Adequate Part Agitation Facilitates Cleaning – Stroke

Inadequate or improper agitation of parts in a cleaning tank is a common problem in industrial cleaning.  Agitation, if properly applied, can be a very powerful aid to cleaning.  The result of improperly applied agitation, however, can range from disappointing to disaster. The basic reason to agitate a part in a cleaning tank is to provide or …

Valves – Considerations for Specifying Automated Valves

The specification of automated valves requires certain considerations that are not of concern with typical manually operated valves.  The blog Valves – Automated Valves – What’s Different? provided a glimpse of automated valves with a very simple (but typical) example.  There are, of course, innumerable variations used in the design of automated valves so the …

Valves – Automated Valves – What’s Different?

Today’s highly automated industrial cleaning equipment relies heavily on valves remotely actuated either by an operator or by an automated control system.  Although performing basically the same function as manually operated valves, automated valves operated by electricity, air, hydraulics or other means are considerably different than manual valves not only in their construction but their mode …

Ultrasonics – Deburring – Fact or Fantasy?

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 …

Sounds of Silence – Pulse Period and Duration

Today we are, again, going to bring ultrasonic sounds into the realm of human audibility by lowering the frequency to ones that most people with normal hearing can hear.  Several preceding blogs have discussed the effects of varying the pulse width and pulse period of an ultrasonic generator in an ultrasonic cleaning system.  If you’ve …

Valves – Backpressure Regulating Valves

Pressure regulating valves were discussed in the preceding blog Valves – Pressure Reducing Valves.  Pressure reducing valves, although commonly used where pressure is an issue, are not always the best alternative.  The pressure reducing valve has a close cousin called a “Back Pressure Regulating Valve” which monitors and controls pressure in a similar but different …

Valves – Pressure Reducing Valves

It is not an uncommon practice to use flow restricting valves in an effort to reduce and/or control pressure in even the most sophisticated industrial cleaning machines.  In the blog “Reducing Flow vs. Reducing Pressure – Which is it?” the risks of using flow restricting valves to control pressure were discussed in some detail.  Reliable pressure control …

Reducing Flow vs. Reducing Pressure – Which is it?

There is often a need in any system involving flow of a liquid to control the flow and/or pressure of that liquid.  Since the two are different and yet inter-dependant, it can be confusing when trying to determine if flow control or pressure control is the intended goal and how it will be best be accomplished.  Unfortunately, a wrong choice …

Ultrasonics – Pulse – More About Pulsed Ultrasonics

“Pulse” in ultrasonic terms simply means turning the ultrasonic energy on and off repeatedly in either a fixed or random pattern.  At first it seems this would would be counter-productive to the goal of maximizing the ultrasonic cleaning effect.  In fact, the blogs Ultrasonics – Ultrasonic Generators – What Is “Pulse” and Ultrasonics – Ultrasonic …