Plating company gets off the Trike

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 3, 2002

Twickenham Plating has replaced its Trichloroethylene (Trike) system with a semiautomatic cosolvent cleaning process, featuring 3M Novec Engineered Fluid HFE-7100.

Following a thorough review of available high-performance solvents and systems, Twickenham Plating has replaced its Trichloroethylene (Trike) system with a semiautomatic cosolvent cleaning process, featuring 3M Novec Engineered Fluid HFE-7100.

For the new system Samuel Banner and Co.

is supplying both HFE-7100 and Promoclean, for use in Kerry Microsolve M450C equipment with ultrasonics.

Twickenham Plating holds ISO9002, QS9000 and CAA approvals and offers a high quality contract metal finishing service for the electronics, engineering and aerospace industries and components need to be super clean prior to surface treatment.

The timing of the company's cleaning equipment replacement schedule was very opportune, as it also enabled Twickenham Plating to simultaneously address safety issues surrounding the recent reclassification of Trike as a Cat 2 (probable) carcinogen.

In its review of alternative solvents and systems Twickenham Plating was impressed with the excellent cleaning performance and greater efficiency of the low consumption cosolvent process.

These considerations, coupled with the high occupational exposure limit, and superior environmental properties of Novec Engineered Fluid HFE-7100 were the key factors in the decision to invest in the system.

It also eliminated the need for local exhaust ventilation.

Penny Bridger of Twickenham Plating Group commented "Our components tend to only have a light machine oiling and initially we thought this high-performance cosolvent cleaning process might be an over-engineered solution.

However it soon became clear that the excellent cleaning performance, greater efficiency and superior safety and environmental properties made it far away the best system for us.

In operation we are achieving HFE-7100 fluid consumption levels as low as 3 litres per week".