Amazing Videos – Eyeglass Cleaning Using Ultrasonics

Posted on by John Fuchs

I’ve been “playing” with ultrasonics for over two-thirds of my life now and am absolutely convinced that there is still more to know about the technology than anyone knows.  The “fish tank” in the lab continues to reveal more questions than answers when it comes to this complex technology.

The Ultrasonic Fish Tank in the Lab

Still, just like looking at the stars on a crystal clear evening or an electron microscope photo of something that you could never see otherwise, one can’t help but marvel not at what we do understand but what we still don’t and may never understand about the universe (and, now more than ever about what might be beyond the limits of the universe) around us. Sorry, that was getting a little “heavy.”  But, I still have fun watching what ultrasonic technology can do.  The following video is pretty simple.  I just put my eyeglasses in the ultrasonic fish tank in pure de-ionized water (no added chemistry) and turned on the ultrasonic energy.  I am pretty ashamed at what I saw.

(Click Graphic to View)

Granted, I don’t clean my glasses every 10 minutes but I don’t wait weeks between cleanings either.  The “stuff” coming off of glasses that were reasonably clean to start with is impressive and typical.  This is an easy demonstration that can be done in nearly any ultrasonic cleaning tank provided that whatever chemistry is involved is compatible with the construction of the eyeglasses. In the interest of education I will be publishing additional videos demonstrating the capability as well as the beauty and curious phenomenon of ultrasonics in upcoming blogs.  The blog versions of the videos will be in the best resolution the blog allows (limited by file size and bandwidth).  Shortly, however, I will be adding a You Tube channel with true HD versions of all the videos for those of you who have the capability to download and view 1080p video.  I’ll let you know as soon as that is ready (which will be as soon as I figure it out!).

–  FJF  –

3 comments on “Amazing Videos – Eyeglass Cleaning Using Ultrasonics”

  • John Fuchs says:

    Randy –
    I used 40kHz in the video. For eyeglasses, I believe a lower frequency like 40 kHz will give superior (at least more dramatic) results than higher frequencies for demonstration purposes. This is NOT to say that 40kHz should be used to clean all lenses in all applications. In the video, I also used plain DI water. For best results, I would suggest adding a bit of a mild detergent.
    JF

  • Randy Fall says:

    Since this post I’ve had several people ask me if they can clean their glasses in an ultrasonic tank. Was curious what frequency you used in your video?

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