Drawbacks to ultrasonic post-processing of FDM support material Ultrasonic cleaning involves the use of high-frequency sound waves to remove contaminants from parts immersed in aqueous media. For WaterWorksTM support post-processing, however, the choice of ultrasonic cleaning equipment has numerous shortcomings. This paper has been compiled to help WaterWorksTM users to better understand the mechanics of WaterWorksTM post-processing and to help them avoid time consuming and costly post-processing equipment mistakes. It is well known that the three most important factors to aqueous (water based) cleaning of any type are: - cleaning solution composition - mechanical force - temperature. WaterWorksTM support removal post-processing requires the use of WaterWorksTM soluble concentrate. When thoroughly mixed in water and heated to a precise temperature the solution rapidly softens FDM support material into a thickly viscous gel that later dissolves completely. Rapid post-processing of FDM parts is possible only to the extent that the equipment is optimized to the specific properties of this solvent. Thus, - precise heat: which activates the soluble concentrate solution to its most reactive state - agitation: which continually mixes the concentrate to optimal solution effectiveness - flow: which provides the mechanical force necessary to 'jet' the material off the external surface and out of the interior cavities of the model are all critical to rapid support removal and thus the quicker "geometry to model" delivery times vital to competitive Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Direct to Digital Manufacturing (DDM). << Back    Forward >> Home  |  ©2002 PM Technologies. All Rights Reserved.  |  Site Map Cleanstation® SRSTM, U.S. Patent No. 7,546,841