Deflashing Rubber Service

The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. provides its proprietary Nitrofreeze Cryogenic Deflashing Service to customers across the United States. Our new facility located in Worcester, Massachusetts has boosted capacity so that we are capable of deflashing your rubber parts in two business days after receipt.

Our deflashing process utilizes cold temperatures, tumbling and plastic media blasting to remove flash from the interior and exterior of your parts. The process is completed in batches so that throughput is increased and price per part is lower when compared to alternative deflashing processes such as hand deflashing.

Since introducing our Nitrofreeze Deflashing Service in 2003, we have cryogenically deflashed many types of rubber. Parts made of EPDM, Neoprene, Viton, Acrylic, Nitrile, Butadiene, Butyl, Silicone and many other types of rubber are great candidates for our deflashing process. We offer free evaluations of your parts to see if they are a good fit for our process. If they are a good fit, then we can process samples for a nominal fee.

If you are satisfied with the results of our deflashing process as most of our customers are, we will issue you a quotation for our contract service. If you are interested in bringing our proprietary cryogenic deflashing process in to your facility, we will be glad to provide you with equipment and the technical knowledge to do so. To learn more about our cryogenic deflashing service and deflashing equipment, please contact Ryan M. Taylor by phone at (800) 739-7949 or by email at rtaylor@nitrofreeze.com.

Deflashing for Rubber

Cryogenic deflashing has existed for several decades to serve the rubber and silicone molding industries. For several decades this process has helped remove residual flash left over by the molding process. Flash along parting lines, in holes, and gates vestiges can be removed by this deflashing process.

The process originally was created to remove flash from molded o-rings made of rubber and silicone. The parts would be loaded in a tumbler which would pump nitrogen in to cool the parts while tumbling them against one another. As time progressed, media was added to the process to help remove flash in hard to reach places. The addition of media to the process has resulted in an increase in overall applications.

Today components from aerospace, defense, medical and many other industries are processed using cryogenic deflashing. Parts made of rubber and silicone tend to leave behind excess flash that must be removed. The easiest way to remove flash from these parts is to use a cryogenic deflashing system or service. At our facility, in Worcester, MA we provide cryogenic deflashing as a service to molders of rubber and silicone. In addition, we also provide cryogenic deflashing systems to our customers that need to bring this process in-house.

If you are having problems deflashing your parts, let us know. We would be pleased to assist you in evaluating your parts for our deflashing process. Please contact us at 800-739-7949 or email me at rtaylor@nitrofreeze.com. To learn more about the cryogenic deflashing process, please visit our deflashing page.

Plastic Flash Removal

Any plastic molder knows that as mold tools begin to age, flash will begin to form. Once flash begins to develop it will only continue to get worse with each time the tooling is used. Molders and end users typically have three choices to solve their mold flash issues.

1. Buy new molds at great expense to the customer.
2. Send parts to a deflashing service provider.
3. Remove the plastic flash in your facility by hand.

We know that most molds cost several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. Many customers do not want to replace their molds because of the expense involved. In addition, it does not make sense to replace a mold if the product being manufactured is at the end of its product life cycle. Plus, there is significant downtime if the present mold is taken out of commission while the new mold is being made. Replacing molds typically is not the optimal choice for solving a flash issue.

There are many deflashing providers to choose from with various processes to consider. Our deflashing process is best for parts made of materials including plastics, polymers, nylons, rubbers, silicones, polyurethane, neoprene, liquid crystal polymer, urethane, viton, nitrile, butyl, DAP, ABS, PEEK, and aluminum zinc die cast and precision elastometric parts. Good candidates for our cryogenic deflashing process would typically fit in the palm of your hand. However, we have deflashed parts that are as small as a staple. For information on our plastic flash removal process, please visit our deflashing webpage.

Some plastic molders choose to have the plastic flash removed in their own facility. Some facilities have flash removal equipment including tumblers that use organic or plastic media. It is very common to see hand deflashing used in these operations. While the parts are coming off the mold, the operator will remove the residual plastic flash with hand tools in between cycles. Alternatively, after the entire mold run has been completed, several employees will sit around a table and deflash the parts by hand. This can be very time consuming and allows for inconsistent results.

