If you are involved in manufacturing or servicing of any kind of mechanical part, you know how difficult it can be to get parts clean. Whether you need to prep them for further processing, or put them back into service, an absolutely clean part is a must.
One way to be absolutely sure that your part is as clean as it can be, microscopically clean – is to use an ultrasonic cleaner. An ultrasonic cleaner typically has two sections – an ultrasonic generator and the end effectors, or transducers. These can be in the same or separate enclosures.
Transducers come in all kinds of shapes laboratory water bath and sizes, but the most common is a small cone, which is bonded to the bottom of a tank. These devices can be constructed to produce a wide variety of frequencies, from 20 kHz all the way up to 250 kHz and higher.
You can get transducers separate from your tank, as well. Typically, these will be in rectangular metal enclosures, but they can be cylindrical, cubes, or really any shape the designer needs for a particular system. They are called immersibles, and are generally reserved for cases where the tank to be used is very large and costly. This way, if you need to add ultrasonic power, you can simply add transducers, and if one breaks, you can replace it – instead of the tank.
Ultrasonics beats out other methods in a variety of ways:
Nothing does a better job of cleaning out tiny crevices and holes than ultrasonic cleaning. Particles too small to see will be knocked free and removed from your part.
Your workers can get other things done, while the machine scrubs your parts – a tremendous savings in manpower and time.
There are no dangerous or flammable solvents used in ultrasonics. With no solvents – no safety issues, no environmental disposal problems, and government regulations, which you must research and ensure that you comply with.