The Project That Proved It
The case that surfaced this capability came from an automotive engine assembly line. A major OEM was tracking a leak problem back to its source and found the cause sitting upstream of the gasket entirely. Schnapp explained that the engine blocks were "machined smooth where gaskets would sit, but that process left behind tiny metal particles and oil. The oil essentially bound the particles to the metal surface, making them impossible to remove before assembly."
The fix required equipment that could sit on the assembly line, clean the surface as the part moved through and do it without taking the line offline. Standard applicators couldn't survive contact with the freshly machined edges. "The machined edges were still rough, so a traditional felt applicator would get shredded on the first pass," Schnapp said.
Designetics worked with the equipment integrator's engineers and the OEM's own team to build a custom nylon brush applicator engineered specifically to hold up against that surface while still removing the bound particles and oil. The system went into production, and the line's reject rate dropped from around 3% to approximately 0.2%. It has since been adopted at roughly eight engine plants across the U.S. and Canada, with installations in the UK and at several tier-one suppliers who now clean components before they even leave their own facilities.
Why This Matters Beyond One Engine Line
The applicator itself didn't change. What changed was the direction it was solving for. The same pumping systems, spring compliance and precision applicator design that Designetics uses to deliver fluid accurately can be engineered to remove contamination just as precisely, whether that means metal particles, oils or process residue sitting on a surface before the next step in assembly.
That reframes who Designetics can help. As Schnapp said, "Anyone manufacturing any type of engine who has a cleanliness concern, car, truck, boat, semi, even a lawnmower, can now think of us, not just for adhesion promoters or fluid application, but for cleaning applications too."
That reach extends well past automotive. Marine engine manufacturers face the same die-cast and machining residue challenges. Small engine and HVAC component makers deal with similar pre-assembly contamination on parts that need a clean surface before a seal, gasket or coating goes on. Anywhere a manufacturing process leaves particles or oils behind before an assembly or bonding step, the same engineering approach applies.
What a Custom Cleaning Solution Looks Like
Every application is different, but the automotive case shows the pattern we follow on a cleaning project:
- Understand where contamination is entering the process and what it's made of, not just where the defect shows up downstream
- Design an applicator that can survive contact with the part itself, including rough or freshly machined surfaces
- Build the system to fit inline, so it runs with the production line rather than stopping it
- Validate the result against a measurable outcome, in this case a reject rate that dropped from 3% to 0.2%
Cleaning and Fluid Application from the Same Team
We didn't set out to become a surface cleaning provider. The capability came out of solving one customer's specific problem, using engineering already built for fluid precision and turning it toward contamination removal instead. If your process has a surface cleanliness issue sitting upstream of an assembly, bonding or coating step, our team can talk through what a custom applicator solution might look like for it.