Ultrasonic Piezo
On the face of it, an ultrasonic cleaner appears to be a fairly uncomplicated piece of equipment: just a stainless steel a control knob to set temperature and running time; and an on/off switch. As long as you use the appropriate cleaning solution, you should get consistent results every time, right? Well, not quite.
Most ultrasonic cleaner users have a basic idea of how it works. A piezoelectric transducer, usually mounted on the bottom of the cleaning bath, generates very high frequency ultrasound waves in a cleaning medium, which is a specified cleaning liquid diluted in water, preferably distilled or de-ionized, water to the desired concentration. The ultrasonic waves agitate the liquid to produce a multitude of very tiny vacuum-filled bubbles, which implode with immense force against the component placed in the cleaning solution, literally lifting off grime and other impurities. The process is known as cavitation.
As with most equipment, if you want consistent results, you should replicate the inputs as closely as possible. In an ultrasonic cleaner, the only moving part, if you will, is the solution placed in the bath. Quite logically, with each cycle, the dirt and grime lifted off the parts cleaned remain in the liquid; and it gets visibly dirty. It is not always economical or necessary to replenish the cleaning solution after each cycle, so you need to gauge when the solution is dirty enough to affect performance. As dirt accumulates in the solution, the cavitation bubbles grow less active; and the cleaning less efficient.
So after a few cleaning cycles, you replace the cleaning solution with a fresh batch. If you then run the cleaner in the normal mode, you will observe the following. A layer, almost a veil, of very fine bubbles start rising to the surface all over the cleaning fluid. This alters the frequency of the ultrasound waves. You can almost hear that the cleaner is not operating at full efficiency because the audible clicks generated by the ultrasound waves agitating the cleaning medium sound muted. The sound starts to increase in volume once the veil of bubbles rises to the surface; and the ultrasonic action starts working at around 85% capacity. This is generally enough to remove contaminants. However, all these constraints can be lifted if you degas the cleaning solution before starting the cleaning process.
The other factors that affect ultrasonic cleaner performance are temperature, surface tension, viscosity, and density of the cleaning solution. Sometimes even the level of cleaning liquid you fill in the tank matters: filling too much can cause some of it to spill over the edges when the ultrasonic action is on. However, this is not harmful to the process.
Sometimes, out of ignorance or carelessness, users place the objects to be cleaned directly on the tank bottom. This is a mistake, since the transducer that generates the ultrasonic energy is delicate and glued to the tank bottom. It can be easily damaged or loosened by metal parts placed on it.
Firoze Hirjikaka is a retired Civil Engineer with a Master's degree in Structural Engineering from London University. After retirement he is pursuing his passion for scientific & industrial equipment at Tovatech, a leading North American supplier of ultrasonic cleaners. For more details on this article, please visit the ultrasonic cleaner section of the Tovatech website.
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