When Ultrasonic Cleaning is not right for you what do you do ?!

When Ultrasonic Cleaning is not right for you what do you do ?!

We are ultrasonic cleaning experts, but we are very familiar with other cleaning methodologies, and even use some of them in house as an alternative to ultrasonic cleaner.

So we have our own jet washer and vapour blaster. We’re also pretty friendly with a lot of the companies that make the equipment for these alternative cleaning methodologies.

So when we get asked to resolve a cleaning issue we don’t just propose ultrasonics where we think an alternative cleaning method is better.

For example, we recently visited a bakery making roles that had issues of;

1. A contaminated conveyor belt from a glaze spray on their buns, and
2. Contaminated baking pans from residue of the buns after coming out of the ovens

Because they wanted to clean the conveyor in process without interfering or contaminating ongoing production, ultrasonics would be a cumbersome and complex option. We, therefore, suggested a bespoke high-pressure steam spray to remove and simultaneously extract the glaze residue whilst simultaneously leaving a perfectly clean and dry conveyor was far preferable.

Likewise, while ultrasonics scan clean carbon and grease residue from baking trays the quantities they required were really more suited to a tunnel type jet wash and dry operation.

So we have put the bakery in touch with our professional colleagues in the jet wash and steam cleaning sectors to help solve these specific problems they have.

Why would we do this? Because our philosophy is that we help ourselves as well as the prospect by offering the best possible solutions to their problems. When we add value it enhances our reputation as well as helping others. Of course, I love it when we can solve the problem with our own ultrasonic cleaning solution, but failing our solution someone else’s is the next best thing. The worst outcome is offering an inferior solution.

So if you have a cleaning issue but you’re not sure what cleaning method would be best suited we are more than happy to take a look and give you our honest opinion. We’re here to help solve your cleaning issues.

If you would like greater insight into alternative cleaning methods, their descriptions, pros and cons, we have another blog post that you might find useful Alternative Cleaning Methods compared.

To book a Free Trial Clean or for any questions you may have please get in touch with one of our friendly staff who can advise you on the best practice. Call us on 01924 495975 or email Sales@sonicsolutionsltd.com

Where does Ultrasonic Cleaning not work?

While ultrasonics can remove virtually any contaminant from any material they are particularly best suited to the following general situations:

1. Removal of limited quantities of contaminant from hard surfaces;
2. Removal of contaminant from hard to access openings and chambers;
3. Removal of contaminants from finely made items where it is not possible to apply abrasive or stronger chemical cleaning methods;

Conversely, ultrasonics are less well, or even not suited at all, in the following situations:

1. Where there are large levels of contamination on the items being cleaned jet spray, media blasting or heat treatment are usually more effective (although a simple pre-cleaning process may well make it suitable for economic and effective ultrasonic cleaning);
2. Where contaminants are effectively bonded to the item, as opposed to simply adhering to it. Heat or abrasive based cleaning methods usually make more sense in these situations;
3. Where items cannot be safely submerged in the solution, or drying is particularly difficult;
4. Where items are soft, therefore absorbing ultrasonics rather than allowing it to remove the contaminant from it.

Sometimes a dual process is needed, for example with the photo above. Ultrasonics alone wouldn’t remove the melted plastic from the holes. We decided our best course of action would be to burn it out using pyrolysis which got rid of all the plastic. We were then left with bare metal which was covered in surface rust which ultrasonic cleaning is perfectly suited for. This left the item looking like new.

If you have any questions about whether ultrasonic cleaning is right for your job or to book a Free Trial Clean, please get in touch and talk to one of our friendly cleaning experts who can give you guidance on the best cleaning method for your needs. Call us on 01924 495975 or email hello@sonicsolutionsltd.com

How long does ultrasonic cleaning take?

How long is a piece of string!? This blog post looks at the six variables that can determine how long ultrasonic cleaning takes.  These variables include:

1. How dirty the item is to start with. Clearly the dirtier it starts the longer it will take to clean;
2. How many parts are being cleaned together, particularly in relation to the size of the ultrasonic cleaning bath? The more crowded a tank the less effective and therefore the longer the clean will take;
3. The power of the ultrasonics. Weak ultrasonics will tend to result in a longer clean time, but care must be taken with the power level to ensure it doesn’t damage the items being cleaned themselves.
4. How effective the cleaning chemistry is. Good cleaning chemistry speeds up the ultrasonic cleaning cycle tremendously.
5. How clean you want the items themselves. Obviously the cleaner you want them, the longer the cleaning process will take. For particularly demanding cleaning specifications it is common to use a series of ultrasonic wash tanks getting progressively cleaner;
6. How sensitive the material being cleaned is to potential damage from overexposure to ultrasonic activity. Whilst not particularly common care must be taken with lighter metals such as aluminium particularly with polished surfaces, to not overexpose to ultrasonic activity.

However given all the above, our experience is that 5 to 30 minutes ultrasonic wash cycles are typical for a controlled and established cleaning process. However, this may not include pre-clean, rinsing, drying and packaging processes which would also add to the overall cleaning cycle time.

To book a Free Trial Clean or to discuss any other ultrasonic cleaning requirements with one of our expert staff. Call us today on 01924 495 975 or email hello@sonicsolutionsltd.com

6 Reasons to use Ultrasonic Cleaning

1. It is non-destructive and non-damaging to the item being cleaned unlike many purely physical cleaning methods;
2. Its ability to clean items with variable geometry including uneven, remote, small and internal surfaces. Ultrasonic activity accesses all parts of the item in contact with the solution, including small holes and internal chambers which no other cleaning method can guarantee.
3. Because it is usually using water based products it presents fewer health, safety and environmental issues.
4.  It is extremely versatile in the contaminants it can remove since the chemistry can be altered depending upon the contaminant. Ultrasonics are far more universally successful than other methods relying on purely physical or chemical activity. Ultrasonics can successfully remove scale, grease, inks, rusts and particulate;
5. Using a mixture of chemistry and physics to remove contaminants it requires less potent chemistry and less physical force than alternative methods such as solvents and blasting;
6. With ultrasonic bubbles typically ranging from 20 to 150 microns it is also able to achieve levels of cleanliness few alternatives can match and even destroys bacteria and organic contaminants.

