Particulate Contamination Measurement – In Production
Manufacturing Process and Environment Conditions
The increasing stringency of technical cleanliness requirements makes it essential to assess whether production facilities and the entire supply chain are capable of meeting them consistently, in a controlled manner, and in a sustainable over time.
The VDA 19.2 standard – “Technical Cleanliness in Assembly: Environment, Logistics, Personnel, and Assembly Equipment,” published by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), serves as a best‑practice guideline for identifying, analyzing, and controlling sources of contamination throughout the entire production process. Contamination can have a critical impact: reducing product lifetime, compromising functionality, or causing premature failures in service. For this reason, controlling the environment and the factors that influence technical cleanliness has become a key element in ensuring the quality and reliability of the final product.
Application and objective
The measurement of particles in the production environment is applied in areas where it is necessary to assess the level of environmental contamination in order to ensure stable processes and protect product quality. Its purpose is to provide reliable data on the presence of particles in critical areas, enabling the identification of potential contamination sources, strengthening process control, and minimizing the risk of defects or manufacturing issues.
Particle Traps
Environmental and in‑process contamination analyses are carried out in direct accordance with the VDA 19.2 standard, evaluating the particles present in the production environment through the placement of particle traps in representative locations. Once positioned and activated, the traps capture airborne particles and sediments present in the surroundings. After the exposure period, the collected particles are analyzed to determine the sedimentation value and to quantify them
Advanced Cleanliness Assessment
Through complementary evaluations and combined analysis techniques such as SEM/EDX and FT‑IR, we offer a deeper level of assessment that helps to identify potential contamination sources, validation of the suitability of the production environment, and support for process optimization. This information facilitates data driven decision making and drives continuous improvement in technical cleanliness.
