Guidelines for design of machining processes to eliminate solvent cleaning

The author presents rules for the design of the machining/assembly process, particularly for vended parts, to eliminate the need for subsequent solvent-cleaning. These include the replacement of oil-base lubricants, coolants, and lapping vehicles with water-soluble counterparts; implementation of soldering processes that involve water-soluble fluxes, or are flux-free; keeping the parts wet so that dried residues do not form on the surface; and providing for rapid and effective drying after cleaning so that aqueous cleaning can replace CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) cleaning. These guidelines are illustrated with examples from production environments