There are four major applications for Vertrel^® specialty fluids.

Solvent Cleaning

First, Vertrel^® is a great solvent and simply dissolves many types of contamination. In this application the engineer will focus on the surprising solvency of the Vertrel^® products.

The Vertrel^® solvents have K_b values in the mid-30s, which should mean the solvents are mild cleaners. But in actual tests on oils and fluxes, the "operational" K_b values are much higher than the test would indicate. Vertrel^® whisks away oils, grease, fluxes, and a whole host of different organic contamination. It's pretty amazing.

In these applications, the solvent normally is used in a vapor degreaser. Cycles times are fast, productivity is high and the cleaning results are superior. In addition, the parts come out of the cleaner absolutely dry, they are generally at room temperature, and irregular shapes are accommodated easily. Try doing that in an aqueous cleaner!

Displacement Cleaning

The second big application for Vertrel^® is displacement cleaning. In this application, the focus is on the specific gravity of the solvent and it's very low surface tension.

There are many types of contamination which are soluble neither in aqueous nor solvent cleaning chemistries. Inorganic particulate, metal filings, dust and solder balls are just a few examples. The advantage that Vertrel^® solvents bring is that they are extremely heavy -- normally between 1.3 and 1.6 times heavier than water. This extreme weight, when combined with the very low surface tension of the material, means that Vertrel^® solvents simply can get underneath these inorganic materials and float them away, just as a battleship floats on the sea.

But it gets even better. Sometimes the inorganic contamination has a static charge, binding it to the substrate being cleaned. At a sub-micron level, these ionic bonds can be stronger than steel and nearly impossible to break with mere mechanical action. Vertrel^® handles this problem very nicely using conductive additives, such as tiny quantities of alcohol. The alcohol dissipates the static charge and releases the contamination from it's grip on the substrate. At that point, the Vertrel^® does it's magic trick and floats the contamination away.

When it comes to cleaning inorganics, nobody beats Vertrel^®.

Displacement Drying

Once again, Vertrel^® is able to do something that aqueous systems accomplish only with great difficulty: get rid of water! The engineering of this procedure relies on the fact that water and Vertrel^® don't mix.

In many surface preparation processes, parts are cleaned in water baths, which works well and keeps costs down. However, the water often gets trapped inside the parts being cleaned. If the water is not removed it can leave unsightly spotting and cause problems with oxidation or other corrosion. The water must be removed.

The easiest way to remove water is to submerge the components in a bath of Vertrel^®. The water will not mix with the Vertrel^® so they separate, like oil and water. The water is lighter than the Vertrel^® so it floats to the top of the bath where it can be removed easily and quickly. The parts come out of this final "drying rinse" clean, free of spots and completely dry, ready for the next step in manufacturing process.

Deposition

So far, we have mention three cleaning processes, for three different types of contamination. There also is one non-cleaning application for Vertrel^® which is the opposit of cleaning: it can be used to apply thin layers of coatings and lubricants. In this application, the engineering relies on both the density of theVertrel^® and its solvency powers.

There are a number of Vertrel^® customers which apply silicone lubricants onto parts using Vertrel^®. Another large group of customers applies coatings made of a material called PTFE using a Vertrel^® dipping tank.

With silicones, the lubricant is actually dissolved in the Vertrel^®; with PTFE coatings the lubricant is held in a chemical suspension in the bath. (This process usually requires some type of agitation to keep the suspension active.) In either case, when components are dipped into the bath the coating in smoothly and evenly applied to the surface on the part. Drips and runs are minimized because the Vertrel^® evaporates instantly as the part is removed from the bath. It's a nice, simple and highly effective process.

Here's our final answer on the many uses for Vertrel^®: these cleaners are incredibly versatile. If you have demanding applications and are facing challenging environmental issues, Vertrel^® specialty fluids are your ideal choice.

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