Industrial devices such as ultrasound cleaners use high frequency sound waves to create bubbles within a bath, which expand and collapse rapidly. In industrial terms, this is generally known as cavitation technique that creates a scrubbing action on the immersed parts for loosening and removal of dirt, scale, and other impurities.

These devices are used to clean the surfaces of components coming out of a production line that may contain impurities such as grease, soil, oil, abrasive dust, blast debris, paint, corrosion or other contaminants. Most commonly used ultrasonic cleaning devices include degreasing cleaners, sterilizer washers and ultrasonic parts washers.

These devices can be purchased as complete cleaning systems and also part-by-part to either assemble a system from scratch or to replace damaged components of existing machines. A complete ultrasonic machine system consists of different components such as a retrieval system, nozzle, cabinet, pressure generator pump, transducer, agitator, and cleaning tank. The ultrasonic cleaning process can be achieved using different mediums such as "hot water cleaning" in which the cleaner manipulates a heated water supply or steam to enhance cleaning and surface preparation operations. Another medium known as "aqueous" cleaning uses water based cleaning solution and is similar to hot water cleaning. In some mediums the solvent is evaporated and then condensed on the parts surface to enable cleaning operations.

Apart from basic cleaning operations, ultrasonic cleaners are also used for degreasing, surface preparation, and sterilization. They can easily remove oils, grease, and other similar substances from the surface of metal parts or components and prepare the surface for additional processing. The disinfectant qualities of ultrasonic cleaners have made them useful in pharmaceutical, medical, and food processing industries.

Advanced digital ultrasonic cleaners available in the market have microprocessor controlled thermostat and digital readout that offer maximum control of the cycle time and temperature all in one setting. They also have other features such as mechanical timer-MT, digital timer, heat timer, and temperature monitor.