Manufacturing problems can lead to large costs of rework or can result in product becoming scrap. Immediate detection of problems is a key to increasing productivity and decreasing costs.

When problems are associated with surface contamination, an array of tests can be performed quickly in conjunction with the manufacturing process, avoiding the need to send samples to a lab and await results.

IN-PROCESS OR IN-HOUSE?
Many process parameters can be monitored continuously or frequently without disturbing the process flow. Measurements in automated systems can often be used to provide adjustments as required. Examples of some commonly-used, in-process techniques are indicated in Table 1.

In addition, relatively inexpensive and portable equipment can be used to detect levels of inorganic and organic surface contamination. In particular, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR), two surface analytical techniques, that used to be constrained to the “lab,” can now be brought right to the production line as portable, hand-held instruments.