Science and Care truly Converge in KYZEN’s Analytical Laboratories located around the world. Our labs are equipped with the latest analytical equipment and staffed with a team of highly trained chemists to provide support to our customers worldwide. These resources are key to ensuring your process is and remains a robust process by profiling the wash bath and providing guidance for corrective action if necessary. They also play a vital role in the research and development of new KYZEN products and guarantee product quality on a daily basis.
KYZEN’s Analytical Labs provide our customers with unparalleled laboratory services to see them through a wide range of problems.
Available Analytical and Cleanliness Testing Services:
- Wash Bath Analysis:
Whether you need a one-time analysis to check the health of your wash bath or you want to determine the efficiency of your process over a length of time, KYZEN can provide everything you need to know. You can request a Wash Bath Analysis or a Bath Profile Kit to collect bath samples and then forward them to the designated KYZEN laboratory nearest you. Upon receipt of the samples by the lab, the physical properties of the wash solution are measured and analyzed. The properties measured may include pH, bath concentration, and soil loading. The customer will receive a written report with the results or in the case of a bath profile; the report will show how the KYZEN chemistry in their wash sump changes with run time. Understanding the changes the bath goes through over its life cycle allows our customers to predict and schedule routine maintenance, saving them both time and money. - FTIR Analysis:
Residue Identification – Understanding the composition of tenacious or unexpected residues helps our Sales Managers and Technical Services Engineers optimize your cleaning process. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is one of the tools our Analytical Laboratories uses to understand the organic nature of unknown residues. - GC (Gas Chromatography) Analysis:
For further investigation of unusual wash bath performance due to uncharacteristic or unidentifiable causes, GC Analysis could find the answers you need. The GC analytical method separates volatile molecules by their affinity to selected columns. Molecule identification is made based on the time it takes the sample to progress through the column and is compared to a standard. This method of analysis allows us to quantify the composition of volatile molecules and determine the level of volatile contamination in the analyzed samples. - IC Testing (Ion Chromatography):
IC Testing is an analytical chemistry method that separates chemicals with an electrical charge, called ions. There are two main types of ions: cations and anions. Cations have a positive charge and anions have a negative charge. Chromatography is the process of separating chemicals from each other based on some property, in this case, electrical charge. These ions are detected by measuring the conductivity of the solution passing through the detector, similar to the older R.O.S.E. testing but much more sensitive and can tell you what the contaminates are instead of just that there is a contaminate present. It is important to note that not all molecules can be detected using IC. They must be able to conduct electricity in a solution. IC helps our customers by being the only commonly used method to identify and quantify ions. This ability better allows our customers to understand the potential impacts on the reliability of their parts, and allows for quantitative measures of the impact different conditions have on their process. - SIR Testing:
SIR or Surface Insulation Resistance Testing can be performed on-site at a KYZEN location in compliance within IPC-9201 Specifications and will be followed up with a comprehensive report with the results. This test method has been deemed the most efficient when determining the cleanliness of assemblies especially when reliability is a necessity. - Millipore Testing:
KYZEN’s Analytical Laboratories will perform gravimetric or Millipore testing on industrial sample parts during process development to gauge the effectiveness of the cleaning process. This method looks for the particulates that remain on the part after cleaning. A solvent wash collects the particulates that are then filtered and weighed. The particles that collect on the filter paper are then analyzed microscopically to understand their size and composition. - Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Inspection and SEM/EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy) Analysis:
SEM and SEM/EDS testing are performed at KYZEN’s Central Research Laboratory in Nashville, TN. These methods are typically used to measure and analyze surface defects and the presence of soils as well as their elemental composition via very high-powered microscopy. Each test is helpful in determining the compatibility and effectiveness of your cleaning process or manufacturing process issues. SEM/EDS is used very effectively in failure analysis of solid inorganic materials, generates high-resolution images and precisely measures very small features and objects. - R.O.S.E. Testing:
The R.O.S.E. test method has been the industry standard production line test for measuring the cleanliness of electronic assemblies for more than forty years. Cleanliness testing equipment provides an automated method for running the R.O.S.E. test. Recently, the IPC Standards Committees have determined that R.O.S.E. Testing alone does not provide sufficient objective evidence to prove a process meets IPC Standards.