What actually happens between a client’s first call and a validated, audit-ready cleaning line on their factory floor

The call usually starts the same way.

A manufacturer, sometimes a tier-1 aerospace supplier, sometimes a defense component producer, has a cleanliness problem. Parts are failing inspection. A new OEM contract has cleanliness specifications their current equipment cannot meet. Or they are setting up a new line and want to get the cleaning infrastructure right from the start rather than retrofit it later.

What follows is not a product demonstration. It is an engineering engagement. Here is exactly what that looks like.

Week one: Understanding the contamination problem

Before Ralsonics specifies any equipment, we need to understand what is on the part. That means a detailed intake conversation covering the base material, the machining processes involved, the cutting chemistries used, and the downstream application, whether the component is going into a coating line, a bonding process, an assembly, or directly to final inspection.

We ask for sample components. Not to run a demo clean, but to characterise the contamination. Gravimetric analysis tells us how much residue is present by weight. Particle count analysis tells us the size distribution of particulate contamination. Ionic contamination testing tells us what chemistry is left behind from cutting fluids and process aids.

This data is what the cleaning system is designed around. Not a catalogue specification. Not a standard programme. The actual contamination on the actual part.

Week two to three: Process development

With the contamination profile established, the Ralsonics engineering team develops the cleaning process. This means selecting the number of stages, the chemistry for each stage, the ultrasonic frequency and power density, the temperature and exposure time, and the rinse and drying parameters.

For aerospace components this process development stage is where most of the engineering work happens. Frequency selection alone requires careful consideration, a component with fine internal bores and thin walls needs different cavitation characteristics than a robust structural bracket. Getting this wrong does not just mean a dirty part. It can mean a damaged one.

Chemistry selection is equally specific. Alkaline formulations for heavy organic contamination. Near-neutral options for sensitive alloys or components with existing surface treatments. The concentration, temperature, and bath life parameters are set and documented.

A prototype process is run on sample components and the results are measured against the cleanliness specification. If the result hits spec, the process is locked. If it does not, the parameters are adjusted and the process is run again. This iteration continues until the process is validated.

Week three to four: System design and build

With the validated process in hand, the physical system is designed around it. Chamber sizing is determined by the component envelope and batch volume requirements. Transducer placement and power distribution are engineered for uniform cavitation across the entire cleaning zone, dead spots in an ultrasonic field are a common failure point in poorly designed systems.

Filtration and bath management systems are specified to maintain chemistry quality across production volumes. An aerospace cleaning system running at production throughput will degrade its bath chemistry over time if filtration is not properly designed, and a degraded bath is an inconsistent bath.

IoT monitoring integration is built in from this stage, not added later. Real-time tracking of bath temperature, conductivity, ultrasonic power output, and cycle parameters means every batch has a complete process record. That record is what an OEM audit or NADCAP assessment will ask to see.

Commissioning and validation

When the system arrives on the client’s floor, commissioning is not a switch-on. It is a formal validation exercise. The system is run at production parameters, output components are tested against the cleanliness specification, and the results are documented in a validation report.

Only when the validated process is demonstrated to be repeatable, across multiple batches, at production throughput, with documented results, is the system signed off.

That validation report is not a formality. It is the document a client takes into their OEM qualification audit to demonstrate that their cleaning process is understood, controlled, and proven.

What a finished Ralsonics aerospace installation looks like

A validated Ralsonics aerospace cleaning system is not a piece of equipment. It is a documented, qualified process that lives inside a piece of equipment. The client knows exactly what happens at every stage, why it happens, and what the output specification is. Their team is trained on the process parameters and on what to do if any parameter falls outside range.

When the auditor walks in, there is nothing to explain and nothing to hide. The process records are there. The validation data is there. The cleanliness results are there.

That is what building an aerospace cleaning system from brief to commissioning actually looks like. It takes longer than buying a standard unit off a catalogue. It produces something that a standard unit cannot: a cleaning process your supply chain will trust.

If you are commissioning a new aerospace or defense production line, preparing for supplier qualification, or benchmarking your current cleaning process against OEM specifications, contact Ralsonics for an initial consultation. We will start where every good engineering engagement starts, with the part, and what is actually on it.