The University of Huddersfield reduces cleaning time by 75%

Challenges

The University of Huddersfield, School of Art, Design and Architecture. First, the team used a power wash to clean the aluminium honeycomb slats, which form the bed of one of their laser cutters.

Over time, the slats became dirty from cutting medium density fibreboard, and the residue proved very difficult to remove. As a result, each slat took half a day to clean with the power wash; however, the end result remained poor. Consequently, poor cleaning results forced the replacement of many slats.

The Solution

As costs for replacing slats continued to rise and cleaning them took increasingly longer without delivering the desired results. University of Huddersfield began searching for a more efficient cleaning solution.

After researching the market they decided to purchase a customised ultrasonic cleaning system from Ultrawave. Engineers designed the system to match the exact size and shape of the slats so they would fit easily.

The University welcomes the tank and praises the cleaning results.

“It cleans to an exceptional standard. Removes dirt and residue from the hard to reach areas that were previously impossible to clean”. Says Chris Charlesworth, Technical Team Leader for The University of Huddersfield

Using this ultrasonic cleaning system has reduced cleaning time from half a day to just one hour per Slat. “We load the tank and return in an hour to find the slats clean. It has more than paid for itself in the reduction of staff time. Has also made an extremely tedious task much safer and more pleasant.  The team can now concentrate on other duties instead of spending a large amount of time using the power wash. The amount of time it saves us every day is incredible” says Chris.

Ultrawave’s customised system has reduced The University of Huddersfield’s costs by extending how long the slats last. The system now cleans them to a much higher standard, and staff find it easy to use and praise its quality and reliability. “It makes the job much easier. To be honest I’m not sure what we would do without it” says Chris.