AL-400

A reinforced platform lowers the basket into the bath, moves it during cleaning and lifts it out to drain: up to 75 kg on the AL-75 and 1000 kg on the AL-2000.

The operator sets the basket on the platform at working height and starts the cycle; the lift does the rest. From about 75 litres upward a loaded basket is too heavy to handle safely by hand, and with the lift it is never carried or swung over the hot bath.

Rated loads: 75 kg on the AL-75, 125 kg on the AL-150, 200 kg on the AL-300 and AL-400, 300 kg on the AL-600, 750 kg on the AL-1000 and 1000 kg on the AL-2000. The platform runs on compressed air. The AL is one tank: if the process needs a rinse or a dryer, they are separate units next to it.

Read more in the knowledge base

• When to choose a lift system
• Loading the basket: shadowing, orientation and how much is too much
• Safety around an ultrasonic cleaning tank

The platform moves the basket up and down while the ultrasound runs, so the loosened soil is carried away from the parts.

Cavitation loosens the soil; the movement washes it out of pockets, bores and dense loads and keeps the debris from settling back. Agitation runs together with the ultrasonic cycle.

The agitation is part of the programme, from a slow lift to faster strokes, chosen for the part geometry and the soil. Every batch then gets the same movement, whoever runs the machine.

Read more in the knowledge base

• Agitation in ultrasonic cleaning
• Loading the basket: shadowing, orientation and how much is too much

A Siemens PLC runs the cycle; time, temperature, ultrasound and agitation are set on a 7-inch touchscreen.

Cleaning programmes are stored in the PLC: ultrasonic power, temperature, filtration and laminar flow, agitation and cleaning time per part family. The operator selects a programme instead of setting each value, which shortens training and keeps the result the same from shift to shift.

The PLC monitors the cycle while it runs. A stack light with alarm is available as an option and shows the machine state from across the workshop.

Each tank runs at 28 kHz for heavy soil or 40 kHz for finer cleaning, on 60 W transducers: 20 on the AL-75, 340 on the AL-2000.

The frequency is chosen when the machine is ordered: 28 kHz gives strong cavitation for castings, engine parts, carbon and heavy grease; 40 kHz gives finer bubbles for machined parts with small detail. Other frequencies are possible on request.

The transducers sit in sealed, submersible 316L stainless steel boxes in the bath. Ultrasonic power grows with the tank, from 1200 W on the AL-75 to 20 400 W on the AL-2000, about 10 to 16 W per litre.

Read more in the knowledge base

• 28 kHz or 40 kHz: which frequency cleans your part?
• Ultrasonic power density: watts per litre, and why big tanks need fewer
• Transducers and generators: what drives the tank

The AL runs on a digital generator with sweep, degas, pulse and dynamic modes and power adjustable from 0 to 100 %. Sweep shifts the frequency slightly so the sound field keeps moving; degas drives the dissolved air out of a fresh bath.

In a large tank a fixed frequency builds standing waves, with zones where the cavitation is weak. Sweep keeps the field moving, so parts at the edge of the basket are cleaned like those in the middle.

Fresh water holds dissolved air that damps the cavitation. Degas removes it after each new fill, so the bath works at full effect from the first cycle.

Read more in the knowledge base

• Sweep and degas: what the two buttons on a digital generator do
• The foil test: a one-minute check of cavitation

Adjustable heating from 30 to 100 °C, from 3 kW on the AL-75 to 24 kW on the AL-2000.

Warm detergent loosens oil and grease faster. The heater is sized to the tank: 3 kW on the AL-75, 5 kW on the AL-150, 9 kW on the AL-300 and AL-400, 12 kW on the AL-600, 18 kW on the AL-1000 and 24 kW on the AL-2000, so the bath comes back to temperature after a cold basket goes in.

The insulated lid with its diamond-shaped drip profile keeps the heat in and runs condensate back into the tank. An automatic lid and thermal and acoustic insulation are available as options.

Read more in the knowledge base

• Choosing the cleaning temperature
• Energy and running costs of an ultrasonic cleaning tank

Laminar flow carries floating oil and dirt off the surface, the filtration loop takes out particles and the oil separation keeps the bath usable for longer between changes.

The laminar flow moves the surface towards an overflow, so oil and floating dirt leave the tank instead of settling back on the parts when the basket comes up. The overflow runs into a small buffer tank built into the machine, where separation plates guide the oil to one side; the solution is filtered and pumped back into the tank.

For oily work a large external buffer tank and a belt oil skimmer are available as options. Automatic detergent dosing can also be added.

Read more in the knowledge base

• Filtration and bath life

AISI 304 stainless steel, 2 mm up to the AL-400 and 2.5 mm from the AL-600, with a sloping bottom that drains completely.

The sloping bottom runs sludge and liquid to the 1-inch drain, and a 1-inch ball valve fills the tank. The exterior panels are stainless steel 304 with an anti-fingerprint finish.

Tanks from 75 to 2000 litres, with useful basket space from 580 × 270 × 250 mm on the AL-75 to 1600 × 870 × 750 mm on the AL-2000; custom sizes on request. A compressed-air gun for blowing parts off, lockable castor wheels and silent-block legs are part of the machine.

Read more in the knowledge base

• Tank material and wall thickness
• How to size an ultrasonic tank