Resolution of contamination problems affecting laser surface certification inspection

Contamination from particulate and organic residues which interfered, with the laser surface certification (LSC) inspection of some parts was found to come from three sources: particulate and organic residues from polishing compounds; organic films from cleaning solvents; and particles and organic residues transferred from plastic fixtures used to process these parts. The manufacturing cleaning process was not effective in removing all polishing compound residues, and an extensive cleaning procedure was developed using two solvents in a multicycle ultrasonic/vapor degreasing procedure. Parts were then subjected to gas plasma cleaning which removed the organic films left by the solvent cleaning. Plastic and rubber materials were evaluated for their contamination transfer characteristics; a fluorocarbon elastomer was the least contaminating. Inspection data established the efficacy of the cleaning procedure. After design relaxation, a single stage ultrasonic vapor degreasing process was used to achieve product acceptance.