About Ultrasonic Cleaning

Ultrasonics is a very easy to use technology. With a few simple guidelines, anyone can be up and running in no time,  correctly operating their ultrasonic cleaner.

How Ultrasonics Work

The Basic Ultrasonic Explanation

Ultrasonics generates vacuum bubbles in a liquid which is known as “Cavitation”. These vacuum bubbles implode at very high pressures and temperatures. This action of millions of “Cavitation” implosions per second has the effect of scrubbing the surface of any object that is immersed in the liquid.

The More Detailed Ultrasonic Explanation

Ultrasonic energy is sound beyond the range of human hearing. Frequencies above 16,000 cycles per second (16 kHz) are generally considered to be ultrasonic.

When a sound wave travels through air, the air is compressed and then stretched as the wave passes through. Unlike air, liquids are not elastic and cannot stretch in this way. Consequently, if the sound wave is big enough (i.e. has a high enough amplitude relative to its wavelength) it will literally tear the liquid apart, forming extremely small vacuum pockets within the liquid. These vacuum pockets, which are known as cavitation bubbles, act as strain relievers for the liquid. They form during the negative pressure part of the wave, and collapse during the high-pressure part of the wave that follows. However, cavitation bubbles can grow over several waves before collapsing.

When a cavitation bubble collapses, it is literally an implosion in which extremely high pressure and temperature is generated. The high pressure and temperature lasts for a very brief period of time and only in a very small volume within the liquid. The implosion energy derives from a combination of three things:

  1. Compression from the ultrasonic wave
  2. Compression from surface tension in the bubble
  3. Atmospheric pressure on the vacuum

If there is air suspended in the liquid, then this will tend to be released into the cavitation bubble. In this case it will not be a true vacuum and the strength of the implosion will be greatly reduced.
The action of millions of cavitation implosions per second has the effect of scrubbing the surface of any object that is immersed in the liquid. The scrubbing action acts much more quickly, and on a much finer scale, than any other known means of scrubbing or scouring. Because sound travels through metals and many other materials, the ultrasonic energy will penetrate into blind holes and complex shapes (including surface pores in metals) which cannot be reached by other methods.

The result is faster, more efficient cleaning. Cavitation is often strong enough to break ionic bonds holding insoluble contaminants to a surface. Ultrasound works particularly well with appropriate cleaning chemicals-detergents, surfactants, terpenes, aqueous and non-aqueous compounds, etc.

 

How will Ultrasonics Benefit Me?

High-power ultrasonics is a powerful technology that is not only safe and environmentally friendly in its application but is also efficient and economical. It can be applied to existing processors to eliminate the need for health damaging chemicals and or heat application in a variety of industrial processors.

There are endless amounts of sound benefits which can be achieved by the use of ultrasonics.

A few of these are:

Ultrasonic Cleaning is Faster
Ultrasonic cleaning is faster and reduces the time needed to clean by up to 90%. No longer do you need to employ people to stand over a cleaning bath cleaning items. Ultrasonics can do the job for you. The labour saving advantages make ultrasonics the most cost effective method.

Ultrasonic Cleaning is Consistent
Unlike manual cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning offers unmatched cleaning consistency. Consistent cleanliness is assured by the ability of ultrasonic cleaning effect to reach any surface in contact with the cleaning liquid. Complex assemblies, crevices, internal chambers, threaded holes and blind holes can all be cleaned effectively and consistently.

Ultrasonic Cleaning is Safe – Eliminating Toxic Cleaning Chemicals
Ultrasonic Cleaning is ECO friendly. It reduces the use of dangerous chemical concentrations and substitutes less aggressive cleaning media.

Ultrasonic Cleaning reduces Direct Worker Contact
Workers no longer need to be exposed to hazardous cleaning substances and toxic chemicals.

Ultrasonic Cleaning Saves Money
Savings in chemical costs, water, energy, labour and floor space can be achieved with ultrasonics cleaning processors.

Getting Started: What will I need?

There are three essential components required in order to start using ultrasonics.

1. An Ultrasonic Unit

To determine the correct Ultrasonic Cleaning unit for you it is essential to clarify the parts/items which will require cleaning. Determining such parameters as mass, size and quantity requiring cleaning is the most essential part.

Knowing these parameters allows appropriate calculation for tank size, number of tanks, Ultrasonic Power (Watts/Litre) and Frequency of Ultrasonics.

Sound hard? Its not, because you don’t have to work anything out.

Simply Contact Us telling us the mass, size and quantity of parts requiring cleaning and we will work it out for you.

2. Chemical

Chemistry plays a vital roll in how effective the ultrasonics clean. Having the correct Chemical amplifies the cleaning affect of ultrasonics and can dramatically reduce cleaning time as well as increase clean quality. To determine the appropriate chemical it is important to know such parameters as material type and contamination properties of the parts requiring cleaning.

Pacific Ultrasonics have a wide range of chemical products which have been tested and proven to work in many applications.

Ask us and we will recommend the appropriate chemical for your application.

3. The Process

The final component of getting started is to determine the appropriate process to use. This includes determining liquid temperatures and ultrasonic cleaning times. Having the right Liquid Temperature is vital for ultrasonics to work correctly and efficiently.

Different applications require different Temperatures and therefore it is essential to have the appropriate Liquid Temperature to get the maximum potential clean out of the ultrasonics.

Pacific Ultrasonics can/will recommend appropriate Temperatures for your specific application. Cleaning times will vary depending on amount of contamination and contamination type but it is recommended that a regular cleaning cycle process is implemented ensuring parts are cleaned regularly.