its strategic value will be further highlighted.

2025-03-20 13:04