I thought the new ultrasonic cleaner in our Tulsa hangar was just a fancy gimmick, but it saved a $1,200 actuator.

3 comments

3 Comments

We had a landing gear valve last year with built up carbon deposits in tiny oil passages. I mean, you couldn't even see through some of them. Manual brushing just pushed the gunk around. The ultrasonic got into all those little channels and basically shook it all loose. It's wild how it cleans stuff you can't even reach. That one job probably justified half the cost of the unit right there.

theaward14d ago

Honestly I get the hype but I've seen these things cause real problems too. They can shake loose stuff you want to stay put, like delicate seals or bonded materials. We had a sensor come out looking spotless but it killed the internal damping fluid. Sometimes that old school hand cleaning, even if it's slower, is just safer for the part. It's not always the magic fix people say it is.

ivan59725d ago

What kind of grime was on the actuator that made the ultrasonic cleaner the right tool for the job? I'm curious about the specific problem it solved that a regular cleaning couldn't handle. Saving that much money on a single part is a serious win. It makes you wonder what other expensive parts are sitting around that could be brought back to life. That's the kind of result that turns a "gimmick" into a must-have piece of gear pretty fast.