Why Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaners Are Used by Plastic Manufacturers

Manufacturers of plastic products have to clean their equipment between production runs and often have to clean the plastic products they manufacture as well. Also depending on the end use of the products, different standards of cleanliness for the equipment as well as the materials used may apply. Products provided for food or medicine will require high levels of cleanliness while other, less critical applications may not have the same stringent requirements.

Traditional cleaning methods use mechanical scrubbing for rough cleaning, harsh chemicals for dissolving stubborn dirt and other chemicals for sanitary cleaning. These cleaning methods are expensive, not environmentally friendly and may require additional handling and labor. High performance industrial ultrasonic cleaners can deliver different levels of cleaning action by varying the frequencies and the power. They work without harsh chemicals and clean quickly and effectively. Ultrasonic cleaning bubbles responsible for the cleaning action penetrate wherever there is cleaning liquid and cleaning completely removes contaminants down to the plastic base or tool material.

Advantages of Ultrasonic Systems for Cleaning Plastic Products and Manufacturing Equipment

Industrial ultrasonic cleaners consist of a high power ultrasonic generator, a cleaning tank filled with water and an ultrasonic transducer mounted in the tank. A mild solvent may be added to the water to help dissolve some contaminants and the cleaning solution may be heated to soften grease and rubbery deposits. No strong chemicals are used and there is no requirement for mechanical scrubbing. The benefits of using such a system include the following:

• Reduced costs due to absence of chemicals. No costs for purchase of expensive chemicals or their storage, handling and disposal.
• Reduced labor costs because no manual scrubbing, scraping or pressure washing is required.
• Increased worker safety because the ultrasonic cleaning process is completely safe and does not need supervision or monitoring.
• Less time spent on cleaning because the one-step ultrasonic process is quick.
• Better cleaning performance because ultrasonic cleaning penetrates into holes and crevices and cleans everywhere, completely.
• Longer tool and mold life because ultrasonic cleaning does not scratch or otherwise damage the surfaces of tools and molds.
• Better output quality because the ultrasonic cleaning parameters can be chosen to match specific cleaning requirements by using proper frequencies and power levels.

Once an industrial ultrasonic system has been matched to the requirements of an application by a competent ultrasonic equipment manufacturer, the above benefits automatically flow from the use of the new system. If cleaning applications are varied, such as having to clean a wide variety of products or working with a number of different plastic materials, ultrasonic systems with different power levels and multiple frequencies are available.

Ultrasonic Cleaning Benefits

Plastic manufacturing plants that switch from traditional cleaning methods using chemical baths and mechanical dirt removal to ultrasonic cleaning achieve better facility performance and acquire several competitive advantages. The cost savings from labor and chemicals are substantial but there are additional savings from reduced cleaning times. When the ultrasonic system is adjusted to give the desired cleaning intensity, cleaning performance is better and therefore output quality is improved in general.

Additional improvements are achieved from the ability of ultrasonic systems to clean interior surfaces and hard-to-access areas. With traditional cleaning, such areas were either not cleaned or were cleaned with special tools and measures. Such efforts are no longer required with the new systems.

The key to effectively using an ultrasonic cleaner is to use a system that matches the requirements of the cleaning application. Kaijo has the experience and the complete line of ultrasonic cleaning products to deliver the system that is needed. Using the new system will deliver benefits that come from the advantages of the ultrasonic cleaning technology.