Dry
ice blast cleaning offer tremendous to a variety of industries. Complete
details regarding dry ice blasting can be found at RSG-Technologies.
RSG is the exclusive distributor of the IceTech brand
of dry ice blasting and cleaning systems.
Dry ice blasting has specific benefits to some of the following industries:
Airline/Aerospace
In addition to
safely and effectively cleaning wiring, and hosing and similar materials,
dry ice blasting can reduce or remove the following contaminants from
equipment:
- Spray-on
foam insulation
- Sealants
and coatings
- Carbons
- Grease
- Oil
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Automotive
Dry ice blasting
can be used in a multitude of ways in the many facits of automotive
construction. They include:
1. Assembly
Plants
- Robotics
- Body
panel assembly
- Manfans
- Spray
booths
- General
maintenance
2.
Foundries
- Coreboxes
- Permanent
molds
3.
Rubber and Plasic Molders
- Tire
molds
- Seats
and gasket molds
- Sealing
system molds
4.
Engine Remanufacturers
- Engine
blocks and accessories
- Pistons
- Coils
- Cylinder
heads
- Alloy
wheels
5.
Electronics
- Sensors
and computer components
6.
Automotive Interiors - Urethanes and Plastic Molding
- Fire
wall
- Accoustic
mats
- Dashboards
- Door
panels
- Seats
and carpets
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Disaster
Recovery
Providing commercial
owners the ability to dramatically reduce downtime and, thereby, reduce
costs, dry ice blast cleaning is far superior to the cleaning methods
typically used - water or soda blasting. This, of course, is of great
interest to insurance companies also. Following is a list of how CO2
blasting can be of benefit:
- Costs
related to business interruption can be lessened
- Length
of business interruption can be shortened - quicker cleaning;
furniture and equipment doesn't have to be moved
- Black
mold can be eliminated from wood structures
- Soot
and smoke damage can be eliminated from most surfaces
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Electrical
Since dry ice blasting
provides a moistureless cleaning, servicing electrical equipment has
tremendous advantages. From electric motors, various contaminants
can be removed by dry ice cleaning including:
- Housings
- Stators
- Wiring
- Windings
CO2
blasting can also be used on:
- Circuit
Breakers and Boards
- Electric
Production Equipment
- Electric
Control Cabinets
- Circuit
Breakers and Boards
Electric
Motors: Three Methods for Cleaning in Place
1.
Pressure washing and/or steam cleaning
- This
method can be successful in thoroughly cleaning electric motor
windings in place.
- This
method requires a fairly time consuming process to dry the windings
sufficiently.
- Depending
on the size of the windings, it can take days or weeks to thoroughly
dry the windings.
- Care
must be taken to not exceed 200 Deg. F when drying out.
- If
the windings are not thoroughly rinsed, the soap residue can serve
as a contaminant and cause premature loss of insulation integrity.
- The
washing solution must be disposed of properly.
2.
Solvent based cleaning
- This
method also can be successful in thoroughly cleaning electric
motor windings in place.
- The
drying time is considerably quicker than the pressure washing
method. Sometimes hours.
- Care
must be taken that the person applying the solvent not be overcome
by fumes.
- Care
must be taken that others in the vicinity are not adversely effected
by solvent fumes.
- Care
must be exercised around rubber products, especially rubber based
lead wires.
- The
solvent solution must be disposed of properly. Improper disposal
can result in significant environmental consequences.
3.
Dry Ice blast cleaning
- This
method is very successful in thoroughly cleaning electric motor
windings in place.
- This
method uses pellitized dry ice that is accelerated by a specially
designed machine to very high velocity. The dry ice instantly
freezes the contaminant and breaks the bond with the substrate.
The hyper velocity air removes the dirt and the dry ice instantly
sublimates into a gas.
- There
is no drying process required.
- There
are no disposal issues.
- There
is no potential damage to any components.
- In
short, this method is quicker and safer than either of the previous
methods.
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Food
Processing
Dry ice blasting
can be used to clean production equipment:
- Conveyors
- Dryers
- Molds
- Mixing
equipment - uncooked residues
- Packaging
equipment - paper dust
- Freezers
- Glue
heads - glue residues
- Ovens
- baked on residues
- Mixing
equipment
Dry
ice blast cleaning can be used to clean physical plants:
- Ventilating
equipment
- Electric
motors
- Floors
- Ceilings
- Walls
- Transportation
equipment
- Storage
equipment
Advantages
for using CO2 blasting include:
- Molds
will not be damaged since dry ice is non-abrasive
- Effective
on both hot and cold surfaces
- Effective
on both plastic and metal surfaces
- Safe
to use around electrical equipment
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Foundries
Dry ice blasting
has been found to be extremely effective in the foundry industry.
Some applications include:
- Electrical
equipment
- Permanent
molds - removes water and silicon-based release agents
- Coreboxes
- removes sand and resin
- Screen
and slot vents
- Die-casting
machines
- Mixers
- Hydraulic
power units
Advantages
include:
- Cleans
both hot and cold surfaces
- Cleans
steel, plastic or aluminum surfaces
- Cleans
permanent molds and coreboxes without damaging their surfaces.