If you are in need of a deflashing service to remove plastic flash then send us an email at info@nitrofreeze.com or call us at (800) 739-7949. We can review your application for deflashing whether it is in the form of part drawings, photographs or samples. Rather than have someone remove flash by hand; allow us to solve your deflashing issues with our efficient and cost-effective method.

Deflashing Molded Rubber Parts

Every rubber molder knows that as mold tooling wears, mold flash can become an issue. As more parts are produced these wear issues become more apparent. The next thing you know is that flash has developed at the gates of the mold, as well as the two halves that clamp during molding. This flash can be removed in many different ways. The type of deflashing that is employed is typically based on the volume of molded parts.

In many molding operations that I have seen flash is an issue. In some facilities hand deflashing is the standard operating procedure. Some parts only take a few seconds to deflash, but intricate parts can take much longer. Even worse, imagine having someone remove flash from these parts all day long, five days a week. The cost to deflash ends up being very high at the end of the fiscal year. This is definitely the case when a small army of employees is deflashing parts by hand every day.

The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. is able to provide rubber molders with many benefits when it comes to removing flash from molded parts. First, you will minimize your costs associated with deflashing. You can either outsource all of your deflashing needs to us or we can supply you with a machine to complete the operation in-house. This will eliminate the need to have personnel in-house to remove flash from molded rubber parts. Next, our process will remove the human/operator variable from deflashing. This means that there won’t be variation from part to part. In addition, our process offers repeatable results with each order you send us. We will create a process recipe that is stored in our Standards for Cryogenic Finishing database. Lastly, our cryogenic deflashing process will protect your parts as they are frozen when they are processed. All critical tolerances and surface finish characteristics will be maintained. Your parts will look the same as they did before they were processed with the exception that the mold flash will be removed. Below is an example of what we can do for your molding operation.



If you and your company are interested in improving the efficiency of your deflashing operation while reducing costs, give us a call at (800) 739-7949 or email us at info@nitrofreeze.com. To view more information about deflashing rubber molded parts visit our webpage.

Nitrofreeze® Cryogenic Services Featured In The Worcester Business Journal

Recently, Matthew Brown a writer for the Worcester Business Journal came to our facility to better understand what we do at the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. I had submitted a press release to him about our cryogenic deburring and deflashing capacity expansion. This boost in capacity was made possible through the acquisition of an additional cryogenic deburring and deflashing system. After reviewing my press release, he asked if he could come in for a tour and interview with the president and founder of our company, Robin Rhodes. I gladly accepted the proposition. The press release regarding our cryogenic deflashing and deburring expansion can be viewed below.

Mr. Brown was very interested in our company as there seems to be many myths that permeate the idea of cryogenics. One of those myths being that cryogenics involves the freezing of humans after death. This process is actually termed cryonics. All the processes we complete in-house are on inanimate objects. Upon meeting with Robin Rhodes, he quickly learned about the revolutionary services that our company has to offer.

Robin took Mr. Brown on a tour of our facility where he had the opportunity to see what we do up close. The tour included our cryogenic deburring and deflashing systems, which are used to remove burrs and flash from machined and molded parts. In addition, he was able to view our cryogenic processing equipment; which includes a unit that can utilize liquid helium. Liquid helium has allowed the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. to reach temperatures as cold as -448°F. This capability has enabled us to complete many projects for a variety of governmental and aerospace agencies.

Mr. Brown’s article titled “Cold Temps Equal Hot Jobs In Worcester” can be read here at the Worcester Business Journal site.

Once the tour was completed, Mr. Brown interviewed Robin about the business and how it was started. The video was included along with the article on the Worcester Business Journal site. It can be viewed below.



If you have any questions or comments, please email us at info@nitrofreeze.com or call us (508) 459-7447.

