Understanding ultrasonic power and its relationship to the ultrasonic cleaning process helps you operate your ultrasonic cleaner equipment more efficiently, reduce waste and avoid damage to the tanks and to the materials being cleaned by ultrasound. An understanding of power is also important when comparing ultrasonic cleaning equipment from different manufacturers.
Power drives the transducers producing the ultrasonic frequencies creating cavitation action that does the cleaning. Power is measured in watts per gallon of cleaning solution in the ultrasonic cleaning tank.
One might assume that higher power results in faster cleaning because it produces a larger number of cavitation bubbles. But that is often not the best way to approach the ultrasonic cleaning operation. The amount of power applied should be determined by what is being cleaned ultrasonically. Too much power, for example, can damage sensitive parts. And it’s important to note that cleaning power increases with ultrasonic power only up to a point. Beyond that point cavitation levels off and further increases in power simply waste electrical energy.
Most ultrasonic cleaners run at an average power of 50-100 Watts per gallon. Cleaning baths used for large parts such as automotive and aircraft engines might require more than 100 gallons of cleaning solution so it does not take long to calculate power requirements.
The Ultrasonic Power Play: Be Sure to Compare Apples to Apples
As you shop for ultrasonic cleaning equipment you may note that manufacturers report power in terms such as average, effective, total and/or peak power. These are not necessarily the same, so check spec sheets carefully. For example, average power and effective power can be used interchangeably to describe power applied to the ultrasonic cleaning process. Total power is the amount of power required to run the entire ultrasonic cleaning unit including, for example, bath heating elements, pumps and filters. The term peak power is defined by Elma as ultrasonic power generated at the summit of the vibration amplitude.
Comparing equipment from different manufacturers based on the reported ultrasonic power can be misleading. If equipment were 100% efficient in converting electrical power to cavitation it would be very easy to compare manufacturers’ equipment. But such is not the case. Power losses occur due to equipment design, one of the most noteworthy being how transducers are bonded to the tanks.
As can be gleaned from this brief blog, selecting an ultrasonic cleaner based on reported ultrasonic power is frequently not the right approach. That’s why our trained professionals at Tovatech make a special effort to help you compare apples to apples in selecting the optimum ultrasonic cleaning system for your operations.
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What power measurements do you use in selecting an ultrasonic cleaning system? Please describe instances where manufacturers’ claims were on target or off target related to your particular cleaning requirements.
Tags: ultrasonic