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General
Maintenance
The variety of
applications for dry ice blasting is no clearer than in the general
maintenance industry. For example, dry ice can remove some of the
following contaminants:
- Oil
- Grease
- Weld
slag
- Overspray
- Adhesives
- Petroleum
- Tar
- Mold
Some
machinery and equipment dry ice blast cleaning can be used on includes:
- Manfans
- Tools
- Assembly
lines
- Extruders
- Production
tools
- Oven
bands
- Mixers
- Hoppers
- Ovens
- Hydraulic
power equipment
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Hazardous
Waste
The cost of hazardous
waste removal can be monumental, and the typical cleaning methods
magnify the problem many times over because the cleaning materials
-- water, solvents, sand etc. -- become secondary contamination once
coming in contact with the primary contaminant. They must be treated
as hazardous waste as well. Since CO2 sublimates upon contact with
the target surface, no secondary waste accumulates. This can amount
to truly tons of savings. The volume of hazardous waste
is reduced to minimal amounts, and the return on investment from converting
over to dry ice blasting can be attained very, very quickly.
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Historic
Restoration
In the area of
historic restoration, dry ice blast cleaning is extremley effective
in cleaning valuable public and private monuments and other works.
Dry ice cleaning can do this without damaging the targeted surface,
without using chemicals and without any additional waste. Some applications
include:
- Grave
Markers
- Metals
- Mosaics
- Murals
- Stones
- Statues
- Metals
Some
of the materials dry ice blasting systems can clean include:
- Bronze
- Cast
Iron
- Ceramic
- Copper
- Marble
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Marine
In the marine industry,
dry ice blast cleaning systems can be profoundly more effective than
traditional cleaning methods such as sandblasting, pressure washing
and chemical solvents without the common damage found with these methods.Also,
dry ice sanitizes surfaces as it cleans reducing the likelihood of
sea slime, algae, mussels and the like reattaching itself onto surfaces.
Our dry ice blasting systems can clean:
- Aluminum
& fiberglass hulls
- Water
intake valves
- Engines
- Electrical
panels
- Tanks
- Exhaust
systems
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Mass
Transit
In the mass transit
industry, dry ice cleaning systems to clean a variety of surfaces
including:
- Aluminum
- Plastic
- Rubber
- Glass
Dry
ice blast cleaning can also clean the following types of machinery:
- Electric
motors
- Escalators
- Elevators
- Rail
cars
- Buses
- Floors
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Pharmaceuticals
Some dry ice blast
cleaning applications include:
- Stainless
steel containers
- Reactors
- Mixers
- Tablet
molds
- Separators
Some
benefits of using dry ice over steam and water-based methods include
the following:
- Elimination
of bacteria and micro-organism growths
- Elimination
of safety hazards from cleaning around electrical equipment
- Elimination
of unplanned short-circuits
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Plastics
Dry ice blast cleaning systems effectively clean:
- Molds
- Extruder
screws
- Packaging
equipment
- Mold
machines
- Ovens
- Mixers
Dry
ice cleaning can reduce or remove:
- Deflashing
- Deburring
- Gloss
levels
- Release
agents
- Product
residues
- Glue
from glue heads
- Outgassing
issues
- Mold
damage
- Hand
scrubbing
- Solvent
usage
Solving
Plastic Molding Cleaning Problems:
Sand
blasting is a standard method of cleaning molds. However, this method
results in a number of problems. Following is a list of the most
prominent issues:
- Production
shutdown to allow for mold cooling
- Unbolt,
disconnect and remove molds from press
- Arrange
for pickup and transport molds to cleaning site
- Schedule
and perform mold cleaning with grit blast that erodes molds
- Inspect
molds for grit remaining in vents and inspect for wear on mold
surfaces
- Install,
align and reconnect molds
- Bring
molds to correct temperature
- Run
trial samples to assure compliance with product quality standards
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Printing/Plating
Dry ice blasting
can be used on:
- Machinery
and support equipment
- Dryers
and Drums
The
following contaminants can also be reduced or eliminated:
- Dried
ink
- Coatings
- Paper
dust
- Spray
powders
- Grease
- Oil
Printing
requires tremendous maintenance, and finding effective solutions for
minimizing expenses are extremely valuable. Dry ice blasting can reduce
a full day's cleaning job down to an hour's time. It also provides
a far more thorough cleaning to other traditional methods thereby
increasing machine life for chains and gripper bars, fans and electric
motors. In addition, since the presses can be cleaner, their resale
value can be considerably greater.
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Pulp
& Paper
Dry ice blasting
can be used on:
- Paper
making machine cleaning
- Surface
preparation
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Rubber
Dry ice blasting
can help to eliminate or reduce the following contaminants:
- Release
agents
- Product
residues
There
are other major benefits from the dry ice blasting cleaning method.
Downtime is dramatically reduced because dry ice easily cleans away
common contaminants from molds and also allows for cleaning in place.
Mold damage is also reduced because machinery can be cleaned in place.
Further, hand scrubbing can be reduced dramatically or even eliminated.
Finally, dry ice provides a superior cleaning allowing for a longer
machine life.
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Utilities
Applications in
the utilities industry include:
- Padmounted
switchgear
- Generator
windings
- Transformer
bushings
- Substation
and line insulators
Dry
ice blasting facilitates preventive maintenance planning which is
so critical for utility operations. Because traditional cleaning methods
can require considerable downtime and can result in inadequate cleaning
results, contamination-related power disruptions are extremely common.
Dry ice cleaning provides the solution to these issues. Scheduled
cleanings can be performed using CIP, with minimal or no downtime
and providing a far superior cleaning.
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