Ultrasonics: Unheard Progress

For years ultrasonics meant something only to dogs and other subhuman creatures. One of the few uses of ultra-high sound waves was in whistles, too high-pitched for human ears, to call pets. Today ultrasonics is an exciting new technological frontier. Last year the ultrasonics industry's commercial and military sales reached $25 million, and in 1959 they are expected to double. Last week industry experts estimated that within five years there will be a $150 million annual market for ultrasonic* equipment.

Ultrasonic machines are used for hospital and industrial cleaning and degreasing. They can join metals previously impossible to weld or solder, drill square and other odd-shaped holes in brittle materials, such as germanium and glass. They will measure any liquid, including exotic jet fuels, and liquid oxygen in rockets. The aircraft, electronic and missile makers have been a major spur to the growth of ultrasonics. Before the development of ultrasonic cleaners, jet-engine nozzles and oil filters had to be thrown away when dirty. Now imbedded residue can be removed in minutes through the use of sound energy. The sound waves whip the water into millions of microscopic bubbles which burst against the material, ripping dirt away. No transistor core goes to its final assembly package without an ultrasonic bath to remove impurities.

Whistle at Work. Sheffield Corp., subsidiary of Bendix Aviation Corp., has just unveiled a tool for machining brittle material that combines eight ultrasonic machines into one unit. Gulton Industries of Metuchen, N.J. will bring out a new line of cleaners, standardize the manufacture of its drills and welders to meet demands of the expanding market. Acoustica Associates, Mineola, L.I., last week demonstrated a new "ultrasonic dipstick" that continuously gauges the levels of virtually any liquid.

Aggressive Acoustica is an example of how fast an ultrasonics firm can grow. In 1955 Acoustica's young (now 38) President Robert L. Rod set up shop in a boathouse, landed six contracts for some $8,000 worth of ultrasonic cleaners. Since then, Acoustica's sales have increased, on the average, six times every year. For the fiscal year ended last Feb. 28, sales hit $4,750,000, with earnings of 50-c- per share, v. 8-c- in 1957. Stock issued at $1 per share in 1956 was selling around $25 per share last week. To boost earnings this year, Bob Rod is counting on new ideas. Among them: an ultrasonic whistle that will increase or decrease the rate at which solid fuel in missiles burns, control its thrust. (Sound waves shot through a material accelerate many chemical reactions, including combustion.)

Cleaning Up. Most profitable area of ultrasonics thus far is cleaning, where the field is divided between small companies such as Acoustica and Gulton and diversified big ones such as Bendix, Curtiss-Wright Corp. and Detrex Chemical Industries of Detroit. Detrex, the largest U.S. maker of dry-cleaning equipment, last year sold $1,250,000 worth of ultrasonic cleaners for electric shavers, auto-engine parts, outboard motors, jewelry and the tips of ballpoint pens. One cleaner washes a cash register with 5,000 parts in 7 1/2 minutes. Says Detrex's Chief Engineer T. J. Kearny: "Some day we'll be cleaning clothes with ultrasonic equipment."

Silent sound grinders, such as those made by Raytheon Mfg. Co., have won an important market for odd-shaped cutting, and ultrasonics is also being used by steel, aluminum, auto and aircraft companies to find flaws in metals. Test equipment made by Sperry Products Inc. of Danbury, Conn, is used to detect weak spots in railroad tracks and scan reactor tubing for atomic submarines. The company is also developing a device to measure the amount of meat on a hog or steer by gauging the time it takes for sound waves to bounce back from tissue separating meat from fat. Reflectone Corp., electronics company of Stamford, Conn., is perfecting an ultrasonic meat tenderizer that will break down the fibers and "make a chuck pot roast taste like a sirloin steak."

Weapon Against Smog. Like any dazzling new technology, ultrasonics has been plagued by phonies and glib promoters, still has a few. But the shakeout is nearly over, and the industry's promise is about ready to be matched by accomplishments. An ultrasonic dishwasher for the home is already technically feasible but too expensive to mass-market. High-frequency whistles have already dispersed fog and smog in small spaces. The hope is to do it outdoors. These breakthroughs, and the use of ultrasonics for many other processes, such as the aging of wine and drying of instant coffee, may well come next year or next week.

* The term ultrasonics technically refers to sound waves above the audible-to-humans range, about 20,000 cycles per second and up. But it is loosely used to describe all applications of sound energy to industrial processes, although many ultrasonic devices use frequencies within and even below the audible range. Military sonar applications are not usually included.

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