HaDo International presents innovative technologies for cleaning with dry ice

HaDo International GmbH presents innovative technologies for cleaning with dry ice and thus expands its product portfolio. The novel robot cell combines the advantages of the dry ice blasting device COOLMASTER with the flexible and highly precise properties of the lightweight robot UR3 from Universal Robots. Companies from various industries will thus be able to automate the cleaning of components with dry ice. The blasting cabin Blowmatic is also suitable for manual cleaning of STL, laser-sintered, or 3D-printed parts from the medical field.

Small but dangerous: Dust particles, particles, or incorrectly shaped components at the wrong point in the production process can cause significant damage – from reduced performance to the failure of a product or the entire production. Technical cleanliness of parts and tools that do not require further rework is therefore a crucial criterion and an important quality requirement for companies. This can be addressed with appropriate cleaning methods.

Cleverly combined: Dry ice blasting device meets robot automation

The HaDo International robot cell supports companies in meeting the increasing demands for technical cleanliness and increasing cleaning efficiency – especially for parts that are sensitive to dirt and must be cleaned under the highest standards or generally cannot be cleaned manually.

The cell combines the innovative and flexible dry ice blasting device, COOLMASTER, with the UR3 robot from Universal Robots. To carefully remove dirt from the workpieces, the robot precisely guides the nozzle to the area to be cleaned and activates the blast. Then, the high-speed impact of the dry ice particles on the object blows away excess substances from the surface. This way, plastic parts are precisely deburred, or surfaces of critical, sensitive components such as injection-molded and STL parts are cleaned and reworked accurately. Additionally, many other components are effectively cleaned without damage. The reason for this is the innovative milling system of the COOLMASTER, which can generate dry ice particles ranging in size from 0.3 mm to 3 mm depending on the cleaning task, combined with a variably adjustable air pressure of 0.5 to 10 bar and appropriate nozzle types, allowing various surfaces to be treated with the respective particle size – all with relatively low air consumption.

The application scope of the robot cell is almost limitless, as both the workpiece carrier inside the cell and the lightweight robot are individually configurable. Programming the lightweight robot can be done completely without extensive programming knowledge via an external teach pendant. The COOLMASTER can also be used either stationary or mobile via quick-change couplings.

“The combination of the COOLMASTER from HaDo International and our UR3 directly leverages the strengths of our cobots: maximum flexibility with minimal programming effort. Additionally, our robots are certified for use in cleanroom environments. They are thus ideally suited for work in environments like the HaDo robot cell, where special cleanliness and hygiene factors such as particle emission, easily cleanable surfaces, and extreme reliability are critical criteria for precise automation,” summarizes Helmut Schmid, Managing Director of Universal Robots (Germany) GmbH and General Manager Western Europe.

Blowmatic blasting cabin enables precise manual cleaning

In addition to the robot cell, HaDo International also introduces the Blowmatic dry ice blasting cabin, into which the COOLMASTER is also integrated. The special feature: Using integrated arm sleeves and gloves, the user accesses the sensitive components and the nozzle of the COOLMASTER. Fully enclosed in a cabin, the parts are then cleaned in the most gentle manner without leaving blasting residue or particle contamination. “Technical cleanliness is one of our main focuses, and we want to provide companies with solutions for this. We will therefore address manual cleaning of smaller tools, such as injection molds, as well as deburring STL and plastic parts with our Blowmatic blasting cabin,” says Harald Hartmann, Managing Director of HaDo International.