Outsource Your Deflashing and Deburring Needs

Since 2002, the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. has provided cryogenic deflashing and cryogenic deburring services. We provide deflashing and deburring solutions for manufacturers of plastic, rubber and silicone parts. In recent times, we have seen a move away from doing this type of work in-house at manufacturing facilities. As more manufacturers streamline their operations to increase efficiency, it makes sense to outsource deflashing and deburring requirements. This allows companies to make better use of their employees’ time while avoiding downtime and cut fingers.

Outsourcing deflashing and deburring operations is a large step to be taken by any manufacturer. Cost savings can be realized by the manufacturer almost immediately. There will no longer be a need for deflashing or deburring equipment, which upfront can be very expensive to purchase and depreciates quite quickly. In addition, machine operators and people completing hand deburring and deflashing on the job, will no longer be needed. In addition, any raw materials required in the deflashing or deburring operation will no longer be of use. This offers great savings to the manufacturer in the short-term and long-term.

There are many reasons why outsourcing your deflashing and deburring operations to us is the right choice. First, we our standard turnaround is two days after receipt. This ensures that your parts will be processed rather quickly. In addition, we offer same-day and next-day service for 50% and 25% premiums respectively. Second, we are located in the heart of the Northeast. Parts from almost anywhere in New England can get to our location in one day. The same goes for certain areas of New York and northern New Jersey. Most other parts of the Northeast are only 2 days away via UPS, while the rest of the East Coast is about 3 days. Third, we deflash and deburr parts everyday and have for the past 7 years; allowing us to become experts at what we do. Fourth, we offer competitive pricing and given the opportunity we will price match our competitors. We make outsource deflashing and deburring easier and more efficient than doing it in-house.

Our deflashing and deburring services utilize processes named cryogenic deflashing and cryogenic deburring. This process utilizes cryogenic temperatures, tumbling, and plastic media as small as 0.006” to remove flash and burrs from parts. Due to such cold temperatures, the parts’ surface will remain unaffected and will look just like it did before it was processed with the exception that it will be flash and burr free. In addition, our different small sized medias can penetrate and remove flash and burrs in cross-holes, thru-holes and intersecting holes. Our process utilizes batch processing to keep costs per part lower. Lastly, the service offers repeatable results through the use of computer controls.

For more information about our deflashing and deburring services, please visit the corresponding link below.

If you have any questions or comments, please call us at 800-739-7949 or send me an email at rtaylor@nitrofreeze.com. We’d be happy to assist you with your outsource your deflashing or deburring operations.

Rubber Expo - October 13 thru 15 - Cryogenic Institute exhibits

The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. will be exhibiting at the Rubber Expo 2009 & 76th Technical Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA for three days this month. The Rubber Expo will occur between Tuesday, October 13 and Thursday, October 15. On Tuesday and Wednesday the show will be open from 10:00AM to 5:00PM. The show will run from 10:00AM to 3:00PM on Thursday. We will be located in booth 1050 which is in the very back of the complex. The Rubber Expo will take place at the David H. Lawrence Convention Center located at 1000 Fort Duquesne Boulevard, in Pittsburgh, PA.

To visit booth 1050, simply enter through the front entrance and walk down the 1000 Aisle, which is located just a hair to the left. We will be at the very end of that row on the right hand side. The booth will show up in the directory under the company name, Cryogenic Deflashing and Deburring Systems. Unfortunately, our partners at Cryogenic Deflashing and Deburring Systems will be unable to make the trip this year to the Rubber Expo. However, we are happy to make the trip since we are located, locally on the East Coast.

