Are you working with very small or fine parts that need to be cleaned? Are you still cleaning those parts by hand? Why not consider switching to an Omegasonics ultrasonic cleaning system? Not only will the time it takes to get your cleaning jobs done be dramatically reduced, but you can also increase the precision of the cleaning action of your ultrasonic cleaner by increasing the frequency of the oscillator!
The Principal behind Ultrasonic Cleaners
If you are not familiar with the principals of operation of an ultrasonic cleaner, you may be wondering to what frequency is being referred.
Ultrasonic cleaners operate by using sound waves to do the cleaning. A small device called a piezoelectric oscillator creates sonic waves in a cleaning fluid. To best visualize this, picture dropping a rock into a lake. Where the rock impacts, you can see the ripples pushing out over the surface. The peaks and dips in the waves are what create the cleaning action.
The vibration of the oscillator in the solution causes very small bubbles. The bubbles carry a high amount of energy with them. When the bubbles collide with the part you are cleaning, they release that energy. Anything that isn’t supposed to be attached to your part will be slowly broken up and carried away by the bubbles. This process is called cavitation.
Where Does Frequency Fit In?
Let’s go back to our analogy of the rock in the lake. Dropping one rock into the lake will cause a series of ripples that will eventually disappear. What happens if you drop a second rock into that exact spot? More ripples. Imagine being able to time it so that you could drop a rock in the water with enough precision to just keep the ripples moving across the surface. Now, what happens if you drop rocks in faster?
Dropping them in faster will impart more energy into the fluid and causing the space between the ripples to shrink. This is exactly what happens in your ultrasonic cleaner. As you increase the frequency of the osculation, the bubbles that are created in the cleaning solution get smaller and smaller.
How Does This Increase Precision?
If you are cleaning something like tubing or a hypodermic needle, you may be in need of making sure that a very small orifice is opened. This means that smaller bubbles will be able to carry more energy to the small places you really to clean for your precision cleaning application.
This can be extremely helpful in the electronics industry. Being able to clean up very small solder drops or break free potentially damaging traces that are invisible to the naked eye can all be achieved just by having your cleaner at a higher frequency!
Take a look at Omegasonics catalog and see what we have to offer. You may find something that would fit perfectly in your business.
