Cold Jet Helping RobotWorx to Refurbish Industrial Robots


Cold Jet's dry ice blast cleaning system replaces traditional solvents to speed up robot refurbishing process

CINCINNATI and MARION, Ohio - June 12, 2008 - As one of the nation's largest robotic integrators, RobotWorx buys and sells hundreds of used robots each year. When the used robots arrive at RobotWorx, they are typically covered in grime, welding residues, paint, grease and other debris. To speed up the cleaning and refurbishing processes, RobotWorx recently replaced its traditional solvents and manual cleaning methods with a Cold Jet Aero Series dry ice blast cleaning system. As a result, RobotWorx has dramatically reduced its cleaning time per robot from an eight hour work day to less than two hours, saving the company more than $60 in labor costs alone per robot.

The Cold Jet Aero system uses compressed air to accelerate recycled CO2 pellets at supersonic speeds through a specialized nozzle to create mini-explosions on the surface of the robots. This process removes the dirt and grime without damaging the hard surfaces of the robot or the sensitive electrical controllers, cables, and wiring. Upon impact, the CO2 pellets sublimate and do not create any secondary waste product. The system has helped RobotWorx with its green initiatives by allowing RobotWorx to reduce its use of cleaning solvents by 75 percent, as well as the costs of other supplies needed to clean the robots by hand.

"Cold Jet's dry ice blast cleaning process is much faster than the tedious and time-consuming solvent alternative," said Matt Schrift, RobotWorx shop manager. "Unlike steam cleaning or using water, it allows us to clean electrical equipment because it doesn't leave a moisture blanket on or inside the robot. Cold Jet saves us time on the initial cleaning of the robots, which in turn speeds up the entire refurbishment process, allowing RobotWorx to prepare more robots for customers."

Today, RobotWorx has dedicated an area of its 100,000 square foot Marion, Ohio headquarters to cleaning robots with the Cold Jet system. The company has also trained multiple people on how to use the system, which allows RobotWorx to clean robots as frequently as necessary. In addition to being effective in the refurbishing and remanufacturing markets, Cold Jet's non-abrasive dry ice blast cleaning systems are used for a variety of industrial cleaning processes, from casting systems to wood processing equipment.

Schrift added, "The major advantage of cleaning robots ahead of time is that they are much more attractive to buyers. If a clean robot sits in storage for too long, it has to be cleaned again, which makes having a fast and effective cleaning solution even more important."

"Our dry ice blast cleaning systems are having a significant impact on reducing cleaning times and costs for companies around the world," said Gene Cooke, president and CEO of Cold Jet, LLC. "Cleaning industrial robots presents many challenges because they are often used non-stop for years and have a combination of steel and electrical components. Our process is a non-abrasive, non-flammable and non-conductive cleaning method that is as effective at cleaning a robot's hard surfaces as it is cleaning the more fragile or delicate electrical components. We appreciate the confidence that RobotWorx has in our solution, and we look forward to helping them for many years to come."

For more information on products manufactured by Cold Jet, please call 1-800-337-9423 or visit www.coldjet.com.

About RobotWorx

Founded in 1992, RobotWorx has become one of America's largest industrial robot integrators. Specializing in used robots, RobotWorx emphasizes customer service, low-cost robotic solutions, and top quality workmanship. It integrates customized robot systems for a variety of industrial needs, from robotic welding and plasma cutting to material handling and packaging, and also offers a full inventory of affordable robot parts. The company is based in Marion, Ohio. For more information, visit www.robots.com or call 740-383-8383.

About Cold Jet

Cold Jet, LLC is the world's leading manufacturer of dry ice blasting and production solutions. For more than two decades, Cold Jet has been developing innovative cleaning solutions from fully automated systems and handheld devices to high-volume dry ice production equipment and customized engineered solutions that solve a variety of cleaning challenges around the world. Cold Jet offers the largest selection of environmentally responsible dry ice blasting machines, including the award-winning Aero Series and the i3 family of systems, which features the company's patented shaved ice and feeder technologies. The company's CO2 Pelletizers are used by every major gas company worldwide to produce the highest density extruded dry ice available. Cold Jet is a private company with headquarters in Loveland, Ohio and international operations in Belgium, Canada, China, Germany and Mexico. For more information, visit www.coldjet.com.

Contacts:

Betsey Seibel,

513-716-6366,

bseibel@coldjet.com

Kevin Wilson,

513-898-1008,

kwilson@kwprinc.com

RobotWorx - 740-383-8383,

robots@robots.com

All Topics