EuroWire May 2015

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News
Technology
May 2015 49
When looking for a cleaning system for
wires and cables, etc, you can often be
faced with a dilemma.
Which method, in general mechanical or
wet-chemically, is suitable for the desired
surface quality?
Budget or available space is limited,
and the range of manufacturers of
in-line cleaning systems as well as the
current market solutions is manageable.
The appropriate method is difficult to
determine at first glance.
As a result there is often an attempt
to construct and implement your own
solutions only to find that the outcome is,
despite intense input of time and material,
inadequate.
Basically, the definition of the cleaning
target and the analysis of the surface
texture should be at the beginning of the
search. Only when these points are defined
can the choice of the suitable method and,
if necessary, a suitable cleaning agent, be
carried out.
As mentioned, usually a subdivision in
‘mechanical cleaning’ and ‘chemical
cleaning’ is made, whereby nearly all
mechanical cleaning methods can be
combined with the chemical cleaning.
In ‘mechanical cleaning’ the contamination
is removed by the mechanical frictional
force of normally solid cleaning materials
such as brushes, textiles and microfibres.
To remove gross contamination from the
wire surface, cleaning with brushes or
textile materials is very effective.
Since the surface characteristics of the wire
are far from ideal due to, for example, fine
cracks and defects, these methods quickly
reach their limits.
‘Chemical cleaning’ means, in most
cases, that a fluid exposure performs
the cleaning. The performance of these
methods is considerably improved by
increasing the velocity of the liquid by
means of high pressure, ultrasonic or
steam relaxation.
Cleaning processes with liquids,
supported by ultrasonic, high pressure
or steam, can substantially meet the
challenging task of removing dirt even
from the smallest surface defects.
Finally, the effectiveness of the cleaning
process depends on how targeted the
cleaning power (force or impulse) can be
applied to the contamination for a certain
time.
Since the choice of the appropriate
cleaning method is determined by
many other factors, a comprehensive
analysis of all parameters should
be undertaken. This is precisely the
approach that GEO-Reinigungstechnik
GmbH has selected.
For the last two decades GEO has
explicitly dealt with the cleaning of
continuous profiles such as wires, ribbons,
strands and cables.
The procedures can be tested under
near-production conditions at GEO’s
test laboratory, and from the knowledge
gained, suitable solutions can be selected
and implemented.
GEO-Reinigungstechnik GmbH –
Germany
Website:
Wire cleaning – the dilemma that GEO is
solving for the industry
▲ ▲ Many factors should be considered when choosing the appropriate cleaning method