Automated Ultrasonic Cleaning Systems Australia

What is on this page

Four ways to automate the process

The difference between them is how the part moves and how many baths the process needs. Start there. Tank size, ultrasonic power and connected load all follow from it.

All four are built to Australian supply — 240 V single phase or 415 V three phase, 50 Hz — and quoted as a working system: machine, chemistry, cycle and commissioning in one number, ex GST.

Misonics SonoLine three-tank automated ultrasonic cleaning line: wash, rinse and dry stations with powered basket transfer and the control cabinet — The machine in the picture is a SonoLine three-tank line: wash, rinse and hot-air dry, with a powered lift over every station and the cabinet at the end. The section below takes it apart.

See them run

Three of our machines, filmed on our own jobs

Press play. There is no sound.

SonoLine, three tanksThe basket moves itself across wash, rinse and dry. Lids open and close on the cycle; the operator loads and walks away.

UltraWash, inside the chamberThe basket turns through spray, ultrasonic wash, rinses and drying behind one door. The part is never handled between stages.

What comes outA gear lifted straight from the basket: oil and grime gone from the teeth and the bore, no brush, no blasting.

The line in the picture

SonoLine: the automated line, station by station

The same Sono tank you can buy on its own as a SonoWash, with a powered lift over every station, automated lids and a PLC moving the basket. Two, three or four tanks. The operator loads and unloads; everything between happens on the clock.

SonoLine three-tank line, operating side, with the loading platform, wash, rinse and dry stations, lift arms, lids and the control cabinet labelled

LoadThe operator sets the basket on the platform. A push arm indexes it on to the transfer rail. That is the only manual step, and the same at the unload end.
WashHeated, ultrasonically driven and filtered. The bath holds the recipe temperature and runs its own countdown. Dual 25/45 kHz in every tank.
RinseUnder ultrasonics, not a static dunk, so carry-over comes off the part instead of drying on to it. A DI-water rinse where the part needs it.
DryBlown hot air in the same footprint as a wet station. The part leaves dry and handleable.
Lids and liftsA powered lift over every station; the lid opens ahead of the basket and closes behind it, keeping heat and vapour in the tank. The basket pauses above the bath so drag-out runs back in.
Behind the tanksA pump and filter loop, an oil skimmer and a sub-tank on each wet stage, the blower for the dryer, and the cabinet with the generators, PLC and drives. One logged recipe per part family; the cycle log is what the auditor reads.

Sono L-130 three-tank SonoLine on the floor — A Sono L-130 three-tank line on the floor, not a render.

Baskets held above the tanks on the powered lifts — Baskets held above the baths on the lifts, drag-out running back in.

SonoLine HMI main screen showing the three stations — The HMI: each station with its own temperature and countdown.

The transfer rail carrying a basket between stations — The transfer rail that moves the basket between stations.

Line length and connected power

Configuration	ST-85	ST-120	ST-160	ST-220
2-tank line	~2,000 mm / 12.4 kW	~2,100 mm / 15.2 kW	~2,200 mm / 20.2 kW	~2,320 mm / 27.6 kW
3-tank line	~2,760 mm / 19.2 kW	~2,910 mm / 23.2 kW	~3,060 mm / 30.8 kW	~3,240 mm / 43.2 kW
4-tank line	~3,520 mm / 26.0 kW	~3,720 mm / 31.2 kW	~3,920 mm / 41.4 kW	~4,160 mm / 58.8 kW

Same tank platform as the SonoWash and SonoLift, dual 25/45 kHz, baskets to 35 kg. A shop can start with one SonoWash tank and add the SonoLine transfer and lids later, so the line grows with the work. Tank and basket sizes, drying and enclosure are confirmed at quotation; prices on application, ex GST.

The SonoLine page: variants, anatomy, chemistry General arrangement drawing (PDF)A four-tank line in service

Side by side

Which one fits the job

Figures are from the model pages. Custom builds are left out of the table because every one is different.

	UltraKleen Pro	SonoLine	UltraWash
How the part moves	Roller conveyor, lowered into each station from above	Powered transfer between tanks, lids open and close on the cycle	The basket turns inside the chamber; the part is not handled between stages
Stages	Three — wash, rinse, hot-air dry	Two to four tanks, set at order	Eight, behind one door
Sizes	100 / 200 / 320 L	ST-85 · ST-120 · ST-160 · ST-220	70 / 150 / 300, chamber to 355 L
Usable basket	600 × 400 × 300 to 1000 × 500 × 500 mm	Sono basket, sized to the tank	470 × 320 × 160 to 620 × 380 × 380 mm
Ultrasonics	≈1,500 to 3,750 W	Dual frequency 25/45 kHz	1,500 to 3,000 W, one to three rod resonators
Drying	Hot air	Hot air on the last station	Forced hot air, then vacuum
Space	In line — quoted with your layout	2.0 to 4.2 m of line, by tank count	2.3 × 2.5 m to 4.2 × 1.8 m
Connected power	Heating ≈10 to 24 kW a station	12.4 to 58.8 kW	Heating 20 to 40 kW

Open a model page for the full specification: UltraKleen Pro · SonoLine · UltraWash · CM series.

Before you choose

Three questions that decide it

Answer these and the machine picks itself. Tank size, ultrasonic power and connected load all follow.

How many baths does the process need?

One wash and one rinse is an UltraKleen Pro or a two-tank line. A wash, two rinses and a dry is three or four tanks. Count the baths first; the size follows.

Two to four tanks →

Does the part have to come out dry?

Hot air dries the outside. Blind holes, galleries and threads hold water, and that is what the vacuum stage on the UltraWash is for.

Vacuum dry, behind one door →

Who loads it, and how often?

On the in-line machines one operator loads a basket and the machine does the rest. Where the part cannot be handled between stages, the sealed chamber runs the whole cycle.

One operator, one direction →

Evidence

Machines we have built and run

A Sono L-130 three-station line side elevation, nameplate readable. — A Sono L-130 three-station line — side elevation, nameplate readable.

The HMI main screen: ultrasonic, ultrasonic with IFWI, and the drying tank.

An UltraWash installed one door, eight stages, filtered Collection Tanks behind it. — An UltraWash installed — one door, eight stages, filtered Collection Tanks behind it.

Read the process behind them: an automated four-tank aerospace line, manual tanks to full production lines, and what each stage in a multi-stage cycle does.

Questions

Automated cleaning questions

How long does an automated cleaning cycle take?

Most lines run 15 to 30 minutes a basket from load to dry, set by the recipe. The UltraWash runs its eight stages in about twenty minutes behind one door. Heavy carbon or scale takes longer in the wash stage; the rest of the cycle does not change.

Can it run without an operator standing at it?

Yes. The operator loads a basket, selects the recipe and leaves. The machine moves the part through every stage and stops with it dry. One person can run a line and do other work between baskets.

What does an automated ultrasonic cleaning line cost?

Each one is quoted as a working system, ex GST: machine, chemistry, cycle and commissioning in one number, because the tank count, basket size and drying set the price. Send the part and the throughput and the quote comes back with the trial result.

How do parts come out dry?

Hot air dries the outside on the in-line machines. Where blind holes, galleries and threads hold water, the UltraWash adds a vacuum stage after the hot air and the part comes out dry inside as well.

Can an existing manual tank be automated later?

A Sono tank bought as a manual SonoWash takes the SonoLine transfer and automated lids later, so a shop can start with one tank and add the handling when the volume justifies it.

Automated ultrasonic cleaning systems

Four ways to automate the process

UltraKleen Pro

SonoLine

UltraWash

CM series custom builds