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Foreign Material Exclusion

Foreign Material Exclusion (FME) is the term used to describe the process and practices for preventing the introduction of foreign objects into an undesired location. The specific products/tools used during the FME process are designed in such a way to minimize leaving any additional foreign material in the FME area. For instance, fasteners used to hold the device/tool will be fastened using a thread-locking adhesive similar to Loctite or even Nylock nuts to prevent the fastener from breaking loose.

Engineers have designed the products/tools used during the FME process in such a way to minimize the amount of possible fasteners being exposed. For example, if there are multiple fasteners holding a portion of the product/tool together, a cover will be fastened to the particular area and fastened with fewer fasteners to limit the amount of possible fasteners could loosen. Or even the entire design of a product/tool will be designed with minimal fasteners for the same reason. Some fasteners attached to motors are attached in a similar manner to the left-side bicycle pedal in which they are left-hand threaded to prevent the fastener from coming loose due to the normal rotation of the motor.

There are currently no fluids involved in any of our products/tools. However, in the event a fluid is needed in a design, de-ionized water and mineral oil are both top contenders due to their inert properties.

The lighting used in our products/tools are all covered to protect them from being damaged possibly creating an FME issue. The primary objective of the FME process is to extract any foreign object from the undesired location without adding additional foreign material.

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• EPRI