260-665-9447American-made since 1960
Custom Solvent Cleaning Baskets
Angola Wire builds custom solvent cleaning baskets for manufacturers running vapor degreasers, immersion tanks, and ultrasonic solvent lines. Each basket is fabricated from 304 stainless steel, or 316 where the chemistry calls for it, and sized to your equipment’s working envelope, part geometry, and load weight. We build them as production programs, so every basket in your fleet matches the first one you approved.
Planning a Solvent Basket Program?
Send us your equipment’s basket envelope, a part drawing or sample, your cleaning chemistry, and your target quantity. Our engineering team will design a basket for your process and quote your production run.
What a Solvent Cleaning Basket Has to Get Right
A basket in a solvent line has three jobs: expose every surface of every part to the chemistry, keep parts from shifting or nesting, and drain completely before the load leaves the tank. A basket that misses any one of these sends parts back for a second cycle or carries solvent out of the machine. Our engineering team designs around all three before any wire is cut.
Solvent that leaves the tank on a basket is solvent you pay to replace. Open mesh, minimal flat surfaces, and wire placement that avoids pockets help the basket shed liquid quickly in the drain or vapor zone. On a line running dozens of loads per shift, that difference shows up in solvent consumption.
Parts that stack or nest trap soil where the solvent can’t reach. Dividers, formed wire fixtures, and lids hold each part in a set position so cleaning results stay consistent load to load. For small components, mesh openings are sized so nothing falls through.
Every degreaser and immersion system has a fixed basket envelope and its own way of lifting loads. We build to your machine’s interior dimensions and add handles, bails, or lift points that match your hoist, manual lift, or automated transfer.
Choosing the Right Stainless Steel for Your Chemistry
Stainless steel is the standard material for solvent cleaning baskets because it holds up to repeated exposure without corroding or contaminating parts. Most of the chemical cleaning baskets Angola Wire builds are made from 304 stainless steel, with 316 available when a process needs it.
- 304 stainless steel is our primary grade and covers the large majority of solvent degreasing and immersion cleaning applications.
- 316 stainless steel adds molybdenum for better resistance in chloride-bearing or more aggressive chemistries, so we use it where 304 would wear too quickly.
Solvent cleaning baskets are typically left as bare metal. Paint and powder coat can soften or break down in many solvents, and coating particles in the bath end up on the parts you are trying to clean. If you aren’t sure which grade fits your process, share your chemistry and operating temperature with our team and we will recommend one. See our stainless steel wire baskets page for more on material options.
Built for Basket Programs, Not Single Pieces
A solvent line rarely runs on one basket. While one load is in the tank, another is draining, another is being unloaded, and another is staged with dirty parts. Multiply that rotation across shifts, lines, and plants, and most operations need dozens or hundreds of identical baskets, plus replacements as baskets wear.
That is the work Angola Wire is set up for. Fixtures built for your design keep every basket dimensionally consistent, so any basket fits any machine on your floor. Larger runs also spread the engineering and fixturing across more units, which brings the cost per basket down. Our three U.S. facilities total more than 325,000 square feet of production space, with wire mesh welding, resistance welding, robotic MIG and TIG welding, and CNC wire forming in-house.
Solvent cleaning basket programs are common in:
| Industry | How Solvent Cleaning Baskets Apply |
|---|---|
| Automotive | Degreasing machined components, fasteners, and transmission parts between machining and assembly. |
| Machine Tool | Removing cutting oils and fines from precision parts without surface damage. |
| Medical | Holding instruments and implant components through precision cleaning steps. |
| OEM | Supplying baskets as a matched component for cleaning equipment builders. |
| Transportation | Cleaning heavy components exposed to oils, grease, and road soil. |
If your first order covers one line but a plant-wide rollout is planned, share both numbers when you request a quote so we can price the program as a whole.
Solvent Cleaning or Spray Washing?
Solvent cleaning baskets work in immersion and vapor processes, where parts sit in or above the chemistry and drainage matters most. Spray washers clean with directed jets, so their baskets are built around open exposure to spray coverage. If your process uses spray equipment, see our custom spray washer baskets. Many plants run both, and we can build matched baskets for each.
Frequently Asked Questions About Solvent Cleaning Baskets
Stainless steel is the standard choice because it resists corrosion and won’t contaminate parts during repeated solvent exposure. Angola Wire builds most solvent cleaning baskets from 304 stainless steel and uses 316 stainless for more aggressive or chloride-bearing chemistries.
Yes. We design each basket around your equipment’s interior dimensions and lifting method. Handles, bails, and lift points are matched to your hoist, manual lift, or automated transfer system.
Most solvent cleaning baskets are left as bare stainless steel. Many solvents can soften or break down paint and powder coat, and coating debris in the bath can redeposit on clean parts.
We size mesh openings to your smallest part and add dividers, formed wire fixtures, or lids to hold parts in fixed positions. This keeps every surface exposed to the solvent and keeps results consistent from load to load.
Yes. Angola Wire is set up for production programs, with three U.S. facilities totaling more than 325,000 square feet. Fixture-based production keeps every basket in your fleet dimensionally consistent across the initial order and future reorders.
Solvent cleaning baskets are built for immersion and vapor degreasing, where complete drainage and minimal solvent drag-out matter most. Spray washer baskets are designed for directed spray coverage. Angola Wire manufactures both.
As a third-generation family-owned business, we understand the importance of relationships. Our service team takes pride in its commitment to our customers.