Cleaning and Bake-Out of Vacuum Fasteners

Tactile Tools: To begin, could you share, why is cleaning and bake-out so important for vacuum fasteners?

Bart: I oversee the cleaning, bake-out, and cleanroom packaging of our vacuum fasteners. We manufacture hardware specifically for high and ultra-high vacuum environments and provide fully certified, ready-to-use fasteners. Proper cleaning and bake-out are essential because even microscopic contamination can disrupt vacuum performance, stability, and pump-down time.

Tactile Tools: What expectations does the customer have?

Bart: The situation began when a customer reached out about unexplained pressure rises in their vacuum system. They run a clean, high-tech research facility, and their equipment is expected to reach deep vacuum quickly and consistently. They were confident their chamber was fine, but something was sabotaging their pump-down performance. When we visited, their setup looked precise and orderly, the kind of environment where purity is not just expected, but demanded. In a sense, it felt like stepping into an operating room where even a fingerprint can compromise the entire procedure.

Tactile Tools: What was the challenge?

Bart: The customer had done everything right, sealed the chamber correctly, followed their cleaning protocol, and tested all feedthroughs. Yet the system kept behaving as if there was a hidden source of outgassing. They were under pressure to get the chamber performing again, but nothing made sense. They suspected a component failure, but the real culprit was more subtle: the fasteners inside the chamber were contaminated. Their supplier had delivered hardware that looked clean but held machining residues deep inside the threads.

Tactile Tools: How did you respond? What actions did you take to solve this?

Bart: We offered to perform a full evaluation of the fasteners they were using. After a quick analysis, we found clear signs of oil films, and particulate contamination. We then supplied them with our own fasteners, which had gone through our multi-stage ultrasonic cleaning, ultrapure rinsing, ISO Class 5 drying, and certified vacuum bake-out.

With their team, we replaced the contaminated screws and reassembled the chamber using our properly cleaned components. We supported them throughout the process and ensured every new fastener met UHV standards before installation.

Tactile Tools: What were the results?

Bart: The results were immediate and measurable. Pump-down time improved dramatically, the pressure rise disappeared, and the system reached its expected base pressure without the mysterious drift they had been fighting.

What we learned, and what the customer learned as well, is that fasteners are often underestimated. A system can be impeccably designed, yet a handful of contaminated screws can hold it back.

Tactile Tools: How does this experience relate to the work you do today?

Bart: It reinforces why our cleaning and bake-out process matters so much. Vacuum engineers rely on fasteners that won’t introduce outgassing, or unpredictable behaviour. Our role is not simply to supply fasteners but to ensure that every one of them strengthens the integrity of the system. This experience continues to guide our commitment to delivering components that are clean, baked, certified, and ready for the most demanding vacuum environments.

When engineering a well-functioning vacuum system, contamination and leakage are out of the question. With our clean, vacuum support, we ensure pure, continuous conditions in your critical installations.