How to Prevent Wrench Deformation During Ultrasonic Cleaning?

2025-08-29

To avoid wrench deformation caused by physical or chemical effects during ultrasonic cleaning, comprehensive control is required across equipment parameters, cleaning fluid selection, operational specifications, and post-treatment. Here are specific measures with principle explanations:

Controlling Ultrasonic Frequency and Power
Principle: Ultrasonic waves generate micro-bubbles through cavitation, which collapse to produce impact forces for surface cleaning. Excessive power or improper frequency may cause uneven local stress on the wrench surface, leading to deformation (especially for thin-walled or precision components).
Measures:

Reduce Power: Adjust power based on wrench material and size to avoid excessive energy input. For example, aluminum wrenches require lower power than steel ones.
Select Appropriate Frequency: High frequencies (above 80kHz) suit precision parts, while low frequencies (20-40kHz) offer strong cleaning but high impact—choose based on wrench structure.
Pulse Mode: Use intermittent pulse cleaning to reduce material fatigue from continuous impact.

Optimizing Cleaning Fluid Selection
Principle: Chemical properties (e.g., pH, corrosiveness) of cleaning fluids may corrode the wrench surface, causing local weakening or deformation. Meanwhile, fluid viscosity affects cavitation, requiring a balance between cleaning power and material safety.
Measures:

Neutral Cleaners: Prioritize fluids with pH near 7 to avoid acid-base corrosion (e.g., stainless steel wrenches should avoid chloride-rich cleaners).
Low Surface Tension Solvents: Add small amounts of alcohol or specialized additives to enhance cavitation efficiency and reduce mechanical impact.
Regular Fluid Replacement: Prevent dirt accumulation from reducing cleaning effectiveness and avoid surface wear from repeated cleaning.

Controlling Cleaning Temperature and Time
Principle: High temperatures may accelerate metal thermal expansion or fluid chemical reactions, causing dimensional changes. Prolonged cleaning increases material fatigue risk.
Measures:

Temperature Limits: Set upper temperature bounds based on material (e.g., aluminum alloys ≤60°C, steel wrenches up to 70-80°C).
Shorten Duration: Typically 5-15 minutes to avoid over-cleaning. For stubborn stains, use staged cleaning or combine with manual brushing.

Securing and Supporting Wrenches
Principle: Free-floating or colliding wrenches during cleaning may suffer scratches or local deformation from vibration.
Measures:

Use Specialized Racks: Fix wrenches in corrosion-resistant plastic or silicone racks to reduce vibration transfer.
Separate Placement: Avoid overlapping or tight stacking to ensure independent suspension and minimize collision risks.
Lightweight Material Buffering: Wrap wrenches in foam plastic to cushion vibration without blocking fluid flow.

Pre-treatment and Post-treatment
Pre-treatment:

Remove Large Particles: Use brushes or compressed air to clear 泥沙 and metal shavings to prevent surface scratches.
Categorized Cleaning: Separate by material (steel, aluminum, plastic) or size to avoid cross-material interference.
Post-treatment:
Immediate Drying: Use compressed air or low-power hot air to dry wrenches quickly and prevent rust (especially for carbon steel).
Deformation Inspection: Check dimensions and shape with calipers or visual inspection post-cleaning.

Equipment Maintenance and Calibration
Principle: Degraded ultrasonic cleaner performance (e.g., transducer aging, frequency drift) may cause uneven cleaning and increased deformation risk.
Measures:

Regular Calibration: Verify output frequency and power match set values.
Clean Transducers: Prevent scale or stains from covering transducers and reducing energy transfer efficiency.
Replace Aging Parts: Repair or replace transducers/generators promptly if cleaning effectiveness drops or abnormal noise occurs.

Material-Specific Handling

Aluminum Alloy Wrenches: Avoid chlorine/fluoride-containing cleaners to prevent stress corrosion cracking; dry immediately and apply anti-rust oil.
Plastic Wrenches: Control temperature below plastic softening point (e.g., nylon ≤80°C) to prevent thermal deformation.
Coated Wrenches: Use neutral fluids to avoid damaging coatings and exposing base materials to corrosion.

By implementing these measures, the risk of wrench deformation during ultrasonic cleaning can be effectively reduced while ensuring cleaning efficacy. Practical operations require flexible parameter adjustments based on specific material, structure, and contamination levels, with experimental validation for optimal cleaning protocols.

Acme Technology Co., Ltd.—10 Years of Focus on Ultrasonic Cleaning
As an integrated high-tech enterprise specializing in design, R&D, production, and sales, Acme Technology boasts leading ultrasonic cleaning technology with products sold in over 100 countries and regions. Our product portfolio includes single-tank, multi-tank, semi-automatic, and fully automatic ultrasonic cleaners, as well as ultrasonic vibrators and panels. Widely applied in mechanical hardware, semiconductors, instrumentation, biomedicine, hospital laboratories, and optoelectronics industries, we provide comprehensive one-stop customization services. Leveraging professional technical advantages, rich industry experience, advanced quality management systems, and strong independent manufacturing capabilities, Acme Technology helps clients significantly reduce development costs and risks—your ideal partner for ultrasonic cleaning equipment.

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