Keeping it clean - technical cleanliness in fastening technology

Our fascination for technology has its price, not least in the electronics and hydraulics sectors. Very complex units and component assemblies are becoming increasingly compact and more efficient which means the risk of malfunction is rising at a disproportionate rate. In many cases it is microscopically tiny particles that cause the malfunction. Such tiny particles have an effect on the function of mechanical and electronic parts.

The importance of component cleanliness has increased as the trend for complexity continues. What has become known as “technical cleanliness” is a value-adding component of a product, affecting its quality, function and service life. In the light of what have always been rather general requirements imposed by its customers which simply state maximum permitted values for contamination on products, Arnold Umformtechnik - the specialist in the development and manufacture of innovative fastening elements - has now developed “Cleancon®” – a procedural system that can be used to implement the cleanliness requirements of VDA 19 and ISO 1623201. In close cooperation with the customer, the system establishes a test procedure to determine the maximum values of a cleanliness class for each component. Where necessary, Arnold makes its own fully equipped laboratory test specifications available to the customer to do this.