Consider the incredible speeds, temperatures, and pressures that aerospace industry parts routinely endure. Even the best engineered parts must be kept scrupulously clean when in operation. Even the slightest error could cost precious lives and millions of dollars in damage. Traditionally, aerospace parts, whether they were from jet airplanes or rockets, have been precision cleaned in specialized cleaning facilities offsite, creating additional exorbitant overhead costs in labor, time and money.
Fortunately, cleaning technology has advanced along with the tech that powers these futuristic engines. Ultrasonic cleaning has come into its own, allowing aerospace parts to be cleaned in mere minutes instead of hours, and with a minimum of effort. Not only do ultrasonic cleaners clean thoroughly, but also cleans gently, extending the life of aerospace parts and keeping them from weakening or being damaged, increasing flight safety overall. All this adds up to significant savings within the aerospace industry, money which can, in turn, go back to further research or to other needs.
What is Ultrasonic Cleaning?
Ultrasonic cleaning works through a physical principle known as “cavitation.” Cavitation occurs when ultrasound waves created by a transducer pass through a liquid and strike against an object immersed in that liquid. The ultrasonic waves create millions of tiny bubbles which release strong jets of energy when they collapse. These energy jets produce an intense force that dislodges grime from the object being cleaned. One advantage of ultrasonic cleaning is that it cleans from every surface of the object, even interior, hard-to-reach spaces, and crevices. Also, ultrasonic cleaning is relatively gentle and avoids the use of harsh chemicals and solvents.
Precision Cleaning with Ultrasonic Cleaners
Companies that do precision cleaning for aerospace contracts, as well as the aerospace companies themselves, can benefit from the time and cost savings–as well as the more thorough cleaning–they can achieve using ultrasonic cleaners. For example, in the past, cleaning a machined part such a manifold containing many small holes meant difficult and painstaking labor and potentially substandard cleaning. With ultrasonic cleaning devices such as those manufactured by Omegasonics, however, grime and contaminants are easily loosened and can be rinsed away. What’s more, Omegasonics offers a wide variety of models for every industrial need and capacity, from small machines suitable for cleaning dental instruments or handguns, to large capacity machines for cleaning car or aerospace parts. Some of these machines feature filtration systems that allow the detergent solution to be reused, a feature which some ultrasonic cleaners lack, causing them to have to be emptied and cleaned frequently.
There’s an Omegasonics Ultrasonic Machine for Your Exact Need
One of the things Omegasonics is known for is customer service and adapting its offerings according to the need for the customer. For example, one precision cleaner wanted to purchase ultrasonic cleaners, but decided that for its workflow, automating the entire cleaning process was not a good practice because it required a lot of calibration and maintenance. Bottomline for them: some parts cleaning required a human touch to ensure they were completely and thoroughly cleaned. Omegasonics worked with them to select ultrasonic cleaning machines that helped this company strike a good balance between automation and the human touch, enabling the precision cleaning company to automate a good section of its workflow but still leave room for finishing the cleaning with manual brushing and rinsing.
Want to know more about how ultrasonic cleaning can enhance safety in the aerospace industry while lowering costs? Contact our experts at Omegasonics at 888-989-5560 or email us at omegasonics@omegasonics.com