What exactly is ultrasonic cleaning?

Ultrasonic Cleaning is a method whereby delicate items are cleaned using a combination of ultrasonic waves and a bath of cleaning solution. The system can be being employed for commercial, industrial and medical purposes.

What is the process used for?

Ultrasonic cleaning is used in conditions where the items to be cleaned would certainly risk damage from other standard cleaning processes – examples include watchmakers, jewellers, optical lens companies, as well as a number of medical and industrial applications.Ultrasonic cleaning is being used for cleaning items that need outstanding gentleness to handle – examples of these include watches, jewels, medical instruments, industrial devices and optical lens. Utilized for any size and shape of the material, the process can even seep through cracks and holes and clean up these small spaces. Best of all, one doesn’t have to disassemble a particular item in order to clean it, making the whole process faster.

The process is suited to cleaning most challenging, non absorbent materials that aren’t chemically attacked by the solvent used – as an example metals and plastics. Ultrasonic cleaning is effective in removing a variety of impurities, including dust, dirt, grease, oil, blood and polishing compounds, amongst others.

How does this work?

Items to be cleaned are placed in a bath of cleaning solution. The solution could incorporate simply tap water or in some cases, a special product is added to make the cleaning process more thorough. A surfactant is usually combined with the tap water to minimize the water’s surface tension and thus allow for cleaner outcomes.

The solution is then subjected to ultrasonic sound waves – a very high frequency type that cannot be noticed by human ears. This can be obtained by either lowering an ultrasonic transducer made out of a piezoelectric material straight into the cleaning solution, or by having the ultrasonic transducer built into the ultrasonic cleaning machine itself.

This will cause compression waves in the liquid which will bring forth very small bubbles. These microscopic vacuum bubbles implode with incredible force, agitating the contaminants and weakening their bond to the item being cleaned. Since the implosion is microscopic, the item being cleaned is not damaged but the dirt attached to them will be effectively removed.

The great thing about this technique is that the size of the cavitation bubbles may be altered by the ultrasonic waves with higher frequencies resulting to smaller bubble sizes. This means that the cleaning process can be controlled externally with great accuracy, allowing the controlled cleaning of delicate items and cleaning items with intricate detail without the risk of destroying the item. With the help of ultrasonic cleaning, items may now be cleaned without needing to worry about the damage that would be completed to the materials, making the whole process incredibly less dangerous.