Custom Industrial Ultrasonic Cleaners

Custom Ultrasonic Cleaners Built for Your Cleaning Application

• We build systems to your specifications
• Price comparable to standard unit; customization is not costly
• Ideal for parts too large or numerous for off-the-shelf tank
• High quality equipment with 2-year warranty and excellent technical support
• Many optional features available to meet your needs
• Our custom equipment is used all over world

Industrial ultrasonic cleaning provides tremendous advantages over alternate cleaning methods, but an off-the-shelf ultrasonic unit is not available with the right dimensions for your parts.  This problem is solved with a custom-built ultrasonic cleaner from Tovatech.

Tovatech works closely with you to design and manufacture ultrasonic cleaning equipment with tank dimensions, cleaning cycles, heating and ultrasonic power, electrical power supply, cleaning solutions and accessories based on your specific requirements.  Our engineering team is competent, flexible and quick, designing and building your system in a short time period. You may be surprised to learn that the cost of a custom unit is often comparable to a standard unit.

Many factors come into play when considering a customized ultrasonic cleaning system. In most cases the decision is influenced by product size or unusual cleaning processes.   If you don’t have the expertise to provide equipment specifications, we will ask detailed questions about what you are trying to accomplish and our engineering team will design an optimized system for your application.

Not sure whether ultrasonic cleaning is the best method for cleaning your parts?  Keep in mind that ultrasonic cleaning is ideal for complex parts that are difficult to clean manually or require a high degree of cleanliness.  It offers higher throughput with less manual labor than hand scrubbing.  And most parts can be cleaned with environmentally-friendly water-based solutions.

Companies considering a customized ultrasonic cleaning process are encouraged to talk with Tovatech professionals at the outset.  It may turn out that we can recommend a standard system that solves the problem.  If such is not the case we will work with you to determine specialized system requirements that guide the customization process.

What Guides the Customization Process?

We team with you to design and build ultrasonic cleaning equipment by matching the machines to the desired cleaning outcomes.   Customization requires careful consideration of products being cleaned,  proper tank sizes, ultrasonic frequencies employed, bath temperatures,  the dirt or contaminants being removed, balancing cleaning speed against cost,  the degree of automation desired,  selecting the correct ultrasonic cleaning solution, cleaning solution recovery and reuse, and safety issues relating to specialized cleaning solvents.

Equipment design and manufacturing begins when these issues are thoroughly understood and agreed to by all parties.

Customization Factors

There are several key considerations when designing your system and many optional features. Tovatech has experts to guide customers through these decisions. While each case is different, here are some parameters you may want to evaluate.

Tank Dimensions and Cleaning Throughput:

The dimensions of your parts and the number of parts to be cleaned per batch determine the dimensions of the tank.  Unavailability of a standard tank with the required dimensions is the most common reason for choosing a custom unit.

Ultrasonic Power:

Ultrasonic power is measured in watts per gallon of cleaning solution.  Power requirements depend on the tank volume and well as the type of cleaning to be accomplished.  Large capacity tanks require fewer watts of ultrasonic power per gallon than smaller models.  High throughput – such as more parts per cycle or faster cleaning cycles – may translate to higher power and higher operating costs.

Extending Solution Life:

Filtration systems are often included in large ultrasonic cleaning equipment to extend the life of the cleaning solution.  Pumps and filters along with weirs to skim off oil can quickly pay for themselves in operations that normally would require frequent solution replacement.

Degree of Automation:

High labor costs make a strong case for automation, allowing skilled personnel to focus on revenue-producing activities rather than running an ultrasonic cleaning bath.  Custom automation machinery can be designed to lower baskets or large parts into the bath, perform oscillation cycles, and remove parts from the bath into a rinsing and drying cycle.  Cleaning cycles can be timed and automatically shut off.

Ultrasonic Frequencies Employed:

The type of cleaning being done guides the selection of transducers that deliver the proper ultrasonic frequency for the cleaning operation.  The lower the frequency employed, such as 25 kHz, the more aggressive is the cavitation action.  This is fine for removing coarse contaminants on surfaces that are not easily damaged.   Moderate frequencies, such as 37-40 kHz, are recommended for cleaning and degreasing a broad range of part types.  Higher frequencies such as 45-130 kHz are recommended for very delicate items such as semiconductor components or parts characterized by extremely small features.

Examples of Customized Applications

Cleaning Stencils Used in Graphic Design

These long, thin plastic stencils accumulate ink buildup and must be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis to assure a high quality stenciling operation.   To take advantage of the high efficiency of ultrasonic cleaning a long, wide but shallow cleaning tank was fabricated, greatly speeding the cleaning operation and improving cleaning results.

Automated Cleaning of Label Printing Rollers

A special solution is used to remove ink from rollers used in printing labels.  Automating this process required producing a special jig into which the rollers, 3’ long and 8 – 10” in diameter, are placed, then lowered into the cleaning tank and oscillated.  The custom approach speeds and improves the cleaning process with reduced manpower.

Cleaning Large Engines

Ultrasonic cleaning is much more efficient than using labor intensive conventional cleaning baths when working with automotive and aircraft engines and components.  Because of their size many of these engines require specially fabricated cleaning tanks, typically 1/3 larger than the engines being cleaned, and may require special ultrasonic frequencies.

Complex Industrial Shapes

A manufacturer of machined parts in many shapes and sizes is able to clean multiple parts in a single batch, regardless of size and shape, on a specially designed rack that is lowered into the ultrasonic cleaning bath.   This relatively simple custom solution greatly increases throughput compared to the prior procedure of segregating the parts by their configuration then cleaning them.

Surgical Tool Cleaning

Ultrasonic energy is the preferred pre-sterilization step for cleaning surgical tools.  Blood, tissue and bone particles are removed more thoroughly at higher temperatures and frequencies than normally employed in ultrasonic cleaning , allowing sterilization autoclaves to operate more efficiently.  Special heat shielding is needed for ultrasonic cleaning equipment operated at high temperatures.

Cleaning Weapons

A custom dual-tank system was designed for the U.S. Coast Guard to more efficiently clean and lubricate .50 caliber machine guns.  The cleaning tank is designed to hold partially dismantled guns and the ultrasonic frequency allows cavitation to reach all surfaces, inside and out.  After being cleaned the guns are dried and lowered into an ultrasonic lubricating bath in the second tank.