{"id":7993,"date":"2007-03-20T19:02:42","date_gmt":"2007-03-20T19:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omegasonics.com\/?p=7993"},"modified":"2019-08-19T13:31:24","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T18:31:24","slug":"ultrasonic-cleaning-saves-time-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omegasonics.com\/knowledge-center\/article\/ultrasonic-cleaning-saves-time-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultrasonic Cleaning Saves Time, Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

PF Online\/March 2007 \u2013 Ultrasonic Cleaning System Replaces Labor-Intensive Solvent Cleaning<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Eaton\u2019s large ultrasonic system features 300-gal tanks for washing and rinsing, and up to 4000 W of ultrasonic power.<\/p>\n

Agitation in the rinse tank is via the action of the hoist. Parts cleaning in industrial settings-especially those with demanding quality requirements, such as in the aerospace industry-has traditionally necessitated costly and time-consuming dedicated labor and solvents that can be dangerous for workers and for the environment.<\/p>\n

Cleaning fluids often require special chemical handling and disposal, and hand cleaning parts is not only labor-intensive but may result in missed soils in part cracks and crevices.<\/p>\n

Eaton\u2019s large ultrasonic system features 300-gal tanks for washing and rinsing, and up to 4000 W of ultrasonic power. Agitation in the rinse tank is via the action of the hoist.<\/p>\n

Any missed soils were unacceptable to Boeing Corp. and other customers of Eaton Corporation\u2019s Fluid Conveyance Div. plant in Jackson, MI. The plant\u2019s 350 employees produce custom tubing for conveying air, oil, water and other fluids in aerospace and marine applications.<\/p>\n

Eaton has been in business since 1940. Its products are used on a variety of civilian and military aircraft, including the Airbus A380, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Workers first cut tubing to length, then use CNC tube benders and other equipment to produce more than 10,000 different part numbers, according to senior manufacturing engineer Bud Greener.<\/p>\n

Work materials include stainless and carbon steels, plus titanium, aluminum and Inconel alloys, and tubing sizes range from about 1\/4 to 3 in. diameter with a variety of wall thicknesses.<\/p>\n

Internal Contamination<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Greener explains that keeping the inside diameter of tubes open during bending often requires use of a mandrel. \u201cIt\u2019s like a straw,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf you bend a straw, it will kink. But if you fill it with sand and then bend it, it won\u2019t kink.\u201d<\/p>\n

Problems arise because mandrels necessitate use of fluids on the tube ID. Some of the compounds used are water-based. Others are oil-based and very viscous, including one Eaton workers call Heavy Honey.
\n\u201cIf you have a tight radius especially, you want to have a lubricant that can handle extreme pressure,\u201d Greener explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat requires one of the heavier lubricants. If we have to use Heavy Honey, we actually flow mineral spirits through the tube first before ultrasonic cleaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultrasonic Solution<\/h2>\n
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\"Produced from carbon and stainless steels, titanium and aluminum alloys, and Inconel alloys, many of Eaton\u2019s parts feature complex multiple bends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Using hand cleaning and solvents on a few parts is not so bad compared with the plant\u2019s previous cleaning method, which was hand cleaning of all parts. \u201cPrior to the ultrasonic systems, we cleaned the tubes manually,\u201d Greener recalls. \u201cNow, we put them into the cleaning system and walk away to do something else while the parts are being cleaned.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ultrasonic cleaning system currently used by Eaton was manufactured by Omegasonics Corp. (Simi Valley, CA). It was installed after the plant\u2019s initial foray into ultrasonics turned out to be a disappointment. \u201cThe first system ran for six months or so, and we started seeing parts coming out not clean and other problems,\u201d Greener says. \u201cPlus, maintenance and service were difficult. Sometimes we literally had to wait months for someone to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greener and his supervisor discovered Omegasonics at a trade show, and were impressed not only with the company\u2019s cost estimate but also with its emphasis on service and maintenance. They commissioned Omegasonics to retrofit Eaton\u2019s old ultrasonic system, consisting of two, 300-gal stainless steel tanks with new generators and other components. The company also supplied components for a couple of smaller ultrasonic systems machines.<\/p>\n

