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The cost of acquiring and disposing of cleaning chemistry is usually a major contributor to the overall cost of an industrial or precision cleaning process. Removing contaminants from cleaning solutions can potentially extend their useful life and reduce overall cleaning costs. Traditional filters including those of the bag and cartridge variety are commonly used to remove solid (particulate) contaminants … Continued
Over the years I have had many hundred people approach me with potential applications for ultrasonic deburring. There are many references to ultrasonic deburring in the literature going back decades in time so it’s not unlikely for the question to be asked. In fact, ultrasonic deburring may have limited application but requires certain very special circumstances in order … Continued
In the blog The Effect of Temperature on Ultrasonics, temperature was identified as a major variable in ultrasonic cleaning due to the impact it has on many physical properties of liquids. This blog addresses the effect that chemistry has on the physical properties of liquids and the resulting effect on ultrasonics. Most ultrasonic cleaning utilizes chemistry … Continued
The blog The Effects of Liquid Properties on Ultrasonic Cleaning discussed what effect(s) liquid properties might have on ultrasonic cleaning effectiveness. These are summarized here – – Many physical properties are inherent to the liquid. De-ionized water, for example, due to its very high surface tension and tensile strength (as a result of its lack of impurities) is difficult … Continued
The physical properties of liquids have a significant effect on their ability to cavitate and produce imploding cavitation bubbles useful for ultrasonic cleaning. Since other factors including temperature and chemistry can have an effect on the physical properties of liquids, these, too, play a significant role in ultrasonic cleaning. This blog explores the effect that a number … Continued
The notion persists that more power is better in ultrasonic cleaning applications. In the past, this may have been an absolute as the amount of power available was often limited by the limitations of the equipment that was available. As we discussed in a recent blog however, today’s ultrasonic equipment is no longer limited in power … Continued
A previous blog discussed the ramifications of contaminant loading on cleaning. This time let’s look at the long term effects on cleaning chemistry. In lab testing, the ability of chemistry to withstand extended use is often not challenged. Chemistry is prepared and used for short term cleaning trials to verify the cleaning process. In long … Continued
The risk of laboratory testing was discussed in the blog Beyond the Cleaning Lab Test Results. This blog along with others that follow will explore these implications in more detail. In developing a cleaning process in the test lab, a technician usually starts out by cleaning a small number of parts using freshly prepared and uncontaminated … Continued
The cleaning process is the “recipe” for cleaning. Like any culinary recipe, it should clearly define the ingredients, times, temperatures and the method of application to be used for cleaning. Most cleaning consists of at least the three basic steps of washing, rinsing and drying. Wash – The purpose of washing is to remove contaminants … Continued
Immersion or spray methods are used in most industrial cleaning processes. Both are effective but one may be better suited than the other in some applications and often for reasons that aren’t immediately obvious. Let’s take a minute to explore some of the benefits and limitations of each. Spray – The most often recognized … Continued