Competence center for component cleaning in Königsbronn

Which components are cleaned with which cleaning technology and how can economical processes be guaranteed? Many criteria are important, including component material, shape and production processes. The system manufacturer Pero offers advice and testing facilities in a modern competence center in Königsbronn.

Pero AG's competence center in Königsbrunn is home to 15 to 17 series cleaning systems on which test cleaning of customer components is regularly carried out and new technologies are presented

More than 15 water- and solvent-based cleaning systems with a wide variety of cleaning media are available here. If required, it is also possible to preserve components. Pero also verifies the desired degree of cleanliness in an affiliated test laboratory for technical cleanliness. In order to guarantee the function of complex products, high levels of accuracy and surface quality of the installed components are crucial. The cleanliness of technical components is just as important. This is because even minor impurities can lead to wear and functional limitations in end products such as motors or hydraulic lines.

Consider all cleaning criteria

Pero sales engineers Thomas Schwarz (left) and Markus Gruber regularly test their customers' original components in the competence center But how "clean" does a workpiece have to be? At what particle size do problems occur? How free of grease must, may or should the surface be? And above all: How and with which cleaning system can I achieve the required values?

While manufacturing companies inexperienced in cleaning are grateful for comprehensive advice in all areas, employees of manufacturing companies with great cleaning expertise often answer the first three questions themselves. Horst Erbel, CEO of Pero AG, explains: "Sometimes all customers expect from us is validation. We then clarify whether the proposed solution will deliver the required cleanliness in the long term. As a rule, however - especially for the initial sampling of components - much more needs to be considered."

Cost-effectiveness, flexibility, occupational and environmental safety as well as ease of maintenance and service are key factors that production companies must pay close attention to when selecting a potential cleaning system. After all, the cheapest systems are rarely the most economical in the medium and long term. It is therefore important to consider all relevant cleaning criteria, find suitable solutions, test them thoroughly and ultimately install the best option.

Competence center at Pero

Optimal test conditions can be found in Königsbrunn near Augsburg. In 2016, Pero AG set up a competence center there that is unique worldwide in terms of size, variety and quality. It houses many different series cleaning systems as well as a laboratory for technical cleanliness, where the company's experts analyze and document the results of the cleaning tests.

Whether solvent system or water-based system - Pero shows both variants in the competence center with a wide variety of cleaning media, which also work in combination if requiredAservice that more and more component manufacturers throughout Europe are using, regardless of the material used - metal, plastic, glass, ceramic or combined materials. The path to the right component cleaning is usually similar: First, the necessary cleanliness and freedom from grease of the components is discussed with Pero consultants, then a preselection of possible systems and cleaning media is discussed. They then send original components to Königsbrunn, where they undergo extensive tests at the competence center. "With the right Pero system, we always achieve the often required technical cleanliness in accordance with VDA 19 permanently and reliably," reports Thomas Schwarz, sales engineer at Pero: "When the customer comes to us, we demonstrate our results live again and show which solution has the best ROI in the process. Of course, we also take into account the film surface cleanliness required by the components and whether the machine is inline or centralized."

The large number of series systems is due to the fact that Pero is one of the few suppliers in Germany that develops, manufactures and sells both water-based and solvent-based systems. This enables the company to provide objective advice. Because both technologies have advantages and disadvantages, emphasizes sales engineer Markus Gruber: "Accordingly, we naturally also have both types of system with many different cleaning media for demonstration and testing."

Training and development validation in addition to test cleaning

Test cleaning customer components and demonstrating the latest technologies was the most important reason for Pero CEO Horst Erbel to invest in the large competence center. However, he also had other uses in mind, which are becoming increasingly important.

For example, regular training courses are also held in Königsbrunn - both external and internal. Customer employees are shown how to operate the machines here, as well as how to carry out various maintenance tasks that have to be performed regularly. For Pero employees - primarily in sales and service - product managers and developers in particular organize various training courses to keep employees up to date when innovations are introduced to systems.

In addition, Pero developers and product managers can test various small improvements and major innovations in different types of systems. One example of this: Ball valves play an important role in many areas of cleaning systems, as they regulate all important media inlets and outlets. Wear cannot be prevented by constant movement and friction. As the previously achieved service lives were not long enough for the Pero developers, they designed new ball valves with double the service life - validated in the competence center.