The Problem With Battery-Powered Ultrasonic Cleaners
One of my dad’s earliest contact lens cleaner prototypes ran on batteries.
4 AAs, in fact.
But it wasn’t long before he ditched that design in favor of wall power via an electric socket.
So why doesn’t the current Visonic Dome use batteries today? And how does running off mains power improve its cleaning power?
Read on below to find out.
1.) Less Waste
No Battery = Less Waste
Visonic Dome is designed to last practically forever.
Today, over 20 years since the last Dome rolled off the assembly line in California, they’re still running strong. Working examples even pop up on eBay from time to time.
Part of the reason why is the assembly method that my father developed. Visonic Dome isn’t held together with screws or glue. In fact, the top and bottom halves are joined together with a process called ultrasonic welding. Essentially, that means that the Dome is permanently fused together at the middle.
That permanent bond is what keeps Visonic Dome watertight and protects the electronics inside from the corrosive environment of a bathroom. It’s why Visonic Dome lasts so long without failing.
Unfortunately, even the best battery dies eventually.
In some electronic devices, like phones, that means old batteries need to be removed and replaced.
Designing a battery for the Visonic Dome would either:
- Result in a less-than-watertight design, risking corrosion
or - Permanently seal a non-replaceable battery inside, thereby limiting the lifetime
A battery-less design isn’t as portable. But it helps avoids the excess waste of so many products today. Because it doesn’t have a battery, Visonic Dome won’t need to be thrown away prematurely. So you can keep your contacts clean and comfortable for longer.
2.) More Power
Uncompromisingly Powerful
Ultrasonic cleaning is intense. And that intensity comes via lots of electrical power.
Visonic Dome draws power from your wall socket at only 12 volts for safety reasons. But then it amplifies that back up into something much more substantial.
That’s how we’re able to drive our industry-leading 10W, 63kHz transducer. It uses that energy to create over 60,000 vibrations every second and pulse your solution with the incredible cleaning power of cavitation.
For comparison, it’s over 3 times more powerful than any other ultrasonic contact lens cleaner on the market.
Is it possible to store and serve that kind of power capacity with a battery?
Sure.
But not in a battery that’s both:
- Small enough to fit inside the Visonic Dome’s compact design
- Able to repeat the full cleaning cycle multiple times on a single charge
Which leads us to the final reason why Visonic Dome doesn’t have a battery…
3.) Consistent Cleaning
Always Ready = Always Clean
Have you ever used an electric toothbrush? Have you noticed how it starts to brush less aggressively when the battery is at the end of its charge?
This inherent issue with battery power came up early on in the design process for the Visonic Dome. After a couple of uses, when the battery was less than 100% charged, it got weaker. It didn’t clean as well. And that’s a big no-no.
Cleaning your contact lenses and protecting your eyes is not a game!
The FDA classifies contact lenses as medical devices. And the methods for cleaning them is highly regulated.
By ditching the battery in favor of mains power, you can be sure that your Visonic Dome will be exactly as effective as the first time you used it. Every. Single. Time.
Why Visonic Dome works better without a battery
The benefit of using battery power for a contact lens cleaner is obvious. Since you don’t need to plug it in, you can clean your contacts any time, any place.
Unfortunately, some of the shortcomings of using batteries are equally obvious.
Batteries don’t hold their charge forever. The massive amount of energy needed for ultrasonic cleaning wears them out quickly. And when the safety and comfort of your contact lenses is on the line, you can’t risk drawing less power than you need.
That’s why my dad ditched batteries in favor of wall power. It’s less wasteful and more powerful. And it’s the best way to guarantee that you’ll get clean contact, consistently.
Image credits:
- Recycle Photo by Gary Chan on Unsplash
- Voltmeter Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash
