Ultrasonic Cleaning Tanks

Ultrasonic cleaning tanks hold the cleaning liquid, which cleans parts and components through the action of cavitation bubbles generated from the ultrasonic sound waves. When an ultrasonic generator produces the electric signal, the transducer within the tank converts that signal into waves within the cleaning liquid. The part being cleaned is suspended in the tank and immersed in the cleaning solution, and the cavitation bubbles created by the transducers remove all surface contamination. Cleaning cycles typically take 10-15 minutes, and parts with complex shapes can be cleaned effectively and thoroughly.

Cleaning tanks need to withstand the cleaning action and vibrations created by the transducers, and they have to be constructed to satisfy many different cleaning requirements. Kaijo’s tanks use high-quality construction and provide reliable and effective cleaning performance.

Design and Construction of Ultrasonic Cleaning Tanks

Kaijo’s tanks are designed to provide highly reliable performance for a wide variety of industrial cleaning applications. They are made of thick gloss polished stainless steel, which provides a stable structure for use with either mounted or stand-alone immersible transducers and functions as an inert container for the cleaning liquid. Kaijo can supply specific tanks designed to work with their full product line of ultrasonic generators and transducers to meet the specific requirements of the cleaning application.

Ultrasonic cleaning tanks need to be sized to hold the parts for the cleaning application. Parts are usually suspended in a basket to avoid contact with the sides or bottom of the tank, where they could suffer damage due to vibrations. The basket has to be large enough to hold the parts to be cleaned and also fit within the tank.

Cleaning tanks are available in both standard as well as custom sizes. The standard sizes range from 270 mm width by 370 mm length (10.6 in. x 14.6 in.) with a height of 250 mm (9.8 in.) up to 520 mm width by 550 mm length (20.5 in. x 21.7 in.) with a height of 300 mm (11.8 in.). All tanks are gloss-polished stainless steel 3mm (0.12 in.) thick and provide superior support for all ultrasonic cleaning applications.

Cleaning Tank Operation

Kaijo’s tanks are available with mounted transducers and generators that operate at 26 kHz, 38 kHz, 78 kHz, 100 kHz, 130 kHz, 160 kHz or 200 kHz. The cleaning tanks are complete systems that deliver effective, robust cleaning action and typically clean most parts within 10-15 minutes.

Any of Kaijo’s ultrasonic generators can be combined with an ultrasonic cleaning tank and mounted transducer to provide a cost-effective turnkey system. This equipment combination can clean glass, ceramics, and machined parts, as well as printed circuit boards and medical devices.  The transducers within the cleaning tank are heat resistant up to 100 degrees Centigrade, and Kaijo’s Water Resonance System may also be used to substantially increase cleaning effectiveness.

Cleaning tanks can operate using either plain or distilled water. With certain kinds of contaminants, adding a mild detergent and/or heating the cleaning solution with an optional tank heater can speed up cleaning performance. This is especially true for contaminants such as oil or grease that soften at higher temperatures and may be dissolved by the use of mild detergents.