Used ESMA Plant Support Equipment for Sale

Esma Incorporated has manufactured ultrasonic cleaning equipment from South Holland, Illinois since 1972, and has stayed narrowly focused on that discipline for over five decades: ultrasonic cleaners, automated cleaning and passivation systems, benchtop electropolishing equipment, and the proprietary chemistries that run in them. Ultrasonic cleaners span compact 1-gallon benchtop units through 350-gallon floor systems, driven by proprietary solid-state circuitry that delivers a consistent square-wave frequency with automatic tuning, and custom tank sizes are a standard offering rather than an exception.

The design principle that distinguishes Esma's automated systems is that they move the fluids, not the parts. Rather than transferring baskets between tanks with a robotic gantry, the parts stay in a single tank while a programmed sequence of fill-and-drain cycles brings alkaline detergent, rinse water, acid passivation solution, and final DI rinse to them in turn, followed by a hot air drying cycle. The practical consequences matter on the used market: far fewer moving parts than a gantry line, a much smaller footprint, and a closed process that limits operator exposure to acids.

The E992 is the flagship automated ultrasonic cleaner and passivation console. In its standard configuration it uses a 28 x 22 x 39 inch cabinet with an 18-gallon tank, 1,800 watts of ultrasonic power, a 3,000 watt hot air dryer, all-stainless RFI-filtered construction, and three heated storage tanks. Full automated passivation configurations pair the washer with four 60-gallon heated storage tanks holding alkaline cleaning solution, acid passivation solution, and two stages of rinse water, each with pump and filter systems, plus 4,500 watts of drying heat and around 1,100 cfm of air, controlled through a panel-mount Beijer HMI. Variants include the E992-100 with a 100-gallon tank, 6,000 watts of ultrasonics and a pneumatic lid opener, and the E992.3T triple tumbler, which adds three slowly rotating tumbler baskets so that acid and cleaning solution reach blind holes, threads, and internal cavities. Tanks and modules are built from 304 and 316 stainless steel. Ultrasonics can be switched off during any step for pure soaking.

Two features make Esma systems particularly relevant to regulated manufacturing. The rinse stages can be quality-controlled: the final rinse storage tank carries a PPM/TDS meter and a conductivity transmitter that opens and closes a freshwater inlet solenoid against a user-defined limit, and the first rinse can be set to self-neutralize as it picks up acid dragout. The systems also log process data for each passivation run, retrievable over FTP as comma-delimited data, which is what a medical device manufacturer needs for validation and traceability. Esma's acid passivation solution is specified to the ASTM A967 standard, and the systems run with either citric or nitric acid chemistries.

For used-equipment buyers, the low mechanical complexity is the main advantage: there is no transfer robot to rebuild. Inspect ultrasonic transducer output and module condition, since transducer performance degrades with hours rather than obvious failure, and check tank interiors for acid pitting or crevice attack, particularly around welds. Verify that all fill and drain solenoid valves cycle - an automated E992 uses many of them, and a single stuck valve will strand a program mid-sequence. Confirm heater condition on both the tank and the storage tanks, check the pump and filter chambers, and confirm the HMI generation and that the process data logging function is intact if the machine is destined for validated work. Note that chemistry selection and process validation are the end user's responsibility, not the builder's, so a used system does not carry a qualified process with it.

Meadoworks is your trusted source for used ESMA equipment. As third-generation industrial equipment dealers and AMEA-certified appraisers with over 50 years of experience, we offer quality-inspected ESMA machines at competitive prices. Browse the 1 used ESMA machine listed above, or call 800-323-0307 for equipment not yet listed.

Every machine includes detailed specifications and high-resolution photos, and inspection visits are available for most equipment. We ship worldwide with experienced rigging partners and offer financing for qualified buyers. Have ESMA equipment to sell? Get a free valuation or contact our team.