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Industrial · Miami, FL
Machine Ice Blasting
When people call about machine, the constraint is usually the same. We clean it without water, without chemicals and without anything abrasive touching the surface.
What builds up, and why it matters
On this kind of work the problem is baked-on process residue, oil film, carbon, swarf and release agent. Production equipment is expensive to take apart and expensive to leave down. Solvent means ventilation and disposal; water means waiting; abrasive means grit in a machine you just cleaned.
Most industrial work happens in place, during a shutdown or a maintenance window. The people who call us about machine are usually maintenance leads and plant managers, and the thing they are actually worried about is that the line does not come back up on schedule.
The method
Why dry ice and not the alternatives
- Non-abrasive
The pellet is soft and sublimates on impact, so the work is thermal rather than mechanical. Machined faces, plating, paint and gaskets survive it.
- Low moisture
No standing water in a harness, a bearing or a cabinet, and no dry time before the equipment goes back into service.
- No secondary waste
Sand, soda and walnut shell all have to be swept and hauled. Dry ice leaves only the contaminant it removed.
- Often no teardown
Much of this work is done in place, which is usually where the real saving is. The labor is in the disassembly, not the cleaning.
More industrial work
Related jobs we get called for
Questions we get asked first
Will it damage the surface underneath?
On most substrates, no. The pellet is soft and sublimates on impact, so it does thermal work rather than mechanical work. We still test an inconspicuous spot first on anything unusual.
Do you have to take the equipment apart for machine?
Usually far less than you would expect, and often not at all. Cleaning in place is where most of the saving comes from, because the labor is normally in the teardown and reassembly.
How much mess does it make?
Far less than the alternatives, because the blasting media disappears. What is left is the contaminant itself, which we contain and clean up.
Do you come to us?
Yes. The whole rig is mobile. Compressor, hose and operator arrive at your shop, plant, driveway or dock, anywhere across South Florida from Miami out to roughly a hundred miles.
What does a job cost?
It depends on the equipment, the contaminant and the access, so we will not throw a number at you over the phone without understanding the work. Describe the job and we will give you a real figure.
How soon can you look at it?
Send photos and a short description and one of the owners gets back to you. If you have a shutdown or a deadline, say so up front and we will tell you honestly whether we can hit it.
The comparison
What the alternatives actually do
- Solvent and degreaser
Good at softening, bad at leaving. There is always a residue and always a drum to get rid of.
- Hand scraping
Slow, inconsistent, and the tool marks the surface. Fine for a small area, unworkable across a machine.
- Media blasting
Abrasive by definition. Anything with a tolerance or a finish worth keeping comes out changed.
- Pressure washing
Drives water into harnesses, bearings, panels and seams, then everything waits to dry. On electrical work it is simply not an option.
- Dry ice
Thermal shock breaks the bond. The pellet sublimates, so nothing abrasive touches the part and nothing is left to collect but the contaminant.
What comes off
The deposits we see most
Most calls involve one of the following. The common factor is a bond between two things that should not be bonded.
- Adhesive and sealant
Whatever the last repair left stuck to the mating face: gasket, sealant, deadener or adhesive.
- Resin and mold release
Cured process residue on a mold or fixture. The surface has to come out dimensionally unchanged, which rules out anything abrasive.
- Paint and coatings
Removed selectively where the substrate underneath has to survive, which rules out most abrasive approaches.
- Salt and corrosion product
Salt deposit and the oxidation it starts. Anything abrasive removes the protection along with the salt.
- Ink and printing residue
Dried ink and coating build-up on rollers and press components, where the surface texture is the product.
- Food residue
Burnt-on product, fat and sugar on processing gear, with no chemical residue left on a contact surface.
- Grease and oil
Oil film is the layer everything else sticks to. Remove it and half the job is already done.
How a job runs
What happens once you call
If you have not seen this done before, the process is worth reading once. Nothing below is hidden in a footnote.
- You look before we pack up
The job is not finished because we say so. It is finished when you have looked at it.
- You describe the job
We start with what it is and what is on it. Whether it can come offline matters as much as the contaminant, and a wrong-tool answer is one we give up front rather than after the invoice.
- We look at access and containment
How close the truck can get, how far the hose must run, what needs covering, and where the debris goes. That is the bulk of the planning on a tight site.
- We test a small area
Pressure and pellet size get dialed in on an inconspicuous spot before we touch anything visible. Painted parts, soft alloys and older finishes all behave differently, and the right setting on one is the wrong setting on another.
- We blast, then clean up
The ice is gone on impact. What is on the floor afterward came off your machine, and clearing it is ours to do.
What happens in your space
The media is solid CO2, nothing toxic and nothing left behind, but it pushes oxygen out of a closed room. Ventilation gets planned before the hose is connected.
The process is loud. Hearing protection is standard for anyone in the working area, which is why you will see ear defenders in most of our photographs.
The part will be cold when we finish. Sometimes that means a short wait before handling; sometimes it means a film of condensation as it warms back up.
The rig needs compressed air, which the truck supplies. There is no hookup to find and nothing of yours to plug into.
Send us the job.
A short description and a location is enough to start. Add photos if you can. You will speak to an owner, not a scheduler.