Along with the development of science and technology, the new cleaning method of dry ice blasting in many fields has been widely applied. Dry ice cleaning technology has been approved as a usable cleaning method by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the US Department of Agriculture.
Wide applications of dry ice blasting and cleaning
Today, dry ice blast cleaning technology has been used in more companies, including small and medium mold manufacturing plants. This technique of cleaning contaminated surfaces with dry ice blasting has been used for about 20 years. Boeing uses the dry ice blasting to clean injection molds. Starbucks uses it to clean coffee brewing equipment. Steel mills can use this technology to clean equipment that is operating at temperatures up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, which increases the power and efficiency of thermal shock. Dry ice pellets at 110 degrees Fahrenheit can generate thermal shock to the mold surface, thereby removing dirt from the surface of the mold.
In addition, dry ice blasting and cleaning technology has shifted from large-scale to miniaturized, enabling independent companies to apply this dry ice cleaning technology to countless industrial and residential cleaning services. Cleaning the mold with a dry ice pellets jet is no longer a privilege for large companies. Now, this proven technology is already in the hands of smaller companies, including foundries, shipyards, and plastics processing plants, as well as some manufacturers in the food industry.
Why is it better to clean the mold with dry ice?
Molds are critical to thousands of manufacturers, but manual cleaning with chemical solvents – one of the most common ways to repair molds – is time-consuming, costly and environmentally problematic. Moreover, if the mold is not cleaned, it will produce a problematic or unqualified product.
Dry ice blasting for molds are fast and do not leave any residue after evaporation of dry ice particles, which is much more powerful than using chemical solvents, blast cleaning, and other mold and equipment cleaning techniques. Dry ice cleaning is, therefore, the technology of choice for redesigning contaminated or fouled molds, and this technology saves time, increases productivity and increases efficiency.
Dry ice blasting and cleaning technology is ideal for cleaning a variety of mold manufacturing industries because it reduces the waste of time and money in the production process. Cleaning the mold with dry ice blasting is much more efficient than manual cleaning for 4-8 hours. Moreover, the repeated movement of such manual cleaning molds can easily cause workers to have health problems in the carpal tunnel. Dry ice cleaning technology protects workers from cleaning agents while eliminating the hassle of handling used contaminated cleaning agents. This makes dry ice blasting technology to be a very green cleaning method.