Electro Cleaners Series - Part 3
Did you read The Electrocleaner parts 1 and 2?
But as we talk about the "anode bar", the one we don't put the parts on, we learned in part 1 that you actually should have one. Do not use the tank walls as your anode/cathode in the electrocleaner. Yes people do (do you?) but using the tank makes the walls hard to clean and they can get so covered with gunk you'll blind it to the current and then you're not really electocleaning are you?
The anodes in the electrocleaner need to be kept clean and connected so that they can conduct electricity and provide the current needed to produce gassing on the surface of your part, giving us a good scrubbing action. That is how we remove metallic and non-metallic impurities and break down weld and heat treat scale.
So take look at the picture above and get that purchase order ready. You're looking at the Cadillac of electrocleaner bus bars there baby! What are you looking at? Well let me tell you.
1) The steel bus bar works great in an electrocleaner if you keep it from rusting like the Titanic. In this design, the bus bar makes contact to the anodes below the solution level. You won't lose contact and it can't rust so it distributes the current evenly. And no rusty bus bar dropping chunks of iron into your solution.
2) The steel grating is mounted to the steel bus bar below solution level. No loss of contact and easy to remove and clean as necessary. Beats the hell out of pumping out the tank to scrape the walls. And you won't be chasing rejects caused by anodes not working because they lost contact and you didn't know. You looked everywhere else for that adhesion problem and it was just a dirty contact? Damn!
Bonus 2.1) When "some" of your anodes lose contact the current you are pushing will be much higher at another anode that is making good contact and you will get electrocleaner burn on some parts. As I said… Damn!
3) "Hey Marko? Are the ends of that bus bar above the solution level plastisol coated so they never rust?" Why yes. Yes they are. Thanks for noticing. And the contacts for the cables? Drilled and tapped so the contacts are tight and much less likely to lose contact. For a long time.
Building quality in at every step!
The electrocleaner does matter! It is not just another hot alkaline "cleaner" on the line we give the parts a bath in. It's a PROCESS tank! And an important one.
Electrocleaners are like the offensive line in a football game, you only notice them when they DON'T do their job…
Now do your job and let me do my job and let's build you a better bus bar! Please?
Call me! I'm around!
PS: Why did I put "anode" in quotes at the start? Because sometimes we are using the electrocleaner as a "direct" cleaner and sometimes as "reverse" cleaner. Have you always been as confused by that as I have? Wait till next time!!!
Electrocleaner Part 4
Reverse/Direct Electrocleaning: What the hell does that mean?
Coming Soon!