WA CLEAN Technology Receives ISO Certification

The WA CLEAN Technology is an electronic optical device using as its working principle the analytical colorimetry to support the visual assessment of the surface preparation grades of uncoated steel substrates as defined in ISO 8501-1 or in SSPC-VIS 1. In July 2019, the WA CLEAN Technology received official accreditation via the ISO/TR 22770.

WA CLEAN Technology Adopted by the End Users

WA CLEAN Technology has been adopted in several industrial fields and not only in surface preparation projects. The WA CLEAN device has been developed in order to help our customers to implement the ISO 8501-1 standard. To avoid any misinterpretation, the goal of the device is not to replace the ISO 8501-1, but to support the appropriate implementation.

The cornerstone of the customer benefits provided by the WA CLEAN device is reinforcing the surface preparation grades visual assessment done by using the ISO 8501-1 reference photographs. Due to its analytical colorimetry working principle, the WA CLEAN device will measure specific cleanliness indexes on the initially visually qualified blast-cleaning grades. The usage of WA CLEAN device will allow to our customers to implement a quality follow-up on their blasting process in terms of the cleanliness level of their blasted parts.

The WA CLEAN Technology can be also used to reduce extra blasting time, saving money and improving the quality level by fending off the eventual over-blasting phenomenon that could affect other important surface preparation parameters after the blasting process such as the roughness level.

Some examples of industrial applications where the WA CLEAN Technology is already employed are mentioned here:

• Steel pipes manufacturing for oil and gas industry where the cleanliness level is one of the required parameters after the blasting process and before the next stage of process, namely the epoxy coating application.

• Cast iron automotive parts in cast iron foundries for the quality control of the desanding operations.

• Trailer manufacturing for the control of the cleanliness level of the blasted parts prior to galvanization.

• Freight wagons for the control of the cleanliness level of the blasted parts prior to coating applications.

• Cold-drawn bar producers for the optimization of their descaling operations.

A Step Ahead

We will see more and more examples of how our industry is migrating to Industry 4.0 and the digitalization of tools and instruments used in the manufacturing processes. And it’s what we are looking forward to at Winoa. Soon the WA CLEAN technology will be functional via a smartphone with the possibility to generate instant quality follow-up reports of your blasting process, everywhere and at any time with the WA CLEAN 2.0 version.

The WA Clean Tool Kit

This patented and ISO TR 22770-certified technology is the ideal way to evaluate and check the cleanliness of a blasted surface in accordance with international standards independent of any human interpretation. It reads, quantifies and archives the degree of surface cleanliness you have achieved while being very easy to use.