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Ultrasonic Cleaner Build (subsonic kluge?)

Trash80toHP_Mini

Trash80toHP_Mini

NIGHT STALKER
68040
Don't blame me, this one's Elfen's fault! [:D] ]'>

He made a very interesting suggestion for a board cleaning setup. Its elegant simplicity set me to wondering about the frequencies of things like vibrating cutting tools and my hair clippers  .  .  .  which of course forced me to make the Duck Go (Google is now the enemy) to find some suggestions for low budget, wide area format cleaners for motherboards and the like.


I've already got a pair of sanders. Now I'm wondering how to get the AC motors to run out of phase to double down on the frequency? Splitting out the lines for running them on both phases available in my apartment's 220V clothes dryer outlet comes immediately to mind. [}:)] ]'>

A standard dryer cord wired into a gang box switch/setup should be easily done with off the shelf parts from your local Big Box/real hardware/tool store ethnic cleansing unit.

***************** thought I'd add that the on-off switch would need to be double pole-single throw for emergency shutdown. A 220V double breaker might work.

Edit: second pass at the notion:

Determining which pair of 110V outlets in a home are wired to opposite legs of the breaker box and are close enough together near the cleaner kluge to run extension cords that are already on hand to power the sanders is likely the KISS compliant, zero cost solution here  .  .  .

.  .  .  but where's the fun in that? :-/

 
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Poking around a bit more found a gun enthusiast's experiences on the cleaning solution front. SimpleGreen was his preference/suggestion after having tried several other dedicated (expensive) firearms cleaning products and a dishwashing detergent.

Extreme Simple Green® Aircraft & Precision Cleanerhis next up for testing after he finishes off the consumer grade concentrate. Checking out the MSDS spec sheets for suitability in use as an electronics/motherboard etc. sub-utrasonic cleaning solution is beyond my ken.

Pretty sure their products are Ph neutral, which has me wondering if baking soda or other base additive might tune it more to cap acid removal?

Suggestions?

 
Take apart an old ultrasonic humidifier and save the mist unit. It might work, and yes, they run at ultrasonic frequencies.

 
It's my understanding that humidifiers and vaporizers use tiny piezoelectric components. I wonder if ultrasonic frequencies are necessary or if vigorous agitation at lower frequencies might suffice?

Ultrasonic cleaning units large enough for motherboards/auto parts etc. appear to be very pricey.

 
Did a bit of research:

Higher frequencies such as 130 kHz are used for fine cleaning jobs and for the cleaning of highly sensitive surfaces including micro electronics, printed circuit boards and precision optics.

That appears to be at the very high end of the cost spectrum for ultrasonic cleaning, especially for units large enough for any six slot motherboard. Might ultrasonic cleaning at  lower frequencies pose a damage threat to electronic components?

My curiosity is definitely piqued on this front.

Really wondering about what I'll call sub-sonic agitation cleaners for lack of precise terminology. I've got industrial grade sanders on hand and others will have decent consumer grade sanders, so I started poking around my favorite "cheap tool" source's website for scratch build pricing:

Chicago Electric - 2 Amp 1/4 Sheet Heavy Duty Palm Finishing Sander

Chicago Electric - 1.6 Amp 1/3 Sheet Heavy Duty Finishing Sander

Looks like the pre-tax/pre-coupon purchase price for these two basic tools (occasional use quality) that would be handy for many folks to have around would be about $50. They both oscillate at 12,000 OPM and running them off outlets wired to different legs available on the typical residential service panel ought to boost the combined vibration to something like 24,000 OPM.

That's decidedly a WAG, but I'm sticking to it! [:D] ]'>

No way I'd set a PCB on the bottom of the container, that would absolutely shake something loose, but suspending the PCB from an isolated framework might just work?

_________________ back to the usual, over the top silliness: [:o)] ]'>

A three phase power setup would be really neat! Tuning several more expensive variable speed sanders to a higher effective frequency would be fun to play with as well, but I'm trying to keep this KISS compliant. ::)

 
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Decided to test the 2-Phase vibration frequency double down theory in the bathtub.

Running two sanders on the same breaker increased the agitation action as expected.

Running two sanders off breakers that ought to be on offset phases increased the agitation action as well, but the ripple patterns on the surface appeared to have a bit tighter spacing.

Promising but inconclusive results: test done using a square format version of the ubiquitous 5 GAL "dough pail'

1 - need to use a broader surface container to amplify agitation action and display effects like the tubs in the videos

2 - need to conclusively test that the sanders are running on offset phases

3 - need to figure out how to measure the frequencies at some point

Playtime! [:D] ]'>

 
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Yes, that’s all well and good, but surely use of a sander or the like could never prove quite so satisfying as proper manipulation of the Elphenian tool!

 
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