CO2 Technology Transforms Manufacturing

CO2 Technology Transforms Manufacturing David Jackson, President CleanLogix LLC CO2 technology offers aerospace material and process engineers with a robust surface treatment platform and window for a variety of critical substrates and microscopic features. Surface and substrate contamination such as particulate matter, outgassing residues, ionics, and heat can be addressed with this technology. Available treatment processes include CO2 Composite Spray, centrifugal immersion, supercritical fluid extraction, critical drying, and both vacuum and atmospheric plasma treatment. CO2 technology eliminates or significantly reduces both lean and green waste generation at the production operation level (source) by modifying manufacturing processes such as precision cleaning and machining. Because it is safe and dry, CO2 technology can integrate directly into manufacturing processes and tools to provide in-situ cleaning, thermal control or lubrication. CO2 technology can be implemented in a variety of process configurations to meet the constraints of lean production layouts and product flow requirements, including direct integration into existing production lines and equipment where the surface contamination is being generated. CO2 is a very unique manufacturing agent that affords multiple cost reduction and performance improvement opportunities. A number of applications are presented including machining titanium and composites, cleaning ceramics, improving adhesive bonding of plastics, and other surface cleaning applications.