INTERNATIONAL NEWS

MEETING CURRENT AND FUTURE COMPONENT CLEANING REQUIREMENTS THROUGH DIVERSIFICATION INTO HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY

The economy is undergoing a transformation that poses challenges for many areas of industry. New products and various megatrends require adjustments to manufacturing technologies, as well as to the range of products and services available. Ecoclean GmbH is proactively addressing this change through greater diversification of its solution portfolio for industrial component cleaning and by introducing the new business area of hydrogen technology.

Energy transition, sustainability, demographic change, mobility, automation and digitalisation, and security: these megatrends are resulting in technological and social changes. And at an increasingly rapid pace. This development demands increasingly higher flexibility and agility from companies, particularly in the field of industrial parts cleaning. Whereas yesterday it felt like the automotive industry was setting the standards in terms of cleanliness requirements, today it is completely different industrial sectors, each with its own specific requirements.

Ecoclean, a global specialist in the supply of equipment and systems for industrial component cleaning, surface treatment and automation, is responding to these changes with a future- and market-oriented diversification strategy. The course for this approach was set several years ago with corresponding financial and personnel investments. As a result, new solutions for high-tech industries are now available, in addition toequipment and systems for tasks in the previous sectors, such as automotive and its associated supply chain, mechanical engineering, joining technology, the jewellery and watchmaking industry, and the aerospace arena.

Also included in this ensemble is the semiconductor industry and its suppliers.To be able to manufacture ever smaller and more powerful microchips by means of EUV lithography, means placing extremely high demands on the components required for the production equipment in terms of purity. In addition to ultra-fine particulate residual impurities in the nanometre range and extremely strict specifications regarding filmic contamination, outgassing rates for organic substances and residual moisture as well as ‘prohibited’ substances/elements play a quality-critical role. Likewise, it is necessary to meet stringent cleanliness requirements for vacuum technology components in the UHV, XHV and UCV range –such as those required in high-power laser systems, high-tech measuring instruments and analysis equipment, for example.

Precision optics, micro-optical parts and sensor systems, among others for semi-automated and autonomous driving as well as industrial digitalisation applications, also require avery high degree of cleanliness for lasting fault-free function. For these challenging tasks, Ecoclean offers industry and application-specific solutions from pre-cleaning to intermediate and final cleaning connected to or integrated in a cleanroom. For the design of process and plant technology, the company has its own High Purity Test Centre with a validated clean room and corresponding measurement technology.

High cleanliness requirements have always been commonplace in medical technology. With the introduction of the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR), the requirements for cleaning medical devices such as implants, instruments and equipment, as well as for qualification, documentation and traceability of the processes, have become even stricter. In the meantime, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to harmonise its quality system regulation with the MDR, so that uniform regulations will apply regardless of market access.

To solve the very different tasks in medical technology in a requirement-oriented, efficient and sustainable manner, Ecoclean offers a complete and globally available portfolio of qualified cleaning systems. Co-operation with renowned partners also enables the realisation of turnkey projects with corresponding packaging and cleanroom solutions.

Software specially developed for medical technology, RFID technology and audit trails ensure the complete fulfilment of all specifications regarding component identification, documentation and traceability. In addition, the company’s experts provide support with qualification (IQ, QQ and PQ) on request. Thanks to the Ecoclean’s comprehensive medical technology and regulatory know-how, combined with extensively equipped technology centres (including a cleanliness laboratory and validated cleanroom), it becomes possible to devise the technically and economically optimal solution for every cleaning task. The potential duplication of this solution for further production sites is straightforward, a process that subsequently accelerates qualification and commissioning.

By entering into the development, manufacture and sale of electrolysers for the production of green hydrogen and solutions for its use, the company is opening up a new business area. To this end, Ecoclean and the Zentrum für Sonnenenergie und Wassersoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) are pooling their expertise in the joint ‘EcoLyzer BW’ project. Based on robust and well-tested system technology for alkaline pressure electrolysis developed by the ZSW and Ecoclean’s expertise and decades of qualification in process engineering and industrial production technology, electrolysers are designed as modular systems with compact standard modules.

With power classes initially ranging from 1-10 MW, they enable the simple and cost-efficient construction of electrolysers adaptable to a wide range of applications. Typical uses include those for industry, mobility, energy supply for neighbourhoods and storage of re-generatively produced surplus energy from wind power and photovoltaic plants.

