Every option, explained.

What it is

The frequency sets the size of the cavitation bubbles. At 28 kHz the bubbles are larger and each implosion carries more energy; at 40 kHz they are smaller, more numerous and reach further into fine features.

When you need it

Choose 28 kHz for heavy soil on robust parts: castings, gearbox housings, carbonised engine parts. Choose 40 kHz for machined surfaces, threads, small bores and softer metals such as aluminium, where erosion must stay low. Most industrial tanks can be built for either; the UMX Pro switches between both.

What it is

One tank, more than one frequency. Dual-frequency generators drive transducers at two frequencies, for example 28 and 40 kHz, selectable from the panel or alternating in one cycle. Multi-frequency builds add 80 or 130 kHz for the finest work. The transducers and generator are matched to each frequency, so the power stays usable on both.

When you need it

Choose it when one tank must clean a mixed part spectrum: rough castings in the morning, machined aluminium or fine threads in the afternoon. Alternating frequencies also even out the sound field and reduce standing-wave marks on flat parts. For a single, stable part family a single-frequency tank is the better buy.

What it is

Sweep shifts the frequency a few hundred hertz back and forth so the sound field never stands still; without it, standing waves leave stripes of strong and weak cleaning across the basket. Degas pulses the ultrasound to drive dissolved air out of a freshly filled bath.

When you need it

Sweep is standard on every industrial Sonixtek tank and should stay on. Run degas for five to ten minutes after every fill or top-up: a bath full of dissolved air cushions the cavitation and cleans noticeably worse in its first hour.

What it is

Warm water cleans faster: most oils and greases loosen between 50 and 70 °C. Industrial tanks carry between 2 kW (ST-40) and 64 kW (AU-8000) of heating, controlled by a thermostat on the ST series and by multi-sensor PLC control with a safety limit on the AU series.

When you need it

Size the heater to the fill volume and how fast you need the bath ready: roughly 40 W per litre brings a tank from 20 to 60 °C in about an hour, ignoring losses. Insulation, standard on the AU series, cuts the losses and the running cost.

What it is

The generator turns mains power into the high-frequency signal that drives the transducers. An analog generator is tuned at the factory and adjusted with a dial. A digital generator controls power and frequency electronically and adds sweep, degas, pulse modes, programmes and diagnostics.

When you need it

Analog is the robust, economical choice for one product and one process. Choose digital when loads vary from batch to batch, when you need repeatable programmes, or when your plant asks for documented electrical testing: ask for the digital version. Sonixtek generators sit outside the tank, so either type can be swapped without draining.

What it is

A pneumatic or servo-driven platform lowers the basket into the bath, moves it up and down during the cycle and lifts it out to drain. The movement matters as much as the lift: it carries loosened soil away from the part and lets fresh liquid reach the surface.

When you need it

From about 75 litres, a loaded basket is too heavy to handle safely by hand. The AL series lifts pneumatically, up to 1000 kg on the AL-2000; the AU series uses servo control, up to 2000 kg on the AU-4000 with adjustable speed and eight programmable cycles; multi-tank lines move baskets between stations automatically.

What it is

A pump draws the bath through a filter and back, a skimmer or separator takes floating oil off the surface, and a laminar flow across the top carries it to the overflow. Together they stop swarf and oil settling back onto the next batch.

When you need it

Essential for parts coming straight off a machining centre, and for any bath that must last weeks rather than days. Built into the SF series with its own buffer tank; standard on AL and AU; an optional module on the UMX Pro.

What it is

The SPR washers turn the load on a platform while jets at 3.3 bar wash it in a closed, heated water circuit with an oil skimmer. Spray removes bulk soil quickly from open geometry; it cannot reach blind holes the way cavitation does.

When you need it

Gearbox housings, engine blocks, castings and anything that arrives caked in grease. In a multi-tank line a spray stage often comes first, so the ultrasonic bath only has to do the fine work and stays clean longer.

What it is

A heating turbine drives hot air through the basket so water leaves the part before it can flash-rust or carry spots into assembly. The DT-96 and DT-206 match the ST-96 and ST-206, so the same basket moves from cleaner to dryer without repacking; the DT-300 takes baskets up to 820 × 520 mm.

