Adding water to cleaning and rinsing tanks is inevitable in a cleaning process. Most modern machines include a means to sense liquid level and add more water or other appropriate liquid as necessary. It would seem simple enough, but there are a lot of factors to consider in managing liquid makeup. The first thing to determine is … Continued
Viscosity and surface tension are properties that are often intuitively linked to one another. Because these properties are of primary importance in cleaning it will be worth the while to understand them a bit better. Surface tension is the property of a liquid that exists at the interface of the liquid with another media (usually … Continued
We have all heard of servos (short for servomechanism) but exactly what characterizes a “servo” is often a cloudy topic. Most sources are in agreement that the centrifugal ball governor invented by James Watt and used to control the speed of steam engines was the first application of a powered servo mechanism. This eloquently simple … Continued
In the process of parts cleaning, capillary flow can be our friend or our enemy – sometimes both at the same time. So let’s take a minute or two to understand this interesting phenomenon. Capillary flow is a property that is exhibited when liquids spontaneously penetrate narrow passageways. The classic example of a capillary (narrow passageway) … Continued
One of the problems with using the number of watts consumed to produce a particular output of another form of energy (light, motion, heat, etc) is that there are always losses when one form of energy is converted to another. Although the law of conservation of energy always applies, energy lost in conversion to other forms of … Continued
I usually try to make sure I’ve done my research prior to posting a blog. As I was thinking about the post about the ceramic ring test, however, it occurred to me that there are a couple of variables that I had not previously considered – – the pencil and the means of applying the markings to the … Continued
We in the ultrasonics industry have long been aware of an effect which is sometimes called “ultrasonic shadowing.” In general, this is what happens when parts being cleaned are positioned in such a way that parts cast an “ultrasonic shadow” which prevents parts in the shadow from being effectively cleaned. This phenomenon, although we know … Continued
Most of us are aware that the power we get from the power line coming into our house or factory comes as alternating current. Basically, the voltage on the “hot” wire as referenced to ground varies, going negative then positive 60 times each second (60 Hz). The benefit and compelling argument for using alternating current … Continued
Three phase power is commonly used where large amounts of electrical power are required. Examples are power transmission lines and large industrial machines which require considerable power. What is three phase power anyway? Let’s start by thinking of a two wire transmission line as shown below connecting the source of alternating current power to the … Continued
Electricity is not something we give considerable attention to in our daily lives. At home or at work (or wherever) there are electrical outlets. We simply plug devices into the outlets and the devices light up, heat, rotate, vibrate, charge or do whatever they’re supposed to do. What’s behind the outlet, generally, is of little concern … Continued
