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Press, 15 July 1980, Page 17

A new system for cleaning almost any object using cold water sprays at speeds up to 700 mph (313 m/s) is being used to clean engine components by the world’s largest independent manufacturer of diesel engines at a new plant in Scotland. Existing cleaning processes involve the use of high volumes of water together with heat and chemicals. The new British system uses only cold water. The Elam Pressure

Clean system automatically washes and dries a sixcylinder engine block in only a few minutes down to a total retained soil level of 10 mgs (a British postage stamp weighs 50 mgs). This high level of cleanliness is achieved using water at high velocity and low volume. It removes all swarf, soil, grease, sand, and other contaminations from blind trapped holes, long oilways, water jackets, and other inaccessible

areas. It eliminates the need for components to be re-worked because of dirt and reduces assembly problems caused by foreign material being trapped in screw threads. The machine is controlled by a programmable microprocessor but further developments are already in progress using a com-puter-controlled XY axis that can not only clean manually or automatically, but will also be able to “learn” the process from the operator.