When you need it

Whenever parts are assembled, coated or inspected straight after cleaning, and always for ferrous parts in a humid workshop. Choose the DT that matches your ST tank: DT-96 with ST-96, DT-206 with ST-206.

What it is

The figure that decides whether your part fits is the usable tank size, not the tank size: the basket takes 20 to 40 mm off each side, and the part must sit below the liquid level with room for the sound to reach it. Every spec table on this site lists both.

When you need it

Check three things: the largest part with 20 mm clearance per side, the batch laid out in one or two layers without parts shielding each other, and the basket load rating, which runs from 75 kg on the ST-40 to 1000 kg on the AL-2000. Blind holes should face up or sideways so air can escape.

What it is

Reinforced stainless-steel baskets with thicker frame sections, welded cross-bars and lifting eyes or fork pockets, rated above the standard basket. Combined with a stronger lift, a crane or a forklift loading position, a tank can take gearbox housings, engine blocks or die sets as single heavy parts instead of a batch.

When you need it

Ask for it when a single part or fixture weighs more than the standard basket rating (75 kg on the ST-40 up to 1000 kg on the AL-2000) or when the load is concentrated on a few points. We size basket, lift and tank bottom together; the ultrasonic field under the basket floor is kept clear.

What it is

The ST series runs on a mechanical thermostat and a digital timer. The UMX Pro adds five programmes and digital power control. AL and AU machines run on a Siemens PLC with a 7-inch touchscreen, eight programmes on the AU, and a secured network connection for remote fault finding.

When you need it

One part, one process: the ST controls are all you need. Several recipes, several operators, or an audit trail: choose a machine with programmes. A production line that must not stop: choose PLC control with remote access, so a fault can be read before an engineer travels.

What it is

Standard tanks are 2 mm AISI 304 stainless steel, thick-walled on the AL and AU series. Transducer boxes, which take the most cavitation, are 316L on the AL and AU. Multi-tank lines are built in 304, 316 or duplex to suit the chemistry in each stage.

When you need it

304 covers neutral and mildly alkaline cleaners. Specify 316L for chloride-bearing or acidic baths, and duplex for aggressive pickling or passivation stages. Tell us the detergent and its concentration and we will confirm the grade.

What it is

The catalogue sizes are starting points. The tank is welded to the length, width and depth your largest part or basket needs, and the transducer count, heating and pump are scaled to match.

When you need it

When the part is long, flat or awkward and a standard tank would waste bath volume or not take it at all. Give us the part dimensions and the basket load.

What it is

Ultrasound puts energy into the bath and the liquid warms up on its own. A cooling coil or an external chiller holds the bath at the set temperature instead of letting it drift upward during a long shift.

When you need it

For temperature-sensitive parts, solvent or low-temperature chemistry, and for machines that run all day with high ultrasonic power.

What it is

A dosing pump adds detergent from a canister in a set ratio when the tank is filled or topped up, and can re-dose on a timer or after a set number of cycles. Concentration stays where the process was validated.

When you need it

Where several operators run the machine, where concentration is part of a documented process, or where the detergent is aggressive and should not be handled by hand.

What it is

A pneumatic or motorised lid closes the tank during the cycle and opens for loading. It holds heat and bath vapour in, lowers the noise at the workplace and takes a lifting job off the operator.

When you need it

On large tanks where a manual lid is heavy, on heated baths above 60 °C, and on lift machines where the lid works together with the basket movement.

What it is

A rinse or pre-wash tank with an air manifold on the floor. Compressed-air bubbles move the liquid through the load and lift loose soil off the surfaces without ultrasound, at a low cost per litre.

When you need it

As a pre-wash before the ultrasonic tank when parts arrive heavily soiled, and as an agitated rinse stage in a multi-tank line.

What it is

One or more rinse tanks after the wash: tap water, demineralised water or a cascade where clean water enters the last tank and overflows backwards. Rinsing removes detergent film and dissolved soil before drying, so parts dry without spots.

When you need it

Whenever parts go on to coating, assembly, measurement or packing. Precision and optical parts need demineralised water in the last stage.