Cleaning Process – Preventing Oxidation During Cleaning and Rinsing

Rust is a potential problem whenever ferrous parts are being cleaned.  There are several options available to prevent or eliminate rusting both during and after the parts cleaning process.  Steel will rust if it is exposed to oxygen and moisture as discussed in the blog Some Things You Should Know About Rust. Although iron oxide (rust) gets …

Ultrasonics – Ultrasonic Generators – Power Control

Many ultrasonic generators are configured to operate at one power level – full on.  There are occasions, however, when controlling the ultrasonic power is critical to a successful ultrasonic cleaning process.  This is especially true when cleaning parts made of relatively soft materials including brass, copper and, in some cases, even aluminum.  Other cases requiring …

Rinsing – Options – Single Rinse Tank

Rinsing as it applies to aqueous parts cleaning is a final “cleaning” step which removes residues introduced by or resulting from the primary cleaning process.  There are several options to choose from when it comes to rinsing.  Making the proper selection is very important to the overall cleaning process as the final rinse inevitably defines overall cleanliness.  …

Cleaning – Solvents – The Phoenix Stirs!

In the period immediately following the signing of the Montreal Protocol, virtually every manufacturing facility using solvents for cleaning was faced a critical decision.  The three basic options were – Discontinue unnecessary cleaning operations altogether. Upgrade or replace existing solvent-based cleaning systems to reduce solvent emissions. Switch to cleaning using water-based chemistry. Surprisingly, the first option, eliminating …

Cleaning Process – Rinsing – Preventing Carry-Over

A dedicated reader has requested that the blog address rinsing in more detail.  Rinsing ranks high on the list of process steps that are often not given their due attention in the specification of an overall cleaning process.  Many specifications just say “rinse” and nothing more.  In fact, rinsing is a secondary cleaning step intended to remove residuals left …

Ultrasonics – Transducers – What is “Q”?

In the blogs about transducers I made a point of telling readers that an ultrasonic transducer must be driven at its resonant frequency to achieve optimum performance. What I didn’t address, however, was the fact that the resonant characteristics of a transducer can be varied by its design.  Not only the resonant frequency but the “sharpness” or “Q” …

Ultrasonics – Ultrasonic Generators – Introduction

In an ultrasonic cleaning system, the device that provides the electrical energy to power the ultrasonic transducers is known as the ultrasonic “generator.”  Basically, the ultrasonic generator converts electrical energy received from the power line into electrical energy with the proper frequency, voltage and amperage to power or “drive” the ultrasonic transducers.  In most cases, …

Cleaning – Chemistry – What Happened to Solvents?

Most cleaning today is based on aqueous (water based) technology.  Wash, rinse and dry cleaning has become the norm.  But, for those of you who are new to the cleaning industry and don’t know, Chlorinated and Fluorinated solvents were the cleaning “benchmark” for many years.  Virtually every manufacturing facility cleaned something using a vapor degreaser with …