The foundry industry is plagued with multiple cleaning challenges. Core boxes and core machines are constantly covered with sand and carbon buildup, molds and vents are plastered in grease and other residue, and traditional methods like hand scraping with wire brushes require lengthy downtime, but result in little effect. Proper core box cleaning is essential for a consistent product.
The Problem with Traditional Methods
When using wire brushes and even sandblasting, production needs to stop and parts need to be disassembled to be cleaned. In addition to the downtime, these methods often result in heavy wear and tear on equipment. Wire brushes often etch equipment, and sand blasting is notorious for wearing down mold surfaces. Sand blasting also has the added disadvantage of grit entrapment. The particles from the blasting get caught in machine parts and further erode their surfaces.
Chemicals are another cleaning method commonly used in foundry. Aside from the heavy cost associated with using them, chemicals are extremely dangerous to handle and dispose of.
Elimination of downtime is one of the biggest benefits of dry ice blasting. In many cases, downtime is reduced up to 50% by switching from manual cleaning to dry ice cleaning. This also helps reduce labor hours accumulated from manual cleaning. Aside from eliminating the need to disassemble machinery for cleaning, dry ice blasting is a much faster process than traditional methods.
Another benefit dry ice blasting has over other cleaning solutions is that it is nonabrasive. The dry ice pellets penetrate the contaminant and sublimates (turn into a gas) upon contact with the surface, so there is no unwanted wear and tear on equipment. The sublimation also eliminates the need for secondary waste cleanup. Because dry ice blasting is such a fast process, it can be done regularly, which eradicates the threat of clogged vent holes.
The biggest advantage of using a dry ice blaster over traditional methods like chemicals is it reduces liabilities. Chemicals are dangerous to work with, while dry ice is nontoxic. Dry ice blasting also greatly decreases the costs of using chemicals for cleaning, because dry ice pellets are less expensive.
For more on dry ice blasting in the foundry industry check out this video!
Dry Ice Technology 
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