Ultrasonic cleaning of hollow tubes for aerospace

 

Ultrawave built this machine for a well known manufacturer in the aerospace industry. Ultrasonics are used to clean hollow, stainless steel tubes which are used in applications such as fuel carrying pressure hoses. The system incorporates a wash and rinse tank and Ultrawave submersible transducers supply 8KW of ultrasonic power. Cleanliness is of critical importance, but hollow tubes can be difficult to process. In order to ensure air is not trapped inside the bore, preventing cleaning from taking place, simply immersing the tubes in a tank of cleaning solution is not enough.

To overcome the air entrapment problem, we manufactured a stainless steel basket with a manifold and six ports allowing ultrasonic irrigation of the tubes. When the "Cycle Start" button is pressed, a 10 minute wash cycle commences which consists of a flush process to irrigate the tube, expelling the air inside. The irrigation process is then paused, allowing ultrasonic activity to clean the internal surfaces of the tube. After an ultrasonic wash stage, further irrigation occurs, flushing out any loose swarf and particulates removed during the ultrasonic phase. A further ultrasonic wash and final flush is followed by a rinse and further irrigation.

Typical Contamination Materials: Oil used during the tube bending process (KM70M) Swarf and debris from the hand saw cutting stage Flux deposits from the brasing process Blackening and staining caused by the welding process Cleanliness Specifications: Rolls Royce Specification RPS575

Component prior to cleaning Component after cleaning