The Science Lab
Medical OEM Contract Cleaning
When it comes to making sure your medical devices are clean you want to use the best products available to achieve the most reliable results, no matter what the substrate. KYZEN works hand in hand with medical device manufacturers to solve cleaning challenges that make a difference in the final product. When a global market leader in diagnostic imaging was required to clean a rigid-flex SMT assembly it was decided that although they use a no-clean solder paste, the device needed all flux residues to be removed from the PCB. The current facility had no cleaning capability on site so they needed someone they could trust to clean their parts to expectations, package them correctly and return them for the next step in the process. The process engineer assigned to the project contacted KYZEN to help find a solution to their cleaning problem!
After extensive evaluations and testing, a conveyorized spray-in-air wash process using AQUANOX proved the best way forward. The contract was awarded to KYZEN and soon after the parts were returned 100% clean! The benefits of this contract cleaning project were:
– KYZEN provided the customer with a documented and approved process that delivered the desired performance of their imaging device.
– KYZEN provided a quick turnaround time as so to not interrupt the production of the final product with a production (batch) rate.
– KYZEN provided a dependable, repeatable, and scalable process moving forward.
– KYZEN provided excellent yield rates.
With medical device cleaning, there are distinct categories that one could be specifically looking for, like precision metal cleaning, precision electronics cleaning, and precision optics and plastics cleaning. With precision metal cleaning our METALNOX product line would be able to clean a variety of metal substrates such as surgical equipment, needles, wire, test equipment, screws, and joints. As electronics cleaning is one of the most demanding applications in the industry, we make products that are proven on over three hundred solder pastes including the latest lead-free products. Our AQUANOX product line continuously delivers excellent results on even the most difficult projects. When looking to tackle things like lenses, fiber optics, flat glass, and other glass-based products our OPTISOLV line is the most effective. No matter what difficult cleaning problem you are facing when it comes to medical devices, KYZEN can deliver a solution that adds value to your deliverable end product!
Additionally, to learn more about medical device cleaning; download our medical device cleaning cutsheet here!
Alternatives to IPA? Look to KYZEN when you need safer – more effective solutions!
Companies today may be looking to make a switch from using Isopropyl Alcohol in their cleaning processes. Making this switch allows you to use less chemistry, less energy, and produce less waste which saves you more money. Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of making that switch!
KYZEN Advantages
– Higher to no flashpoint makes KYZEN products much safer than IPA when used in water-free, semi-aqueous, and aqueous processes.
– KYZEN’s non-ozone-depleting products have much lower emissions than IPA.
– There are low to no risks regarding the health and safety of the user when KYZEN products are used as recommended.
IPA Disadvantages
– IPA is highly volatile, with a significant impact on emissions which makes it difficult to meet environmental regulations. There is a higher risk of fire and/or explosion because of IPAs low flashpoint.
– Consumption is much higher, which in turn can make the total process cost more in the long run.
IPA is used in several processes where a KYZEN alternative can make a difference, such as re-work/ bench-top cleaning, maintenance and pallet cleaning, manual stencil cleaning and under stencil wipe, just to name a few.
To see the KYZEN products that can be used as alternatives to IPA in your cleaning process click here! And as a BONUS – watch our Tech 2 Tech session featuring Fernando Rueda as he explores Benchtop Rework Best Practices.
Meet Your Clean Team
Phil Tomasello – Midwest Regional Manager
Phil Tomasello is one of KYZEN’s Midwest Regional Managers covering Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Phil grew up in Pittsburgh but since 2008 he now calls Grand Rapids Michigan home. Phil has a beautiful wife and two lovely daughters, for whom he is extremely grateful. He credits them with enriching his life so much over the years. The most recent addition to Phil’s family is his rescue cat named Buddy and has been a welcome and treasured member of the family.
An interesting fact about Phil, he is a professionally trained musician (drummer), who has recorded many songs/albums for aspiring singer/songwriters in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Nashville over the past 30 years. The pandemic put a stop to most of the studio and live gigs, but Phil hopes that his studio days are not over.
