Guyson International, manufacturers of the Kerry-branded range of ultrasonic cleaning equipment, has now installed and commissioned into Honda Racing Development U.K. site one of its largest Kerry Microsolve co-solvent cleaning systems for the precision cleaning of F1 engine blocks and other racing components. The precision cleaning equipment is a four-stage operational unit working with two ultrasonic tanks, vapor rinsing, and freeboard drying. Components are held in wire baskets and precisely delivered to each stage via an unmanned, automated work transporter.
The Kerry Microsolve co-solvent four-stage cleaning system has two ultrasonic, heated cleaning stages equipped with continuous filtration. In the first stage, a boiling mixture of HFE (hydrofluoroether) solvent and a hydrocarbon solvating agent removes gross contamination from the machined components. Large quantities of soils and general contamination can be taken up by the solvating agent, making the process particularly suitable for high-volume cleaning with minimal tank maintenance.
In the second stage, pure HFE solvent removes any residues from the components carried over from the first cleaning tank. Both tanks are equipped with an optimum series of ultrasonic transducers attached to the underside base of the tanks, with each separate tank’s transducers being powered by three P500 module generators with automatic tuning and operating at 38 kHz. Both tanks are also fitted with electric heating with electronic temperature controls and digital indication.
Component rinsing then takes place in the vapor generated from the boiling mixture in the area above the immersion tanks. Drying takes place in the “freeboard” refrigerated zone above the vapor level. This highly effective reflux cooling system, vapor break, and a deep freeboard zone all help to minimize expensive solvent loss by acting as an invisible cold barrier where the hot HFE vapor rising to the freeboard area condenses onto refrigerated condensing coils and is fed back into the stage-two tank as pure HFE. This, in turn, forces dissolved residues in stage two to flow back to the stage-one tank.
An Autotrans Mk4 Major work transfer system ensures consistent, repeatable quality while increasing throughput, and it also contributes to cost reductions by controlling the speed of component basket movement through the vapor zone, thereby reducing solvent drag-out caused by disturbance of the vapor blanket. The Autotrans system is integrated with two-meter-long powered feed and exit conveyors for fully automatic operation and has a load capacity of up to 80 kg (~176 lbs) per stainless steel basket.
The whole precision cleaning unit is controlled by a hand-held, touch-sensitive programming keyboard that can hold a variety of password-protected, pre-programmed cleaning sequences, which can include customized dwell times, transfer speeds, immersion times, and so on.
About Guyson International
Guyson International, Ltd., offers demonstrations and free cleaning trials at its main sales, production, and demonstration site in Skipton, North Yorkshire, and at its Technical and Demonstration Centre in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Contact Guyson International, or call +44 1756 799911.
