Ultrasonic Parts Cleaners – More Power Doesn’t Always Mean It’s Better

When comparing parts cleaning equipment, you will most likely be looking at a number of factors including the amount of power offered by each system. In the case of ultrasonic cleaning equipment, more power does not necessarily mean the parts cleaner will provide more for your money.  

In some cases, high-powered ultrasonic cleaning systems are needed to do a particular job, but more commonly an assumption is made that more energy is better when it actually is not. In order to understand why more power in an ultrasonic parts cleaning is not always advantageous, you must consider the design, as it relates to ultrasonic transducers and cleaning.

The ultrasonic devices used in an ultrasonic parts cleaner incorporate a number of individual vibrators attached to a plate or diaphragm. A liquid media is contained on the other side of the plate. When the vibrators activate the plate, the vibration produces sound waves in that liquid media. The vibrators depend on resonance at a certain frequency to deliver the required amplitude for vibration to create the cavitation and implosion in the liquid that does the cleaning. The individual vibrators are able to convert about 40 watts of electrical energy into mechanical energy as vibration.

In ultrasonic cleaning systems, the actual power and vibrator design varies from one manufacturer to another. The power of individual vibrators is somewhat limited by the fact the only so much energy can be transmitted to a given area of the transducer, and into the liquid. Increasing the power to the vibrators can be damaging to vibrators and highly inefficient.

Since the power to each vibrator is limited and the plate size is also limited, some designs opt for the placement of additional vibrators. If placed too close together however, the effect can be counter-productive. In a good ultrasonic parts cleaner design, the vibrators are placed in such a way as to maximize their effectiveness without the need for excessive power consumption.

Interested in learning more about how to select the right ultrasonic parts cleaning technology to meet your needs? Contact us today!