Precision Cleaning Connectors With Kerry Ultrasonics

Guyson International, has recently supplied a Kerry Microsolve ultrasonic cleaning system into one of Europe's leading manufacturers of commercial and Mil Spec electrical and fibre optic connectors

Industrial finishing equipment manufacturer Guyson International, has recently supplied a Kerry Microsolve M250/2M mono-solvent ultrasonic cleaning system into one of Europe's leading manufacturers of commercial and Mil Spec electrical and fibre optic connectors, for undertaking a wide range of precision ‘in process’ cleaning routines, on numerous high end products; including connectors and interconnects. The company’s products demand a critical high-quality level of cleaning as many are used in high-reliability environments in the military and aerospace.

The Microsolve cleaning system was installed as a pre-emptive action to remove any prospective quality issues before they arrive. “With this new Kerry ultrasonic system we can put a varied mix of components through the cleaning process and we know the components are clean of any slight trace residue of flux, grease or other contaminants, (often left behind by previous operations) in hidden away and difficult to monitor places before we assemble the connectors, that theoretically could have caused high voltage or high contact resistance issues. Now we are confident these have all been removed and we have done all we can, quality wise, to remove any potential problems before they occur” states Dan Wilson - Quality Manager.

The PLC-controlled cleaning process has two stages; the stainless steel mesh component baskets are first lowered into unit one by an Autotrans single-axis transporter. This is designed to provide a controlled lift of the parts to be cleaned in and out of the cleaning tanks with the minimum of disturbance of the solvent vapour, thereby minimising expensive solvent losses and high concentrations of vapour emissions, cutting any OEL (Occupational Exposure Limits) for operators.

Ultrasonic cleaning is carried out in the stage one tank, which is fitted with base mounted ultrasonic transducers powered by a Pulsatron series 300 generator operating at 38 kHz. Stage one also has electric solution heating with electronic temperature control digital indication and a pumping and filtration system.

The second stage is electrically heated, allowing the solvent to boil. The resulting vapour rinses the components, which are then dried by a dwell in the freeboard zone.

The solvent vapours are condensed by the primary reflux cooling coils and collected in the integral distillate trough. The solvent then passes through a dual purpose gravity or molecular sieve type water separator and returns to the stage one ultrasonic tank, displacing contaminated solvent into the boiling sump. Distillation, together with filtration of the solvent, ensures that the ultrasonic tank is maintained at a controlled level of cleanliness.

About Guyson
Guyson International Limited is a privately owned family company with a world-wide reputation for excellence in the design and manufacture of blast finishing, spray wash and ultrasonic cleaning equipment. Formed over 70 years ago, the company is registered to BS EN ISO 9001: 2008 and its head office is located at Skipton, North Yorkshire, in the north of England. Guyson has four international subsidiary companies: Guyson Corporation of the USA, located in Saratoga Springs, New York State; Guyson SA, situated in Paris, France; Guyson Sdn Bhd in Penang; and Guyson CN, in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China.

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