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Industrial · Miami, FL
Robotic Equipment Ice Blasting
Robotic Equipment comes to us when the usual cleaning methods are too harsh for the part. 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 robotic equipment 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
Cold does most of the work here. The contaminant shrinks and lets go, and the surface below it is left as it was.
- Low moisture
A panel or motor can be cleaned without soaking anything, which is why the method suits electrical work.
- No secondary waste
No secondary waste stream. Nothing is left from the blasting itself, and the contaminant that comes off gets contained and cleaned up by us.
- Often no teardown
Panels, guards and assemblies can often stay put. The nozzle reaches into recesses, so the hours normally spent stripping a machine down go back to production.
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 robotic equipment?
Less than with almost any other method. There is no water to keep out and no grit to flush from inside afterward, so parts can stay where they are while we clean.
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, that is how we work. Nothing needs to be loaded or shipped. We bring the full setup to you anywhere in South Florida, from Miami out to around a hundred miles.
What does a job cost?
We price every job on its own, because a greasy engine bay and a carbon-caked oven are different work. Guessing over the phone helps nobody. Send the details and one of the owners comes back with a figure we will stand behind.
How soon can you look at it?
As soon as we have seen what the job is. Send a description and a photo, an owner reads it and comes back with a date, and because the rig travels to you there is nothing of yours to ship first.
The comparison
What the alternatives actually do
- Pressure washing
The water has to go somewhere, and on most equipment that somewhere is inside it.
- Solvent and degreaser
It loosens the mess and leaves its own behind, along with fumes and something to dispose of.
- Hand scraping
Labor-intensive and uneven, and whatever you scrape with eventually marks what you are scraping.
- Media blasting
It takes the top off whatever it touches. That is the point on rusted plate and the problem everywhere else.
- Dry ice
Cold breaks the bond and the media vanishes. The substrate is untouched and there is no second mess to clean up.
What comes off
What comes off, and why
What the method removes depends less on the deposit and more on how it is attached. Here is what we take off most often, and why the cold works on each.
- Carbon and soot
Carbon on parts that run hot all day. It is bonded by heat, which is exactly why a blast of cold undoes it.
- Adhesive and sealant
Sound deadening, tape residue, gasket material and sealant that has cured onto a face it was never meant to stay on.
- Resin and mold release
A mold has to keep its exact dimensions. Ice removes the cured residue and leaves the face untouched, so parts keep coming out right.
- 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
Ink and coating on anilox and press rollers, surfaces where changing the texture changes the print.
- Food residue
Carbonized product build-up in a plant where neither standing water nor a chemical film is acceptable.
How a job runs
Nothing about this should be a surprise
Nobody should have to guess what they booked. This is every stage of a job in the order it happens.
- You look before we pack up
Inspect it with the rig still set up. Anything you are not happy with gets another go before we leave.
- You describe the job
What the equipment is, what is on it, where it lives, and whether it can be shut down. Photos tell us more than a paragraph. If dry ice is the wrong tool we say so on that call rather than after taking your money.
- We look at access and containment
The planning is mostly logistics. Can the truck get near the equipment, and if not, how much hose do we need to cover the gap?
- We test a small area
We start gentle and work up. The setting that cleans without harming the surface is found on a patch tucked away, never on your front panel.
- We blast, then clean up
Nothing is left of the pellet, so the only thing to collect is what was on your equipment. That collection is part of the work we quoted.
What to expect on site
Expect noise. Everybody inside the working area wears hearing protection, us included.
There is no wet surface to dry and no residue to wipe, only cold metal. Give it a little time, and any condensation goes as the part warms.
Everything the rig needs arrives with it. No tap, no drain, no outlet.
We cover what should not be hit before anything gets blasted. It takes minutes and saves arguments.
Send us the job.
If you are not sure dry ice is the answer, ask anyway. We will tell you straight if it is the wrong method.