What exactly is on the surface, and how thick is it?
Describe the residue by type and by age, not just as "oil". Fresh cutting fluid that has not been baked on behaves very differently from a varnish-like film that has survived several heat cycles near a spindle or a chip conveyor. Steam supplies heat and a small amount of moisture, so it works well on grease and oil films that soften when hot; it is not a solvent, and it will not dissolve fully cured coating or graphite-scale baked hard. If your residue is a cured varnish, say so at the start of the conversation — the right answer may be a two-step process (soften and wipe, then a second pass) rather than a single steam pass, and a supplier who does not ask this question is guessing.
Can the equipment be isolated and protected before cleaning?
Every cleaning method that applies heat and moisture needs an isolation plan on a machine tool. Ask your own team first: can the machine be powered down and locked out, can exposed guideways, ball screws, encoder scales, electrical cabinets and connector interfaces be covered, and is there a way to collect the run-off of oil and water so it does not sit on the floor or enter a drain. A supplier who asks about your lockout and protection arrangements understands industrial cleaning; one who only talks about steam output does not. Where the machine cannot be fully isolated, ask directly which areas must be cleaned with a low-moisture (dry steam) pass instead of a wetter setting.
What steam temperature, pressure and mode does the machine deliver?
Ask for the working figures and ask whether the machine can switch between dry steam and wet steam. Heat is what loosens oil; pressure is what pushes it out of slots, joints and ribbed surfaces; the dry/wet switch decides how much moisture is left behind on sensitive areas. On PowerDe's fixed unit HW02, the published parameters list 160° steam temperature, 0.8 MPa vapor pressure, 6 kW heating power and switching between dry and wet steam, plus vacuum cleaning — a combination aimed at hard grease on a surface you can approach with a lance and nozzle. Request the same kind of stated figures for any machine you are quoted, and check that the numbers refer to the delivered configuration rather than a laboratory claim.
Can you demonstrate it on our own part or machine?
This is the most useful question in the list. Send photographs of a real contaminated component, or ask whether the supplier can clean a sample part with your residue type, with a video or photographed before/after record. Judge three things in the demonstration: whether the residue lifts in one pass or needs repeated passes, how much moisture remains on the part afterwards, and how long the operator spends per square metre including setup and protection. Time and repeat passes drive your real cost far more than the sticker price of the machine, and no specification sheet shows them.
What site services does the shop floor already have?
Steam machines need power and water, and the answer changes which equipment suits you. Confirm the available supply voltage on the shop floor, whether a 220 V connection is available where the machine stands, where the water inlet will come from, and how far the unit must be moved between machines. A fixed installation next to one machine is a different decision from a mobile unit shared across a workshop, and the fit is decided by your infrastructure, not by preference. PowerDe's HW02 is listed as a 220 V fixed machine with an 80 L tank and tap-water inlet with a 4-point internal-tooth joint, so check that your own supply and plumbing match that kind of requirement before comparing prices.
How are the safety protections configured?
Ask what happens when the machine runs out of water, when it overheats, and when a fault appears in the electrical circuit. PowerDe's listing for the HW02 describes leakage, short-circuit, high-temperature and high-voltage protection together with water-shortage protection, and the same style of protection set appears across other units in the cleaning range. Ask which protections are fitted as standard on your configuration, how a fault is indicated to the operator, and what the service procedure is when one trips. Ask for the wording to be confirmed on your quotation, because the item list on the product page and the parameter block are not always written the same way.
Who supports the machine after delivery, and how?
Ask who commissions the machine, whether an operator is trained on your residue type rather than on a generic demo, which spare parts (nozzles, seals, hoses, filters) you should keep on site, and what the response is when the unit stops mid-shift. PowerDe presents itself as an equipment manufacturer that also offers customised configuration and technical support, so ask what a customised configuration for a machine-tool cleaning routine would include: nozzle types, lance length, and whether a tank or mounting suits your machine layout. Written answers to these questions are what separate an equipment supplier from a machine vendor.
What should you send with your enquiry?
To get a straight answer, send four items: photographs of the contaminated machine or part, the type of cutting oil or fluid and whether it has been heat-cycled, your available supply voltage and water connection, and your cleaning frequency (daily wipe-down versus a scheduled deep clean per machine). With those four items, a supplier can tell you honestly whether steam is the right method, which mode to start with, and what the workflow looks like. If the residue is thin and fresh, steam with a dry pass may be enough; if it is thick and baked on, expect to discuss a staged approach before ordering.
If you want to check the equipment side of these answers, the cleaning equipment range is listed at PowerDe cleaning equipment, and the company's customisation and engineering services are described under customised cleaning solutions. Shenzhen PowerDe Automation Precision Equipment has been building automation and cleaning equipment in Shenzhen since 2007; bring your photographs and your residue description, and the conversation will move straight to a trial on your own parts.