Working with Greener, Omegasonics supplied six transducer and generator sets for each tank. Eaton employees installed the retrofit components and built the new control panel. The retrofit features Omegasonics\u2019 Super Pro and Pro Plus single-phase amplifiers, which can deliver up to 4,000 W of ultrasonic power.<\/p>\n

The modular design of the retrofit components allows ease of maintenance, according to Greener. \u201cWith the old system, it was hard to tell if one of the amplifiers wasn\u2019t working properly,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWith this system and our control panel, I can turn on each amplifier separately and make sure it\u2019s working properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

If one amp is malfunctioning, the tank can be drained and the malfunctioning unit replaced without disturbing the other units. Greener had the in-tank units designed with eyebolts for easy attachment of a hoist and removal.<\/p>\n

The large ultrasonic system operates at 140\u00b0F in the rinse, which also features mechanical agitation via the hoist used to move baskets of parts. The cleaning solution used is specified by Boeing, one of Eaton\u2019s main customers. \u201cBoeing mandates that we use certain processes and materials, so that they know have a controlled manufacturing process for parts we supply,\u201d Greener says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to stick to the approved process. If you don\u2019t they can shut you down-and they have auditors out on the road every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smaller ultrasonic units have the same amplifiers and transducers as the larger unit, but they run at a different voltage. \u201cBasically, we vary ultrasonic frequency to handle different parts and different part densities,\u201d Greener says. \u201cWe also use ultrasonics to clean out bending tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multiple Benefits<\/h2>\n
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\"Eaton also operates a smaller ultrasonic system to handle quantities of fittings and other small parts. This system features ultrasonic in the wash tank and mechanical agitation for rinsing.<\/p>\n

Ultrasonic cleaning technology provides several benefits for Eaton, according to Greener. For starters, it reduces the amount of hand labor required to make a tube ready for shipment. \u201cBefore we went ultrasonic, we cleaned all the tubes manually,\u201d he says. \u201cNow we just put most of them in the ultrasonic unit, adjust the settings, and walk away to do something else while they\u2019re being cleaned.\u201d Greener calculates that ultrasonic cleaning eliminates 5 to 10 minutes of hand labor per tube-conservatively, about 20 hours per week total.<\/p>\n

But labor savings with an ultrasonic cleaning system is not the only benefit. According to Greener, the vast majority-90% or more-most of Eaton\u2019s parts are bent to spec, then cleaned and placed into stock to await completion with welded fittings or other finishing touches. Before being placed into stock, they are chemically cleaned in any of several baths that depend on the work material. Chemical cleaners include nitric and muriatic acids, caustic cleaners for carbon steel tubes, and acetone.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, if a part\u2019s going to be cut and welded later, it needs to be chemically clean,\u201d Greener explains. \u201cIf parts go into a chemical cleaning tank and they\u2019re not already clean, they will contaminate the tank. Then we have to drain and recharge it, and that\u2019s costly and time-consuming.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo parts need to be as clean as we can get them before they go into the chemical cleaning tanks. If we can avoid contaminating those tanks, that\u2019s definitely a cost savings.\u201d The normal schedule for draining and recharging the plant\u2019s chemical cleaning tanks is about every two to four weeks, he adds.<\/p>\n

Fine-Tune Cleaning & Rinsing with Ultrasonic Retrofits<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This article describes some of the benefits Eaton Corp. achieved by retrofitting its ultrasonic cleaning system with new amplifiers and controls. But is retrofitting right for your application?<\/p>\n

Find the link to article online at
\nwww.pfonline.com\/articles\/030702.html<\/a>
\nProducts Finishing March 2007<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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