While Phil has only been at KYZEN a brief time, he feels surrounded by a supportive environment that has a focus on teamwork, a strong work ethic, and integrity. Phil is a refreshing addition to the KYZEN Clean Team, and we are happy to have him.
Be sure to ask Phil about his musical talents the next time you see him!
Shawn Varney – Southeast Regional Manager
Shawn Varney joined the KYZEN Clean Team in March of this year as the Southeast Regional Manager. Shawn lives in Melbourne, Florida, and graduated from the Universal Technical Institute.
Shawn has an abundance of experience in manufacturing and was mentored by his father for years at Lockheed Martin. He is a perfect fit for KYZEN as he was a customer and understands the full cleaning process as well as what happens next.
Shawn enjoys anything outdoors, being in Florida makes that a reality on a regular basis. He spends time with his dad and brother renovating their family home, building airplanes, and even racing cars. Some interesting facts about him are that he does not watch TV, he had brain surgery at the age of twelve, and he enjoys working and staying busy with his hands. Shawn has been a welcome addition to our KYZEN family.
If you have any cleaning questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Shawn.
SDS: What Everyone Needs to Know
Safety Data Sheets are short, standardized documents that provide the user with an overview of the hazards, proper storage, and shipping or transport of a product. These written instructions go back as far as the ancient Egyptians when they were written on papyrus and tomb walls. The United States published the first “Material Safety Data Sheet” in 1968, for the specific use of maritime workers. Today, they are an important part of understanding the correct way to handle and store potentially hazardous chemicals.
There are sixteen sections to a safety data sheet, ranging from Identification of the chemical to toxicological, ecological, transportation, and regulatory information. Each one of these is crucial to understand if your workplace handles potentially harmful chemicals or other products. At KYZEN, this is something we take very seriously, and find that knowledge about the details within an SDS can help your workplace stay safe.
KYZEN’s own Carolyn Leary will be conducting a special Tech 2 Tech series on this very subject. Join us as Carolyn works her way through a Safety Data Sheet and learn what each section can tell you to help while handling potentially dangerous materials in the workplace and where to find the information quickly if something goes wrong.
Make sure to also check out her introduction to Safety Data Sheets, to learn in more detail about the origin and history of SDS’s in the workplace.
Customer Service: Second to None…and we have the awards to prove it!
KYZEN’s philosophy is putting its customers first – no matter what. Our goal is to have customers for life, not just for a season. We pride ourselves on meeting our customers’ expectations with not only quality products, but with expert technical help, field support and response time completing what we believe is full service – customer service. At KYZEN we strive to be where science and care converge, and for our customers, we achieve just that.
KYZEN has been honored with the 2022 CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Service Excellence Award (SEA) in the category of Cleaning/Processing. Sponsored by CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Magazine, the Service Excellence Awards for Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers and electronics assembly suppliers honor companies excelling in the crucial area of customer service. The program, now in its 30th year, functions as a way for participants to see how they compare to peers in customer satisfaction. It is awarded based on responses from the actual customers.
This is the 15th time we have received this prestigious award. These awards show that we are putting our people to the test and coming out on top.
“This award is a testament to the core values exhibited at KYZEN by each and every employee, commented Sherry Stepp, KYZEN’s Global Marketing Manager. “We are honored that our customers have once again chosen to recognize our exceptional customer service. We focus on customer satisfaction from the moment we receive the order, to the production of the product, shipping, technical support and our expert sales team.”
One of our focuses is making sure we do not become stagnant in our push to maintain these high customer service standards. We are constantly looking for ways to exceed our customer’s needs and expectations. We take the feedback obtained from these customer surveys to heart and strive to continuously improve in every area. Having conversations like this makes us hopeful that more customer service awards will be in our future!
nect with our Cleaning Experts at the following events.