Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I place an order?

For clients in Canada, US, South America and Europe, orders can be placed directly through SyncroCraft, LLC in the US. For clients in Asia, orders can be placed through Shinka Industry Co., Ltd. Contact Us for more info

2. What is the lead time?

The standard lead time is 1 week after receipt of order.

3. What is the warranty?

The Sonic Meter is warranted against manufacturing defects for 12 months from time of purchase. We are dedicated to expediting repairs and calibrations.

4. What are the recommended Calibration intervals?

Calibrations are recommended annually. For large throughput cleaning facilities requiring daily monitoring of tank performance, we recommend calibration every 6 months. The lead time for calibration service is 3-5 business days.

5. Does the Sonic Meter have a CE Mark?

The Sonic Meter has been CE tested and certified by ITS.

6. Is the Sonic Meter NIST Traceable?

Our meters are calibrated with NIST traceable instrumentation. We recommend annual calibration. For high use (daily), we recommend bi-annual calibration.

7. What is the diameter and length of the probe?

The probe diameter is 8mm (.312″) and the length is 38cm (15″).

8. What is the effective length of the probe, i.e. what is the wet depth?

The effective length of the probe is approximately 33-36cm (13-14″) depending on how you hold or mount it.

9. What is the sensor tip diameter relative to the probe body diameter?

Sensor diameter = 5mm (0.2″), probe diameter = 8mm (0.312″) for standard probe.

10. Are Custom Probe sizes available?

We can build longer probes up to 1m (36″). The lead time for custom probe work is 4-6 weeks. We will also review concepts for angled probes or other non-standard geometries.

11. What is the minimum immersion depth in order to get reliable data with your probe?

The face of the probe must be immersed at least 10mm in the fluid. The surface of the liquid is in motion with standing waves. You need to have the tip below the standing waves in order to make reliable measurements. The tip must always be in contact with the solvent/liquid.

12. How does your meter compare to others on the market?

The Sonic Meter is extremely well constructed with a service life of over 23 years. The hermetically sealed probe is made entirely of stainless steel . We do not use glass, plastic or rubber seals in the construction of the sensing element of the probe. The Sonic Meter uses a piezo sensor with sensitivity in units of pressure (Pascals). The average forces at work on the parts during a cleaning cycle are from the pressure in the cavitating solvent. This pressure creates a scrub force which is what cleans the parts. The slender tip of the probe maps exact positions of the pressure distribution. These mapped positions can correlate to areas where your parts will be located. Other systems use bulbous probes made of plastic which don’t allow for high resolution tank mapping. Some systems have units that are not related to scientific units. Others systems attempt to make power measurements by making conversions in real time, while not making a direct correlation to the tank’s factory power rating. What is crucial is the ability to make reliable measurements with a quantifiable unit of measurement. The Sonic Meter provides this reliability and repeatability at the highest level. The calibration of our meters is controlled and performed under a standard protocol. The output is expressed in pressure units because piezo elements are pressure sensitive devices. The cavitation of the liquid applies forces to the total area of a part being cleaned. The Sonic Meter probe senses these forces over its tip area. With the Sonic Meter, you will be able to quantitatively map the pressure distribution of your tanks during your in-house calibration procedure.

Note: tank manufactures specify their power output in Watts/gal. The Watts/gal output is determined by measuring the power used to drive the tank’s piezo transducer. The measured power is then divided by the tank volume. The tank manufacturers do not have a direct tank measurement for the resultant energy density. There is one test used by manufacturers to test tank functionality, the ceramic ring test. This test uses carbon coated ceramic rings as an indicator of how well the ultrasonics are cleaning by how much carbon is removed over some specified time period. This test is used to determine whether or not an older tank’s ultrasonics are working properly. The ceramic ring test is qualitative, a “go-no-go” type of test.

When tanks fail they either don’t work at all or the transducer output begins to degrade. The Sonic Meter will be indispensable for determining when the latter takes place. With true sensitivity to fluid cleaning-forces as a result of cavitation, our product is the only standard that is driven by real engineering units, NIST traceability (equipment compliant with ISO9001:2015, ISO/IEC 17025:2005, and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994), and CE conformance.

13. How can the probe detect power differences for small movements of 1-10mm?

In high quality tanks, you will not notice any significant difference over a 1-2mm translation of the probe. However, beyond 2mm translations or depth changes, significant changes in pressure readings can be measured. The pressure intensity can be much higher than your tank’s average and can be concentrated in regions of the tank. High and low cavitation scrub force can be detected with the Sonic Meter. These areas of varying intensity become more pronounced when parts and racks are placed in the tank or when tanks’ geometries have non-uniform shapes. Optimizing locations and calibrating your ultrasonic tanks with the Sonic Meter will increase the precision and control of your cleaning process.

14. If parts to be cleaned influence the pressure distribution in a tank, what effect does your measurement probe have on the tank’s pressure distribution?

Several things can produce regions where pressure is significantly higher or lower when compared to your tank’s average pressure (average means at least 10-20 readings at 1 or more depths). The Sonic Meter’s intensity probe does not represent a significant volume unlike other systems on the market which will alter or influence the pressure distribution. Some tanks have shapes with reliefs for filters, heaters, basket hanger, etc. In and around many of these regions, the pressure can vary more than in the general rectangular work volume. With the Sonic Meter, you should also measure intensity around the areas of your tank where there are discontinuous sections in the tank’s walls. You will observe slight to significant changes in pressure when compared to your averaged readings. The pressure will always be more varied near the surfaces of the protruding geometries, corners and edges.

15. Have you ever measured the effectiveness of procedures to degas a tank, i.e. have you ever measured the % oxygen or nitrogen in an ultrasonic tank?

We have not done any experimentation with degas times or % oxygen/nitrogen since there are several other variables that are specific to each tank and the specific process parameters. Therefore, it is important to develop your own process protocol for optimization by quantifying variables that affect tank pressure output. The Sonic Meter ultrasonic intensity probe is the indispensable tool for this type of process optimization.

16. Can probes be switched to different meters?

Yes. However, each probe has a unique sensitivity. The meter needs to have input into memory this sensitivity in order function properly. We set the probe’s unique sensitivity value in the meter’s digital memory so that the displayed output has been correctly compensated for in the measuring process. The simple procedure for changing the sensitivity when you switch out a probe with another is described in our manual.

17. Are Replacement Parts Available?

Replacement parts listed below can be purchased directly through SyncroCraft:

  1. Probe: #SM-probe
  2. Cable: #SM-cable
  3. Case: #SM-case
  4. Manual: #SM-manual
  5. Battery charger: #SM-charger
  6. Batteries: #SM-battery

Please click Clientele List for confirmation of our meter’s use as a standard tool in many corporations throughout the world.