Archive for year: 2026

Ultrasonic cleaning is how jewellers, watchmakers and retailers bring the sparkle back to rings, chains and gemstones — reaching behind settings and into detail that a cloth or brush simply can’t. Elma has supplied the trade in Australia for decades, and the process is just as effective in a workshop as it is on a retail counter.

This guide covers how it works, the right solution and machine to use, a step-by-step, and — importantly — what you should never put in the bath.

Why ultrasonic is the jeweller’s choice

An ultrasonic cleaner works by cavitation — microscopic bubbles imploding throughout the solution, lifting grime, skin oils, hand cream and polishing residue from every surface, including under stones and inside settings. (See how ultrasonic cleaning works.) The result is a deep clean in minutes, with no scrubbing and no scratching.

It’s used two ways in the trade:
– Retail & service — restoring customers’ rings, chains and watches to showroom condition.
– Manufacturing & repair — removing polishing compound, rouge and lapping paste from freshly worked pieces.

The right solution makes the difference

Plain water under-performs. Match the concentrate to the job:

• Elma Super Clean — a mild, ammoniated concentrate made specifically to clean and brighten gold, silver and hard-stone jewellery. Use at 3–10% in water; a 1-litre bottle goes a long way. The go-to for retail and general jewellery cleaning.
• Tec Clean A2 — alkaline, ideal for removing grinding and polishing compounds, lapping media and grease from precious and non-ferrous metals. The choice for manufacturing and the polishing bench.

Our ultrasonic cleaning solutions guide covers the full range and dilutions.

Choosing a machine

For jewellery, a smaller heated bench unit is usually ideal — and a higher ultrasonic frequency cleans delicate pieces more gently:

• Elmasonic EASY series — well-built, heated entry-level units; a sensible choice for a retail counter or small workshop.
• P series (multi-frequency) — offers an 80 kHz mode that’s quieter and gentler for fine, delicate jewellery, plus 37 kHz for heavier cleaning.
• A Sweep mode helps clean evenly, and heating speeds up the result.

Browse the full ultrasonic cleaner range or use our guide to choosing a cleaner to match capacity to your volume.

How to clean jewellery — step by step

1. Fill the tank with warm water and the correct dose of Super Clean (typically 3–10%).
2. Degas a fresh solution for a couple of minutes so cavitation is at full strength.
3. Load pieces into the insert basket — never directly on the tank floor, and don’t overcrowd.
4. Run a short cycle (often 3–10 minutes depending on soiling).
5. Rinse in clean water and dry with a soft, lint-free cloth — or finish with a steam cleaner for a flawless result.
6. Inspect settings before and after, especially on older or repaired pieces.

For a professional finish, many jewellers pair ultrasonic cleaning with an Elma steam cleaner to blast away loosened residue and water spots.

What NOT to put in the bath

This matters: some stones and settings are damaged by ultrasonics. Keep opals, pearls, coral, emeralds, turquoise and other soft or treated stones out, along with glued settings, fragile antiques and thinly plated pieces. Our full guide on what not to put in an ultrasonic cleaner has the complete list — read it before cleaning customer pieces.

For jewellery businesses

If you run a retail store, repair workshop or manufacturing bench, the right ultrasonic-and-steam setup pays for itself quickly in time saved and finish quality. Elma equipment is German-made and built for daily professional use. Contact our Australian team and we’ll match a cleaner and solution to your work — or browse Super Clean and the ultrasonic cleaner range to get started.

When you’re cleaning production batches, engine and machined components, moulds, filters or maintenance parts, a benchtop unit won’t keep up. Industrial ultrasonic cleaners remove oil, swarf, carbon, lapping paste and production residues from large or high-volume loads automatically — no manual scrubbing, no solvent baths, and a consistent result every cycle.

This guide covers how industrial ultrasonic cleaning works, what to look for, and the Elmasonic ranges available in Australia — from heavy-duty benchtop units up to 255-litre floor-standing systems, all made in Germany by Elma and supplied by Elma Ultrasonics Australia.

Why ultrasonic for industrial parts cleaning?

