In the motor development of passenger cars at the works in Untertürkeim, Germany Daimler applies the dry ice blasting technology of the Swiss company ASCO CARBON DIOXIDE LTD.
It is essential, that various motor components such as pistons, cylinder heads, oil pans and crankcases are cleaned gently from silicone residues, oil, grease, ashes and other contamination or sealing compounds. Due to the fact that these components are measured before and after tests in the geometric measurement and test engineering, it is important that they are cleaned gently after the tests and that the measured data are not adulterated due to an abrasive cleaning method.
The dry ice blasting technology has the advantage that it is gentle and therefore it does not damage the surfaces in any way. As an alternative only complex manual cleaning methods or cleaning by using solvent could be taken in to consideration, however, they would be much more time-consuming. Even more important than the timesaving during the cleaning process is the assurance that the components are utterly clean after one cleaning process.
Every double-measuring and secondary cleaning which are required due to not completely clean components mean a loss. By using the dry ice blasting technology there is assurance that the components are utterly clean after one cleaning process. Consequently, the dry ice blasting technology is not only an easy and fast cleaning method which does not damage components, furthermore it is also a method which supports the process planning.
A special case is the cleaning of pistons, their narrow ring groove cannot even be cleaned measurably with dry ice. Thanks to a mounted crown of light on the gun a solution was found, that this ring groove can be primary cleaned with dry ice so that the rest of the contamination can be removed in the ultrasonic bath afterwards.
ASCO and Daimler look back on a long and close collaboration in the field of the dry ice blasting technology, so that the dry ice blasting technology of the application field at Daimler can be further developed and optimized continuously and individually in an open dialogue.
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