Cleaning exhaust screens in a manufacturing process

A system for initiating a screen cleaning operation in a chamber including a drain line having a screen configured and disposed in the chamber above the drain line to trap soluble materials, the system comprising:

• a central processing unit (CPU), said CPU being interconnected functionally via a system bus to:
• an input/output (I/O) adapter connecting to at least one of a removable data storage device, a program storage device, and a mass data storage device;
• a display adapter connecting to a display device;
• and
• at least one memory device thereupon stored a set of instructions which, when executed by said CPU, causes said system to:
• close a valve fluidly connected to the drain line to fluidly isolate a portion of the chamber;
• introduce an amount of solvent into the chamber once the computer operated valve is closed, the amount of solvent filling one of the chamber and the drain line to fully immerse the screen;
• and
• open the computer operated valve after a predetermined amount of time to empty the one of the chamber and the drain line of solvent once the soluble materials trapped on the screen are dissolved.

A processing tool for producing products requiring solvents to remove soluble materials and surfaces required to remain free of foreign particles, the processing tool comprising:

• a chamber including a bottom portion and at least one side wall portion that defines an interior portion;
• a product support positioned within the interior portion;
• a drain line positioned below the product support, the drain line including a first end portion having an opening exposed in the interior portion of the chamber and a second end portion leading to a used solvent collection point;
• a pressure sensor operatively mounted to the drain line, the pressure sensor being configured and disposed to detect an amount of solvent passing through the screen;
• a screen positioned at the first end portion of the drain line;
• a first valve fluidly connected to the drain line, the first valve being selectively positioned to fluidly isolate the interior portion of the chamber from the second end portion of the drain line;
• an exhaust line positioned above the product support, the exhaust line including a first end section having an opening exposed in the interior portion of the chamber and a second end portion leading to a solvent fume collection point;
• and
• a second valve fluidly connected to the exhaust line, the second valve being selectively positioned to fluidly isolate the interior portion of the chamber from the second end portion of the exhaust line;
• and
• a controller operatively linked to the first and second valves and the pressure sensor, the controller being selectively operated to initiate a cleaning operation upon detection of a build-up of an amount of soluble material on the screen based on the amount of solvent passing through the screen.