Best practices in Cleaning and Safety

Best practices in Cleaning and Safety

Agenda Cleaning/maintenance of equipment Safety precautions Cleaning/maintenance of consumables Cleaning of specimens Other tips and tricks

Cleaning/maintenance of equipment Lab set up The cutting and mounting equipment should not be next to the polishing equipment - because of dust and contamination The polishing equipment should always be close to the sink for cleaning of samples The microscope should be in separate room, but not too far away 2/12/2014 3

Cleaning/maintenance of equipment Magnetic disc Tubes Mover head Bowl 6. Maintenance daily Clean all accessible surfaces with a moist cloth. Check and refill the dosing bottles. Check the bowl liner frequently and clean or dispose of when filled with debris. weekly Remove the MD-Disc and the bowl liner. Remove all dirt from the drain tube. Clean (or discard) the bowl liner and insert the clean (or new) bowl liner into the machine. Put the MD-Disc back in place. Clean the pressure feet and pistons applying the force on the specimens and specimen holder. (Select the Maintenance menu and Cleaning of specimen mover head). Press the release outlet valve to drain the water/oil filter (please see section on Emptying the Water / Oil Filter). 2/12/2014 4

Cleaning of machines Every machine used should be wiped down with a wet cloth before the staff leaves in the afternoon This should should also be done before shift change so that the incoming operators start with a clean machine If this routine is not possible, a specific day or time should be set aside each week for cleaning the machines 2/12/2014 5

Cleaning of automatic dosing systems Diamond suspensions: Clean when bottles are refilled or when changing to different grain size 2/12/2014 6

Cleaning of automatic dosing systems Oxide suspension: Traditional: Always clean before a break, longer than a couple of hours, as it has the tendency to dry out Non-dry: Cleaning is not as critical as for traditional OP suspensions but it is good practice to cleaning when longer periods of no use is anticipated. 2/12/2014 7

Recirculation cooling unit liquid disinfectant additive for cooling fluid 2/12/2014 9

Safety precautions All cutting is taking place in a close environment with exhaustion of fumes For cutting long specimens the cutting machine needs to be equipped with an extension box for that purpose All work with cold mounting resins should be done in a fume cupboard For work with hot mounting use a point exhaust to take away fumes Always wait for machines to be fully stopped before removing specimen Always wear protection goggles and protection gloves when working with chemicals (electrolytic preparation and etching) 2/12/2014 10

Cleaning of MD-Disc To preserve the magnetic properties of MD-Disc, it is essential to keep the contact face clean; preparation debris corrodes and clogs: 2/12/2014 11

Cleaning/maintenance of consumables Cutting Store cut-off wheel horizontally Mounting Store hot mounting resins at approx. 20 o C and avoid moist Store cold mounting resins at approx. 20 o C and avoid moist Store cold mounting in ventilated furniture Grinding Store SiC-paper/foil horisontally Store MD-grinding discs in a closed compartment Do not clean MD-grinding discs after each use. 2/12/2014 12

Practical tips / Grinding Use and lifetime of MD-Fuga To store the MD-Fuga after use, remove the grinding paper, reapply the liner and place it in the MD- Concert Reusable, up to 100 times MD-Fuga 2/12/2014 13

Practical tips / Grinding Use and lifetime of MD-Gekko MD-Gekko can be stored with or without a consumable in MD-Concert or MD-Concertino. Having a consumable or the protective liner on top eliminates the risk of contamination of the high friction surface. MD-Gekko MD-Gekko can be used until the high friction surface is worn or the metal support disc is damaged. MD-Concert Clean with soap and water 2/12/2014 14

Cleaning/maintenance of consumables Polishing Store MD-polishing cloths in a closed compartment Do not clean cloths after use (saves diamonds) Clean oxide polishing cloths after each use Store suspensions and lubricants at room temperature Electrolytes for electrolytic polishing Store at room temperature in a ventilated cabinet Avoid exposure to direct sunlight during storage 2/12/2014 15

Storage / MD-Concert Storage cabinet for 9 MD-Consumables Consists of 10 identical compartments For 200, 250 and 300 mm dia. Information for each individual preparation surface Easy to clean Manufactured in recyclable material 2/12/2014 16

Storage / MD-Concert One MD-Support per compartment Store the MD-Consumables in the cabinet with the preparation side up Coarse grain size lowest down to finer higher up Temporary storage of MD-Fuga liner 2/12/2014 17

Storage cabinet / MD 350 mm One MD-Support per compartment Store the MD-Consumables in the cabinet with the preparation side up Coarse grain size lowest down to finer higher up 2/12/2014 18

Cleaning of specimens 2/12/2014 19

Cleaning of specimens after cutting Clean with water and soap ( neutral detergent) and alcohol especially important if you are mounting the specimens Dry the specimens For porous specimen: flush with ethanol and dry in a hot air stream until the pores are dry 2/12/2014 20

