In my experience, drying deserves a lot more attention than is usually gets in the design of a cleaning system. If for no other reason, drying deserves extra attention because it is almost always the most time-consuming of all steps in the parts cleaning process.
Cleaning sample parts in a test laboratory is one of the logical first steps in the development of a cleaning process and the subsequent specification of cleaning hardware to perform that process. Earlier in my life, as the test lab manager for one of the largest suppliers of ultrasonic cleaning equipment in the world, I … Continued
Just about every cleaning process is performed in the interest of providing a clean part. This makes the “deliverable” a clean part! Part cleanliness, however, is often not the variable that is tracked in the interest of quality control. Let’s talk about that. It would be nice if there was a simple way to test … Continued
Ultrasonic agitation of cleaning solutions is just one of many tools that can be used to facilitate and enhance a cleaning process. High frequency vibrations are introduced into a bath of liquid cleaning solution by specially designed devices called transducers which are similar in concept to loudspeakers but designed to operate at much higher sound … Continued
Somewhere along the way, maybe half a lifetime ago, I got involved in photography on a semi-professional basis. I photographed a bunch of weddings and also spent a lot of time cruising around back roads taking pictures of birds, colored leaves, snow banks, flowers and whatever else I thought was interesting that got in the … Continued
The use of some kind of chemistry is an important and unavoidable part of most industrial cleaning processes. Chemistries can remain effective for as little as a few hours or as long as a year or more depending on the chemistry and how it is used. In the end, however, cleaning chemistry must be disposed … Continued
Having a means to evaluate and monitor the cleanliness of parts after cleaning is essential to assure the success and consistency of any cleaning process. Selecting and properly applying the appropriate cleanliness test for a particular application is a task that should not be taken lightly. A cleaning test should be able to quantify the … Continued
When I first started working with ultrasonic cleaning back in the early 1960’s “ultrasonic” meant 20kHz. That’s all there was! Some very early sonic cleaning equipment used by one of the major automotive manufacturers in the prior decade had operated at 10kHz using a motor/generator to develop the driving signal for some very crude transducers … Continued
There are four basic variables that, combined, establish the success or failure of any industrial cleaning process. The variables are Time, Temperature, Chemistry and Agitation. Although there may be additional variables – things like fixture design and variations in the process prior to cleaning – which can have major impact and, in fact, make or … Continued
The most challenging applications for filtration often involve either very small particles or huge volumes of particles – sometimes both. The filtration of buffing and lapping compound residues from solution is a good example of such an application. There are a number of “specialty” filters available which may answer the needs of the more challenging applications. … Continued