An ultrasonic parts washer cleans by cavitation — microscopic bubbles imploding across every submerged surface, reaching into blind holes, threads, lumens and fine detail that spray washers and manual cleaning miss. For a production environment that means:

• Throughput — clean a full basket of parts at once, repeatably, while staff do other work.
• Reach — internal passages and complex geometries get cleaned, not just exposed faces.
• Gentler than abrasive methods — no media blasting or wire-brushing damage.
• Lower solvent use — water-based concentrates replace hazardous solvent degreasing.

What to look for in an industrial unit

• Tank capacity matched to your largest part and batch size — choose a tank at least 20% larger than your biggest item.
• Selectable frequency. Lower frequencies (around 25 kHz) hit hardest for stubborn contaminants like lapping/polishing paste and carbon; higher frequencies (37–45 kHz) suit drilling emulsions, oils and more delicate surfaces.
• Sweep, Pulse and Dynamic modes — Sweep evens out the sound field for uniform cleaning, Pulse boosts peak power for tenacious soils, and Dynamic alternates the two (Elma’s X-tra ST lifts output up to ~20%).
• Heating — warm solution cleans faster; industrial baths run hot for oils and grease.
• Robust stainless construction, drainage and continuous-duty rating for a production line.
• Three-phase power for the largest floor-standing tanks.

The Elmasonic industrial range (Australia)

Elmasonic X-tra ST — floor-standing industrial systems

The Elmasonic X-tra ST range is built for rugged, continuous production cleaning, with tanks from 83 to 255 litres for engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, rail and maintenance workshops. Units offer switchable 25/45 kHz operation, Sweep, Pulse and Dynamic modes, heating and built-in drainage:

• Elmasonic X-tra ST 800H — 83 L, 3-phase
• X-tra ST 1400H — 126 L, 3-phase
• X-tra ST 1600H — 162 L, 3-phase
• X-tra ST 1900S — 134 L, ultrasonics from both sides
• X-tra ST 2500H — 255 L, 3-phase

Elmasonic X-tra (benchtop, heavy-duty)

The Elmasonic Xtra series brings production-grade cleaning to the bench, with tanks from 3 to 30 litres, integrated Sweep, switchable Dynamic mode, continuous-duty stainless tanks and a stainless cover included. Ideal for workshops, jewellery studios and automotive servicing that need industrial performance in a smaller footprint.

Elmasonic P series (professional / multi-frequency)

The Elmasonic P series offers dual 37/80 kHz frequencies, heated tanks (2.75–28 L) and Sweep/Pulse/Degas modes — the right choice where you need both industrial cleaning power and a gentle option for delicate or precision components.

Match the right cleaning solution

The machine is only half the job — pair it with the correct concentrate. For industrial soils, an alkaline TEC CLEAN grade (A3/A4) handles oils, grease, soot and cooling lubricants, while acidic S1 tackles rust and scale. Our ultrasonic cleaning solutions guide walks through choosing by material and contaminant, and the full cleaning chemicals range is available in 1 L up to bulk sizes.

Specifying a system

For a production line or a custom configuration — multi-tank wash/rinse/dry lines, filtration, larger capacities or automation — sizing depends on your part geometry, contamination and throughput. Our guide to choosing an ultrasonic cleaner covers the fundamentals, and our Australian team can spec a system to your application. Browse the full ultrasonic cleaner range to get started.

The single biggest factor in how well your ultrasonic cleaner performs isn’t the machine — it’s the cleaning solution you put in it. Run plain tap water and you’ll get mediocre results. Add the right concentrate at the right dilution and the same cleaner will strip oil, grease, polishing paste, carbon, rust and oxidation in minutes.

This guide explains how ultrasonic cleaning solutions work, the three chemistry types, and exactly which Elma concentrate to choose for your material and the contamination you’re removing. Everything below is drawn from the Elma TEC CLEAN range stocked here in Australia.

Why the solution matters more than you think

Ultrasonic cleaners work by cavitation — millions of microscopic bubbles forming and collapsing against the surface of your parts, scrubbing every crevice the eye can’t reach. (If you want the physics, see What is cavitation in ultrasonic cleaning? and How does ultrasonic cleaning work?)

