We investigated the effect of electrode gap width on oxide removal in vacuum arc cleaning. Experimental observations revealed that there exists a critical electrode gap width across which cleaning action changes. The oxide removal rate increases and surface roughness decreases when the electrode gap width is shorter than this critical value. The energy consumption for oxide removal was reduced by more than 50% by decreasing the gap width to widths below the critical value. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All fights reserved.