Particle removal from gears

Hello Guest Dave,

Have you tried an ultrasonic cleaning bath?

Refer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaning

We have seen these used here and elsewhere for quite large castings and machined parts, leaving the parts extremely clean.

Kind Regards....

Thanks Sparkstation-

We have ultrasonic washers here; however, they do not have the agitation that I am looking for. The current ultrasonic's that we use clean well for the purpose that we use them for, a pre-nitride cleansing, but without any agitation, it seems that they won't clean in grooves and drilled/tapped holes. I am looking at a batch style ultrasonic with high psi agitation, I am hoping this works, but the drawback is this piece of equipment is very pricey. I was just wondering if there was a way around buying a new washer and implementing a process before the wash cycle.

Regards,

Dave

When painting a car, the last step before paint is a wipe with a tack rag. It is a rag that is tacky, more so than sticky. It removes the last of the foreign material without leaving any trace chemicals behind. Could you pass a tack rag through the groove to remove the particles? How about high pressure air blast?

Could you manufacture the aluminum bushing with a smaller outside diameter, drop it into the gear , and then hydraulically expand the bushing so that it then locks into the machined grove inside the gear. That should eliminate the metal particles from between the gear and bushing. Any particles that are generated, will be in the middle of the bushing, and easier to remove.

If I was not able to make myself clear, let me know.