A purpose-made cleaning concentrate does three things plain water can’t:

• Lowers surface tension so cavitation bubbles form more readily and reach into fine detail.
• Chemically lifts and holds contamination — emulsifying oils and grease, or dissolving rust and limescale — so it doesn’t redeposit on the part.
• Protects the substrate with corrosion inhibitors and a pH matched to your material.

Using the wrong chemistry — or worse, household detergent — at best cleans poorly and at worst etches, stains or corrodes the very parts you’re trying to clean. That’s why Elma supplies a matched range rather than a single “do-everything” liquid.

The three types of ultrasonic cleaning solution

Every Elma concentrate falls into one of three chemistry families, defined by pH:

Get the family right first, then narrow down to the specific grade.

The Elma TEC CLEAN range at a glance

All Elma concentrates are supplied in 1-litre bottles and diluted with water (typically 3–10%, some down to 1:60 for light work), so a single bottle goes a very long way. Indicative pricing runs from around A$24 to A$42 per litre of concentrate — check each product page for current Australian pricing.

Note on aluminium: A4 is aluminium-safe, but several strong alkalis (A3) and Allkleen are not suitable for aluminium or light metals. With acidic S1, remove and rinse steel immediately after de-rusting to prevent flash corrosion. When in doubt, test on a scrap part first.

How to choose by material

• Stainless steel & steel — A3 or A4 for oils and grease; S1 if you’re removing rust or scale.
• Aluminium & light metals — A4 (specifically formulated to be aluminium-safe) or neutral N1.
• Brass & non-ferrous metals — A2 or N1; both clean without aggressive attack.
• Precious metals & jewellery — A2 or SUPER CLEAN for gold, silver and hard-stone pieces.
• Electronics, PCBs & optics — A1 (silicate and phosphate-free, gentle on fine assemblies).
• Plastics, ceramics, glass & rubber — neutral N1 is the safe universal choice.
• Mixed loads / general workshop — A4 is the closest thing to an all-rounder.

How to choose by contamination

• Oil, grease & cutting fluids ? alkaline A-series (A3/A4 for heavy industrial soiling, A1 for light).
• Polishing paste, grinding & lapping media ? A2 (jewellers) or N1.
• Rust, limescale & oxidation ? acidic S1.
• Carbon, soot & carburettor grime ? ALLKLEEN or A3.
• Flux residue on electronics ? A1.

Dilution, temperature and getting the most from a bottle

Because these are concentrates, correct dilution matters. As a rule of thumb the TEC CLEAN grades run at 3–10% in water, while heavy-duty aqueous concentrates like Allkleen go much further — 1:60 for light cleaning down to 1:5 for extra-heavy work. Most jobs also clean faster warm: many solutions are designed to run around 60–70 °C, which is why most Elma cleaners include adjustable heating.

A practical consequence: a single 1-litre bottle of concentrate makes many baths of working solution, so the cost-per-clean is low even though the concentrate isn’t free. Always add concentrate to water (not the other way around), degas a fresh bath for a few minutes, and replace the solution once it’s visibly loaded with contamination.

A word on household substitutes

It’s tempting to reach for dish soap or a degreaser from the shelf. Don’t. Household detergents foam — and foam kills cavitation, the entire mechanism your cleaner relies on. They also lack corrosion inhibitors, so they can leave parts spotted or tarnished. Purpose-made ultrasonic concentrates are low-foaming and substrate-matched for exactly this reason.

Which one should you buy?

If you want a simple starting point:

• General workshop / mixed parts: TEC CLEAN A4
• Sensitive parts, plastics & optics: TEC CLEAN N1 or A1
• Jewellery: SUPER CLEAN or TEC CLEAN A2
• Rust & scale removal: TEC CLEAN S1
• Automotive & carburettors: ALLKLEEN

Browse the full ultrasonic cleaning chemicals range for current pricing and data sheets, pair it with the right machine using our guide to choosing an ultrasonic cleaner, or contact our Australian team and we’ll match a solution to your application.