Ultrasonic degreasers use transducers to emit energy that breaks up contaminants on parts, making them effective for cleaning difficult-to-degrease items. They consist of a signal generator, transducer, and tank, and can be used for industrial or personal cleaning. When used with a solvent cleaning system, ultrasonic degreasing is one step in a multi-step process that results in highly satisfactory degreasing. Environmentally friendly solvents are now used in industrial degreasing machines.
An ultrasonic degreaser uses energy emitted from a transducer to break up grease and other contaminants on a part. The transducers in ultrasonic cleaners emit a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic signal of approximately 30 kilohertz (kHz), which results in a mechanical vibration called cavitation in the contaminants. In industrial degreasing, an ultrasonic degreaser is often incorporated into steam degreasers.
Because an ultrasonic degreaser is effective at cleaning parts that are difficult to degrease with other methods, it is now widely used for applications ranging from cleaning a glass lens to degreasing automotive parts. Porous materials such as brass are particularly difficult to clean using conventional metal degreasers. Vapor degreasing solvent alone tends to leave contaminants in the pores and crevices that an ultrasonic degreaser can effectively clean.
An ultrasonic degreaser consists of a few basic parts, which include a signal generator, transducer, and tank. Because many ultrasonic degreasers are integrated into a solvent cleaning process, components such as filters, rinsers, dryers, and other specific design features are included in the ultrasonic degreaser. Components vary depending on the usage requirements of the degreaser. Industrial models can be quite large and have multiple chambers, while desktop models for personal use are easily portable.
Ultrasonic industrial degreasers are used for large pieces and for large quantities of smaller pieces. These could include automotive parts, dental tools, and printed circuit boards (PCBs), among many applications for an industrial cleaner. Light or personal degreasers can be used for a variety of items such as eyeglasses, golf clubs and jewelry.
When used as part of a solvent cleaning system such as a vapor degreaser, ultrasonic degreasing is one step in a multi-step degreasing process. The parts are immersed in a vapor chamber above the hot solvent and are subjected to vapors rising from the hot solvent and RF energy from the ultrasonic transducer. The combination of mechanical cleaning via cavitation and chemical cleaning from the vaporized solvent generally results in highly satisfactory degreasing.
For many parts degreased using combined steam and ultrasonic degreasing technology, a rinse bath followed by heat and forced air drying completes the cleaning cycle. For parts potentially damaged by immersion in water, ultrasound can be used alone. From the recognition of the harmful impact on the environment of solvents classified as ozone depleting solvents (ODS), industrial degreasing machines have been designed to work with a more environmentally friendly type of solvent.
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