A first solution in this area came to fruition in September 2023 with a test rig for alkaline pressure electrolysis. It will make it possible to test and validate electrolysis stacks with an output of up to 500 kW and a diameter of 1200 mm.Through this diversification strategy, Ecoclean is helping to meet the challenges associated with disruptive developments, as well as various megatrends.
For further information www.www.ecoclean-group.net

Over 31,000 at Manufacturing World Osaka

The 26th edition of Manufacturing World Osaka, held at INTEX Osaka in October,attracted 31,627 visitors and 1130 exhibitors. The exhibition also set the stage for 20 conference sessions featuring insights from 26 prominent speakers. According to the organiser, the wealth of knowledge and innovation shared during these sessions enriched the event, offering valuable takeaways for attendees. The event’s triumph was further magnified by its co-location with nine concurrent shows. Manufacturing World Osaka 2024 will take place on 2-4 October.
For further information www.bit.ly/3Z0MS0E

New board of directors

At the autumn meeting of the VDMA Working Group Laser and Laser Systems for Material Processing (WG Laser), members held an election to confirm the newboard of directors and chairman.Dr Hagen Zimer, CEO laser technology at Trumpf, and Nikolas Meyer, head of sales and industry management at Weil Technology, are new board members. Dr Christoph Ullmann, general manager of Laserline GmbH is nowchairman of WG Laser with Dr Stefan Ruppik, vice president and general manager of high-power CO2 lasers andprofile welding systems at Coherent,acting as his deputy.
For further information www.vdma.org

Truly portable 3D scanner for large parts

Creaform is introducing the latest addition to its flagship HandySCAN 3D line-up, the MAX series. The handheld MAX series of industrial 3D scanners offers a 3D scanning area of approximately 1 x 1m and acquires accurate 3D measurements of any large and complex surfaces, reports the company.

Featuring a multiple scanning mode that allows users to choose either the fastest scanning time or maximum resolution, the new portable 3D scanners offer a level of versatility that will enable professionals to measure any large parts and assemblies up to 15 m. Combining the effect of speed, extra-large measuring volume, accuracy, portability and simplicity, the scanners allow for an easy, efficient and robust measurement process of parts typically present in the aerospace, transportation, energy, mining and heavy industries, among others.

Thanks to its volumetric accuracy of 0.1 mm + 0.015 mm/m, ISO 17025 accreditation and compliance with the VDI/VDE 2634 part 3 standard, the MAX series provides metrology-grade results, making it suitable for quality control and demanding reverse engineering of large parts. Additionally, the latest scanners still feature Creaform’s dynamic referencing algorithms, allowing for accurate and rigorous 3D scans of any object, whether in the lab, on the shop floor or in the field.

The system is plug-and-play and quick to set up. It is possible to integrate 3D scans into any CAD softwareeasily and seamlessly, accelerating and simplifying product development, 3D inspection and reverse engineering processes of large parts and assemblies.

“Measuring large and complex 3D surfaces with a handheld device was previously very challenging or, in certain cases, impossible,” says product manager Simon Côté. “The unique capability of the MAX series closes the gap and provides innovative dimensional measurement solutions.”
For further information www.creaform3d.com

Fast and cost-effective surface measurement

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has announced the release of a new laser scanner for CMMs. The HP-L-10.10 LITE is for manufacturers seeking a cost-effective option that delivers more efficient surface measurement and higher throughput.

Concentrating on core laser scanning functions, the newHP-L-10.10 LITE laser scanner makes it easy and affordable for manufacturers to benefit from the measurement speed and coverage of laser scanning. The scanner captures the complete surface data of a part in a fraction of the time compared with measuring many points or lines using tactile measurement methods.

“When launching the standard-setting HP-L-10.10 CMM laser scanner in 2021, we knew many manufacturers wanted to increase their inspection efficiency and throughput but did not necessarily require that scanner’s full feature set of capabilities,” says Patryk Wroclawski, non-contact sensors product manager. “The HP-L-10.10 LITE is our answer to this need. And while it might be our entry-level scanner, it’s a high-speed and accurate device that delivers big productivity improvements across multiple measurement applications.”

Hexagon built the scanner upon its latest cross-platform laser line scanning technology. It employs the same SHINE (Systematic High-Intelligence Noise Elimination) technology as the flagship HP-L-10.10, allowing it to collect clean 3D measurement data from almost any surface material and finishquickly and accurately.Fast point cloud creation at up to 240,000 points per second acquisition rate and a 120 Hz frame rate make the HP-L-10.10 LITE suitable for scanning surfaces quickly, and its probing form error of just 14 µm is strong performance for laser scanning on a CMM.Equipped with the HP-L-10.10 LITE, a CMM becomes a multi-sensor machine that can handle most measurement tasks.
For further information www.hexagon.com