7
excellent understanding is needed of both the procedure itself and the
cleaning materials used. When you, Mr Labuda, began to concern
yourself with these issues, the extent of knowledge on this subject was
very limited. There were no meaningful experimental methods at that
time. As a consequence you began developing your own testing
techniques in order to draw scientifically substantiated conclusions
about wiper-based cleaning procedures. In the end you founded the
company Clear & Clean Werk für Reintechnik GmbH. Today a number of
testing techniques and measuring devices are available which you
developed. The results gained with them allow conclusions about the
procedure of cleaning by wiping and on the efficiency of the used
cleaning materials.
One of the most important of your test methods is measuring the
abrasion of the wiper during use with the Labuda Rotation Wiping
Simulator, which makes it possible to simulate and evaluate the parti-
culate abrasion of a cleaning wiper under defined conditions. Knowing
about abrasion is of great importance: Products that will be used in the
cleanroom should be as free as possible from any particle release.
The effectiveness of removing contaminants from a surface can be
measured and determined with the Labuda Linear Wiping Simulators
Mark I and II. Mark I not only enables determining, how a contamination
is removed from a surface, but also to what extent this contamination is
transmitted during the cleaning process to other areas.
The Labuda Wiping Simulator Mark II also enables tracking the
absorption of contamination by cleaning wipers visually. By comparing
the different products with it, important information can be gained that
is useful for the development of improved cleaning products.
The importance of the time needed to clean is underestimated by many
people – knowing this is especially important in high-wage countries.
Cleaning must take place efficiently and this includes the duration of the
cleaning procedure and also the cleaning result. The Timeport – Test
Station, one of your newest developments, makes it possible to
determine the average time needed for cleaning by wiping depending on
the construction of the cleaning wiper used.
With your work, Mr Labuda, you have made a valuable contribution to
research into the mechanics of cleaning by wiping. For this work you
have received much acclaim. I also see in this work an acknowledgment
of Edward Paley, who in 1973 gave you a new life perspective. Edward
Paley had the vision that from then on the structures of the electronics
industry would become smaller and smaller, but that the pollutants
present in nature, such as dust and pollen would of course stay the same
size. This size difference, i.e. the necessity of special cleaning wipers and
the scientific elucidation of the procedure of cleaning by wiping has
become the guiding idea of your company. You translated this guiding
idea – as physics demands – into problems of measuring technology.
16 - Labuda –LinearWiping Simulator
Mark I
15 - Schematic diagram: Labuda
LinearWiping Simulator Mark I
1 standard weight
2 wiper sample
4 support plate with defined contamination
5 support plate in cleaned state
7 take-up motor and pull cord
3,6 resting plates in cleaned state
