A previous blog Ultrasonics – Degassing – What Gas? and Why? revealed why dissolved gas is detrimental to ultrasonic performance. This blog will describe various ways in which dissolved gas can be minimized and eliminated to facilitate ultrasonic cleaning. Since the most common liquids used in ultrasonic cleaning are water and water-based solutions, the following applies … Continued
Just about everyone is familiar with the term “hard” water but few know what it really means. In this blog I’ll try to explain what “hard” water is and why we prefer water that is “soft.” In the blog It’s Time To Talk About Water – Again, items 2 and 3 in the list of water contaminants … Continued
The blog It’s Time To Talk About Water discussed the variations in water from different sources. Today’s blog is the start of a series on how to purify and prepare water for use in cleaning and rinsing applications. Water from municipal and other sources may have characteristics that are deleterious to a variety of processes. Many of … Continued
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 … Continued
Of the five senses, hearing would probably rank #2 in importance to most people with sight being the most important. I, personally, rank hearing as #1 in importance for me although I won’t get into the details of why that is so. I’ve been exposed to ultrasonic sources for my entire working life and, over the years, have tried … Continued
There was an error in the chart showing cavitation bubble size vs. ultrasonic frequency in the blog published on December 14, 2011. The bubble size was incorrect by an order of magnitude. The correction can be seen at Ultrasonics – Number and Size of Cavitation Bubbles I apologize for the error and any mis-understandings it … Continued
Recently, there has been a lot of attention directed at the new and expanding range of ultrasonic frequencies available in advanced design ultrasonic cleaning equipment. The result has been that there has been a de-emphasis on the “workhorse” frequencies that started it all, 25 and 40kHz. The fact is that the vast majority of industrial ultrasonic cleaning … Continued
In the past week or so, I have had several people walk into my office and ask a question that has been popular for as long as I can remember – – “What is the ratio of cross section to depth that defines the cleanability of a blind hole?” As is so often the case in … Continued
Most cleaning processes are comprised of a number of discreet steps. A wash followed by one or more rinses and then a dry would be a typical cleaning process. As parts being cleaned are moved from one process step to the next, they are vulnerable to potential risks by conditions not directly related to cleaning. Whether related … Continued
When everything is going well and final inspectors are finding nothing but acceptably clean parts, cleaning can be a pretty boring part of the overall production process. As soon as a dirty part shows up, however, it seems that cleaning becomes the focus in the investigation to find out what’s gone wrong. It is automatically … Continued