4.1 Introduction to Cleaning and Pretreatment Machinery

Cleaning and pretreatment machinery plays a vital role in ensuring that workpieces are free from interfering contaminants before entering subsequent production steps. Cleaning and pretreatment processes remove unwanted residues and prepare components for further processing. The importance of cleaning is evident in its ability to eliminate production media and agents, chips, and other contaminants that accumulate during manufacturing, ensuring that each component is suitably prepared for the next production stage while maintaining specified quality requirements of the final product. There are several types of cleaning and pretreatment machinery available. Through-line systems allow components to move continuously through the cleaning process, making them ideal for high-volume production where speed and consistency are essential. Chamber cleaning systems facilitate multiple cleaning processes within a single chamber or designated zone, integrating several steps into one compact unit. Line immersion systems consist of multiple chambers or zones through which a workpiece is passed. In these systems, the process is not necessarily sequential, as the workpiece may skip certain baths or zones, and not all zones need to be active at once depending on the active cleaning recipe. The information model covers these machine types using a modular approach introduced in OPC 40700, OPC UA for Surface Technology - General Types, which allows for the specific machine to be represented by multiple zones with their respective machine components. By means of sensors, process data like power consumption, media consumption, temperature, pressure etc. can be recorded and used for process monitoring and control.