Cleaning of specimens - Tools for cleaning Cold water Cotton Squeeze-bottle with neutral detergent Squeeze-bottle with ethanol (Isopropyl alcohol) Ultrasonic cleaner Blow dryer with hot and cold air Air gun Soft dishwashing brush 2/12/2014 21

Cleaning of specimen - How to clean After the last plane or fine grinding step where water is used: rinse with water and soft dishwashing brush rinse with ethanol dry with air gun After MD-Allegro / MD-Largo: rinse with water and soft dishwashing brush use detergent with brush or cotton rinse again with water rinse with ethanol dry with air gun or towel MD-Largo MD-Allegro 2/12/2014 22

Cleaning of specimens How to clean - generally Between polishing steps: clean with neutral liquid detergent and plenty of water rinse with ethanol blow dry with air gun or with hot air from blow dryer After the last polishing step: clean with neutral liquid detergent and plenty of water rinse with ethanol blow dry with hot air from blow dryer only 2/12/2014 23

Cleaning of specimen what will happen if it is insufficient Contamination of discs and cloths Discs and cloths will have to be cleaned or discarded. Scratches in specimen surfaces The preparation process will have to be started all over. Extra time and new consumables are needed. Means more $ are spend. 2/12/2014 24

Cleaning of specimens SEM Same cleaning procedure as for specimens for optical microscopy Extra care needed when drying the specimen If the sample is not clean and completely dry, there will be a risk that you contaminate you electron microscope. 2/12/2014 25

Cleaning of water-sensitive materials Clean water-sensitive materials only with ethanol. Ultrasonic cleaning in a small ethanol bath can be useful For easy cleaning use a polishing cloth e.g. MD-Nap with DP-Lubricant Yellow (no abrasives), for about 30 sec. in between the different polishing steps. Use one specific MD-Nap for each specific grain size 2/12/2014 26

Practical tips / Cleaning The use of ultrasonic cleaning can be advantageous with porous materials however there is a risk that particles get loose and fall out Never rub prepared surfaces hard (remember softer materials are more easily scratched) Samples with a shrinkage gap should be dried briefly with cold/hot air and left for 15-30 min. before examination Mix a water/detergent solution in a cup and fill it up with cotton balls ready for use. 2/12/2014 27

Practical tips / Grinding SiC-Papers/Foils To avoid embedded grains in soft materials the surface of SiC-Papers/Foils can be covered with a thin layer of wax from e.g. a candle light When grinding very water sensitive materials with SiC-Papers/Foils the cooling water can be replaced by e.g. Glycerol or brown/ yellow lubricant 2/12/2014 28

Practical tips / Grinding To increase the removal rate, many grinding medias can be dressed - e.g. MD-Primo Grinding stones, Diamond grinding discs, MD-Piano and MD-Primo (see instruction manuals) Diamond grinding disc MD-Piano 2/12/2014 29

Practical tips / Grinding MD-Largo / MD-Allegro When the grooves of MD-Largo / MD-Allegro are filled up, their surface should be cleaned: Scrub MD-Largo / MD-Allegro with a soft brush using a mild detergent under cold running water. Rinse with alcohol and dry with blow dryer MD-Largo MD-Allegro 2/12/2014 30

Protection of prepared samples Exiccator Remember to check the silica-gel Protection Lacquer Can be removed with acetone. Should not be removed from an etched sample 2/12/2014 31

Cleaning of MD-Piano To remove abraded, corroding material from MD-Piano, a solution of 3 % citric acid in water can be used Place MD-Piano in a shallow container and cover it with the solution After soaking over night, rinse the MD- Piano with water. Alternatively, citric acid solution can be applied directly to the MD-Piano and the corroding material removed using a brush 2/12/2014 33

Cleaning of MD-Polishing cloths Normally it is not necessary to clean diamond polishing cloths. To clean: Spin disc with cloth at 300 rpm Clean cloth with soft nail brush (different brush for each grain size) using mild detergent under running water Rinse with distilled water or alcohol and allow to dry Oxide polishing cloths should be carefully cleaned as the suspensions have tend to dry out. When automatic dosing systems are used, the cleaning is automatically performed with water 2/12/2014 34

How to maintain a microscope Keep it in a separate room Limit the number of people who have access to it Make sure that the operators are well trained Keep it dust-free Have it serviced regularly 2/12/2014 35

Conclusion Good maintenance saves time, money and frustration A small amount of time used for cleaning is a good investment because it assures trouble-free and uninterrupted operation Experience has shown that one of the major reasons for break-down is the neglect of maintenance. Highly automated labs should put particular importance on maintenance Service contracts are a good investment! 2/12/2014 36

Ensuring Certainty