How Does Ultrasonic Cleaning Work?

Ultrasonic waves are sound waves with frequencies greater than 20kHz. Their wavelength and wavespeed vary depending on the medium, or cleaning solution, they are formed in. Inaudible to humans, ultrasound waves are longitudinal waves that vibrate in the direction they are travelling, forming areas of high pressure (compressions) and low pressure (rarefactions) as shown in the image below.

Ultrasound waves create microscopic bubbles as they pass through certain fluids. This occurs as the areas of low pressure in the longitudinal waves drop below the vapour pressure of the cleaning solution forming a ‘hole’ or vacuum bubble. Vapour pressure is the pressure that a vaporised fluid exerts on the surface of the same fluid in liquid form, when they are both at thermal equilibrium. These bubbles oscillate due to an acoustic field then implode, forming shock waves as the surrounding fluid flows to fill the void left by the bubble. This process of bubble formation and implosion is called non-inertial cavitation. These cavitation bubbles are microscopic and exist for an extremely short period of time, thus they cannot be seen with the naked human eye.

Cavitation bubbles can produce local pressures of up to 20,000 psi and local temperatures of up to 5,000°C (approximately the temperature of the surface of the Sun). Shock waves formed by cavitation at the boundary between a fluid and a solid can dislodge contaminants and dirt from the surface of the solid. In this way, a variety of solid objects can be efficiently cleaned to a high standard.

The size and life cycle of the cavitation bubble will depend primarily on the frequency. Lower frequencies produce larger, longer lasting bubbles with more powerful implosion forces, whilst higher frequencies produce smaller, shorter duration bubbles with weaker implosion forces. Typically, the diameter of cavitation bubbles varies from 40 microns at higher frequencies (like 80kHz) to 150 microns at lower frequencies (like 20kHz).

To book a Free Trial Clean or to discuss any other ultrasonic cleaning requirements with one of our expert staff. Call us today on 01924 495 975 or email hello@sonicsolutionsltd.com

How much does ultrasonic cleaning cost?

We’re based in Yorkshire and the cry “ ’Ow much ?!” is a common response to quoting a price so we are used to explaining where our prices come from. However, we’ve never thought to explain our pricing in public before.

Yes, every part is different, just like cars, so prices do vary. However, the following factors are the major variables influencing the price of an ultrasonic cleaning job.

Firstly the item itself;

1. Size – small items require smaller ultrasonic baths which reduces cost ;
2. Geometry of the part – complex surfaces and interiors require more bespoke cleaning occupying more machine and labour time.
3. Weight of the item – larger items are harder to handle and usually bigger so occupy more time and usually more space in a tank.
4. Complexity of the cleaning process – some items require a simple clean and rinse. Others require a more complex and labour intensive series of cleaning, rinsing, drying and packing.
5. Quantities – your cleaning setup of an ultrasonic bath is really the same whether it’s 1 item or 101 items you’re cleaning.
6. Contamination – the type of contamination, whether it’s light or heavy contaminant all has an influence on how quickly something will clean.
7. Drying – some parts are very easy to dry whilst other parts like plastics with lots of complex geometry are far harder and so take more time.
8. Frequency of cleaning – this has 2 influences. Just as with volume discounts, the more frequently a customer sends parts to clean the better price you can give, and also the more frequently parts are cleaned the lighter contaminant present and easier to clean.
9. Level of cleanliness required – Precision engineered parts used in high tech, high spec industries do require a very high level of cleanliness which ties in with the number of cleaning operations that may be required.

Secondly, the cleaning process itself

The unpacking, washing, rinsing, drying and repacking that is the basic series of operations within the cleaning process has 4 main cost constituents

1. The machinery which usually costs thousands of pounds.
2. Labour which generally costs hundreds of pounds.
3. Ultrasonic cleaning chemicals which normally cost up to £100 or £200.
4. The overheads of the cleaning site which have to be covered.

We normally like to split the cost between a setup charge and a unit cost, to accommodate varying quantities that may be sent. As a rough guide we would normally try and recover around £500 per day of 1-man/1-machine/1-chemical.

Examples of the costs of cleaning various common parts may prove helpful, so here goes!

• Filters – from £25 to £500 depending on size, part complexity, and cleanliness spec levels;
• Print Rollers – from £40 to £400 depending upon size;
• Precision engineered parts – from £5 to £100 depending upon size, weight, cleanliness spec, quantity and complexity of the cleaning process & packaging.
• Auto parts – from £50 to £500 depending upon size, contamination levels, and quantity
• PCB boards – from £30 to £50 depending upon quantity.
• Small plastic/metal items – usually pennies to low pounds, almost totally dependent on the level of contamination and volume.

This is a rough guide, but hopefully gives some indication of where we get our prices from. We don’t just conjure them from thin air. We always try and make it work for the customer, but sometimes it won’t. Usually, when it doesn’t work it is because people have unrealistic expectations of what the cleaning should cost. Hopefully this brief guide will give a few insights into what will influence the price you will pay for cleaning.

For a definitive answer just get in touch. We’ll often suggest a free trial clean to both prove the cleaning from your point of view, and assess the price we need to charge from our point of view. Call us today on 01924 495 975 or email hello@sonicsolutionsltd.com