Ultrasonic Cleaning of Used Plastic Parts for Remanufacturing of Multifunctional Digital Copier

A multifunctional digital copier or multi-function peripheral (MFP) is suitable for remanufacturing due to its high cost, long life, and fast replacement cycle. In the remanufacturing process of an MFP, the cleaning process to remove contaminants is the most time-consuming and labor-intensive job. The improvement of cleaning efficiency is essential to strengthen the competitive power of remanufacturing, especially in a high labor-cost country. In this study, a cleaning system is established for the remanufacturing process of MFPs. The system manipulates completely disassembled parts. Based on an analysis of the disassembly process, disassembled parts are classified into four groups, and cleaning methods for each group are determined Ultrasonic performance tests to remove contaminants using several cleaning agents are executed, and one cleaning agent is recommended among them for cleaning MFP parts. The ultrasonic cleaning parameters of operation time and ultrasonic frequency are suggested. With the suggested conditions, an ultrasonic cleaning system with dipping, rinsing, and drying units is designed and fabricated. A field test is executed to find the optimal operating conditions. The productivity and economic improvements of the system are estimated, and the application is verified.