Segmented Pin Wash Station Eliminates Cross-Contamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for cleaning deposition pins often result in cross-contamination between pins and require excessive volumes of cleaning fluid, complicating storage and transportation, and can be costly and complex due to the use of high-frequency energy sources like sonication.
Innovation Solution
A pin wash station system with a lower chamber, drain basin, and cleaning tubes, where cleaning fluid is pumped to displace vapor and flow upward through tubes, allowing each pin to be washed independently within a tube, minimizing fluid contact and contamination, and using a vent tube to maintain fluid level and prevent spray contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If all pins are lowered into a common bath of cleaning solution and agitated, then cleaning coverage is improved, but cross-contamination between pins increases and fluid volume required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The common bath is segmented into multiple separate cleaning tubes, each dedicated to cleaning a single pin. This segmentation prevents material removed from one pin from re-depositing on adjacent pins, eliminating cross-contamination while maintaining comprehensive cleaning coverage for each pin individually.
Solution Approach 2:
Individual cleaning tubes serve as intermediaries between the cleaning fluid and each pin. These tubes isolate the cleaning process for each pin, allowing controlled fluid flow that cleans the pin surface without direct contact between pins, thus preventing cross-contamination while ensuring thorough cleaning.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If large bath volumes are used to mitigate cross-contamination, then cross-contamination is reduced, but fluid storage and transportation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The large common bath is divided into multiple small individual cleaning tubes. Each tube contains a minimal amount of cleaning fluid sufficient for cleaning one pin, eliminating the need for large-volume fluid storage and transportation infrastructure while preventing cross-contamination through physical separation.
Solution Approach 2:
A fluid delivery system with multiple outlets provides cleaning fluid to each cleaning tube individually. This hydraulic system enables precise fluid distribution to each pin location, maintaining contamination-free cleaning zones without requiring large reservoirs or complex transportation systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If high-frequency energy coupling (sonication) is used to aid cleaning, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but system cost and complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses mechanical agitation of the cleaning fluid within each tube, creating turbulence and flow patterns that enhance cleaning effectiveness. This mechanical approach achieves thorough cleaning without requiring high-frequency sonication equipment, reducing system complexity and cost while maintaining cleaning efficacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The fluid delivery system creates controlled hydraulic flow and turbulence within each cleaning tube, providing mechanical energy to the cleaning process. This hydraulic approach replaces the need for complex high-frequency energy coupling systems, achieving effective cleaning through simpler, more cost-effective fluid dynamics.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This system effectively minimizes cross-contamination and reduces the volume of cleaning fluid needed, while avoiding the complexity and cost of high-frequency energy sources, ensuring efficient and precise cleaning of deposition pins.
Implementation Method 1
providing a cleaning fluid into the lower chamber to a level above the outlet ends of each cleaning tube so that vapor within the lower chamber is displaced by the cleaning fluid
Implementation Method 2
The vent tube has an inlet end and an outlet end. The inlet end is in fluid communication with the lower chamber. The terminus of the vent tube inlet end is above the level of the cleaning tube inlet ends relative to the substantially horizontal reference plane. The outlet end is in fluid communication with the drain basin.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-chambered deposition pin wash station is provided. The wash station includes a lower chamber and an upper drain basin connected by a plurality of wash tubes. Cleaning fluid is provided to the lower chamber and passes through the cleaning tubes into the upper drain basin. The cleaning tubes are adapted to clean a single deposition pin with a single tube per wash cycle.