How Ultrasonic Cleaners Effectively Clean Industrial Machined Parts

Machined parts that come directly from a production environment will be contaminated with a variety of substances. These parts may have picked up contaminants from the shop environment and machining can often leave particles on the machined surfaces. Industrial ultrasonic cleaners offer an efficient and cost-effective solution to meet these types of cleaning needs.

Contamination can be harmful especially if machined parts are used in systems which have high levels of cleanliness. These requirements are needed in certain industries such as food, pharmacy, and medicine.

There are many ways to clean machined parts. Cleaning and rinsing machined parts with solvents may remove the contaminants with simple geometries but they cannot clean the intricate crevices and holes. Plus, rinsing may leave residues as well. Manual scrubbing, another cleaning option, may remove contaminants but may damage the machined surfaces.

That's why ultrasonic cleaning is the best alternative to these traditional cleaning methods, since it effectively removes all grease, oil, dirt, particles and all other sorts of contaminants.

Ultrasonic cleaning starts with the ultrasonic generator which sends an electric high-frequency signal to the ultrasonic cleaning transducers immersed in the cleaning solution. The ultrasonic waves create cavitation bubbles which form in their troughs and collapse in the wave peaks. This formation and collapse of bubbles in the liquid result in a powerful scrubbing and cleaning action as the bubbles effectively dislodge dirt and other foreign particles from the machined surfaces.

One of the primary benefits of using industrial ultrasonic cleaners is that the bubbles work where there is a cleaning solution, and you can select the frequency range as to how intense the cleaning you would like it to be. As a result, cleaning is thorough and effective around both simple surfaces and more intricate crevices, holes and along the ridges. No need to use harsh chemicals that may leave residues, or mechanical scrubbing that may damage the machined parts.

The article “How Ultrasonic Cleaners Effectively Clean Industrial Machined Parts” explains more details. For more information or to get a free consultation on how ultrasonic cleaners can be used for your cleaning application, contact Kaijo at 408-675-5575 or by email at info@kaijo-shibuya.com.

How Do Ultrasonic Cleaning Transducers Work?

Ultrasonic cleaning transducers convert the high-frequency electric signal of an ultrasonic cleaning system to sound waves within the cleaning solution. Ultrasonic cleaning systems are made up of an ultrasonic generator, a transducer and a tank to hold the cleaning solution. Frequencies in the lower range from 20 kHz to 160 kHz effectively clean heavy hard to clean contamination from a robust part, while higher frequencies up 2 MHz are used for gentle cleaning of delicate components.

Ultrasonic Cleaning Transducer Features

Kaijo’s ultrasonic cleaning transducers have to generate an equal and consistent distribution of sound waves in the cleaning solution while withstanding the vibrations, temperature and the cleaning action of the system. Ultrasonic sound waves create high-energy cavitation bubbles in the cleaning solution, which create a scrubbing and cleaning action, dislodging the dirt and contaminants from the surfaces of the parts immersed in the cleaning solution. The cleaning solution may also contain mild detergent and can also be heated for faster cleaning.

The housing of Kaijo’s ultrasonic cleaning transducer is protected by 316L polished stainless steel so that the transducer is not affected by the cleaning solution and can resist the possible pitting from the cavitation bubbles. They are hermetically sealed and can operate in cleaning solutions of up to 100 degrees centigrade. Lower frequency range transducers are provided with power levels of 600 W or 1200 W, and higher frequency units are available at 1200 W.

There are three types of ultrasonic transducers:

• Immersible transducers – these are independent units and are the most flexible in their application. They can be placed into different tanks, or different transducers can be placed in the same tank.
• Bolt-on transducers– they can be semi-permanent placement on a cleaning tank.
• Mounted transducers– they are integrated into the tank.

If you would like additional information, read the complete article entitled “How Do Ultrasonic Cleaning Transducers Work?” You may also contact Kaijo at 408-657-5575 or email info@kaijo-shibuya.com to discuss what kind of ultrasonic transducer and cleaning system should be used for your application.