Industrial parts washers come in a variety of designs that offer different methods for cleaning dirty parts. How does the customer know what is the best method for their application? Many factors must be considered, such as the part size and design complexity, desired production rate, the type of contamination to be removed, and which parts washing system offers the best opportunity to meet the cleanliness specifications required
A parts washing system using the immersion cleaning process is utilized when parts require long soaking cycles to remove the contamination from the part, or when the part is designed with critical internal cavities or passages. Immersion parts cleaning involves placing the parts into a basket and submerging it into a single or series of dip tank(s) that contains a heated cleaning solution bath consisting of either a solvent or aqueous cleaning chemical. Once the parts are submerged into the dip tank, the solution bath envelops all external and internal surfaces of the part. In addition, adding part basket agitation or solution bath turbulence by means of submerged spray nozzles or compressed air will also improve the cleaning results.
The immersion cleaning machine process may be a lower-cost parts cleaning method, but it does have its limitations compared to a spray nozzle cleaning system:
- The solution bath typically operates at higher chemical concentration levels and at higher temperatures for effective cleaning.
- Longer cleaning cycles may be required to obtain the level of cleanliness needed.
- Additional labor may be involved for part handling.
- The solution bath will need more frequent changing, as it will quickly become contaminated with particles.
- Part cavities and passageways may trap air, creating a pocket that cleaning solution cannot reach.
- Particles and floating surface oils may be re-deposited on parts.
An aqueous parts cleaning system using spray nozzles to apply the cleaning solution offers a wider range of parts washer variations that can be specifically designed to be more effective at removing contamination, while also meeting tight cleanliness specifications. Parts washer designs can vary from basic cabinet washers for general part cleaning, inline conveyorized belt washer for increased flexibility to clean a variety of parts, or indexing washers with targeted spray nozzles that are specifically designed for more complicated parts.
There are many unique advantages of using a spray cleaning industrial parts washer:
- Once the cleaning solution is sprayed onto the parts, the solution flushes contamination particles away from the part. The solution is directed to a chip/filter basket to remove coarse particles; when tighter cleanliness requirements are to be met, the solution can then be forwarded to an external filtration system to extract small particles before being recirculated back into the spray cleaning system. This process keeps contamination from being re-deposited onto parts and into part cavities, keeps the tank cleaner, and prolongs the life of the cleaning solution.
- The cleaning solution can be run at lower concentration levels, saving money on cleaning chemical.
- The spray cleaning system can operate at lower temperatures, which saves on energy costs.
- Shorter part exposure times required within each zone can achieve the desired level of cleanliness due to the impinging action of the spray system.
Alliance Manufacturing specializes in industrial parts washers that use the recirculating spray method for cleaning dirty parts. Alliance aqueous parts washers are both highly effective at cleaning parts to the tightest cleanliness specifications while performing at a cost-effective price point to optimize the ROI on the customer’s project.