Production Machining

DEC 2014

Production Machining - Your access to the precision machining industrial buyer.

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46 PRODUCTION MACHINING :: DECEMBER 2014 the efectiveness of the cleaning. To extend the life of the solution and save time by reducing the frequency of change-outs, circu- lating fltration can be built into systems to continuously flter contaminants. Accessories: Some accessories—such as a basket or tray to hold the parts above the foor of the tank and a tank cover to keep dust and dirt out of the solution when the system is not in use—are important parts of an efective ultrasonic cleaning system. Tese accessories are standard equipment with some systems, yet optional add-ons with others. Power Requirements Finally, a shop needs to determine the level of ultrasonic power that will be needed to clean its parts. Shops often overspend in this area, believing they need a certain number of watts per gallon (watt density). But this measure is not a standard and will vary based on the application. Again, it comes down to knowing the application and its requirements. Because many ultrasonic systems ofer adjustable power levels, a shop may decide to purchase a system that can clean efectively at about 50 percent for the majority of its applica- tions. Anything stronger than this should not be necessary, but it's a good idea to have some extra power to compensate for when the cavitation energy starts to drop of at the end of the system's life. What many people do not realize is that as systems age, the intensity of the cavitation actually increases at frst. When this happens, the power may need to be decreased to protect sensitive parts. Generally, the mean time between failure (MTBF) on most ultrasonic transducers that are driven by a piezoelectric is 20,000 hours, and shops can assume :: Sometimes, more efective cleaning can be achieved by using difering frequency levels between the wash and rinse tanks. :: The Viking X3 Plus ultrasonic cleaning system from Omegasonics ofers wash, rinse, and dry in a single unit.

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