At the show we will be exhibiting several of our products available to the rubber industry. One service includes cryogenic deflashing which is used to remove mold flash from rubber, silicone, polymer, and plastic parts. We offer our deflashing process as a service, but also act as a broker for the machinery that we use in-house. Another service we will exhibit includes cryogenic deburring, which is for the removal of burrs from plastic machined parts. We utilize the same machinery to remove burrs from parts that we use to remove mold flash. As a result, we can bring cryogenic deflashing and deburring machines in-house to fit seamlessly into your current operations. We will also exhibit two other services that can help the rubber industry. One is dry ice blast cleaning to remove any residue from molds that is unwanted. The process is non-abrasive, fast, and reduces cleanup time since dry ice evaporates when it hits the surface to be cleaned. Additionally, molds and rubber related tooling can be cleaned while hot, to further reduce downtime. The final service we will market is cryogenic treatment. Cryogenic treatment can be used on tooling and molds to increase their lifetimes. Cryogenic treatment enhances metals through increasing wear resistance, relieving residual stresses from the manufacturing process, and creating a tougher overall metal.

To learn more about the show and to purchase tickets, please visit the link below.

http://www.rubber.org/expos/

We hope that you can join us in Pittsburgh, PA at the Rubber Expo between October 13 and October 15. If you have any samples of parts that you would like us to review and run a sample process on, then please bring them to the show. We will make sure to complete a sample run of them upon our arrival back in Massachusetts.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Ryan Taylor at (508) 459-7447 or send an email to rtaylor@nitrofreeze.com. Come and stop by our booth, remember it is booth 1050, which is under the name Cryogenic Deflashing and Deburring Systems. We hope to see you at the show!

Deflashing for Plastics

In these interesting economic times, it is hard to get the funding to replace molds and their associated tooling. It is understandable for companies to replace their molds as it removes several secondary operations from the manufacturing process. If funding is not available for mold replacement, then we have the solution to help keep mold houses producing parts on old molds.

As molds wear, seams develop and enlarge. During the molding operation excess material squeezes into these seams and flash develops. When the parts are ejected from the mold, the problem appears. Flash can be seen on the external geometry of the part along parting lines and around edges. Sometimes excess flash can even end up in inner dimensions due to through holes and cross holes. The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. offers deflashing solutions for the removal of flash from molded plastic parts.

First, we offer our deflashing service for the removal of flash from molded parts. Our company uses a form of deflashing termed cryogenic deflashing. Cryogenic deflashing utilizes freezing temperatures, polycarbonate media, and batch processing to remove flash. Rather than have several people remove flash by hand (which raises workman’s compensation through cut fingers) at slow speeds; we are able to deflash thousands of parts daily at significantly lower costs. Automation of our deflashing operation lowers your costs and allows your workers to do more productive things with their time.

Another option that we offer is cryogenic deflashing equipment sales. If you have a large enough operation and require deflashing from day to day then this may be your best option. We offer several models for cryogenic deflashing, from table top models to full size standalone units. These deflashing units are among the most efficient in terms of liquid nitrogen consumption available today.

Finally, if we cannot deflash particular parts then we will find a company who can. Through our many contacts in the deflashing and deburring industry, we will be able to find a solution for your flash problem. Many of these contacts are also capable of sourcing machinery if required.

Before we do any production orders of deflashing for your parts, we require samples. Through our sampling process we are able to calculate batch size and pricing. We also request that you include a drawing when sending a sample if possible. For imformation about the deflashing process take a look on our web page titled Deflashing, Cryogenic Deflashing, and Deflashing Plastic - Nitrofreeze. So, call us today at 800-739-7949. We have the solution to your deflashing problem.

Cryogenic Deflashing for Rubber and Silicone Parts

One of our service offerings, cryogenic deflashing has seen a major spike in orders lately. Many customers with silicone and rubber parts are utilizing cryogenic deflashing to clean any excess flash from their parts. For the past twenty five years cryogenic deflashing has been the most efficient way to remove flash from rubber and silicone parts. This form of deflashing can save manufacturers a significant amount of money over hand deflashing.

There are two types of cryogenic deflashing available today. The original method involves a large barrel spinning around. This form is called cryogenic tumble deflashing. The barrel is filled with the parts then cooled to cryogenic temperatures and tumbled. This form of cryogenic deflashing is good for smaller parts with excess flash on the edges. As the parts are tumbled at such low temperatures the flash flakes and rubs off of the parts. Smaller rubber and silicone gaskets are also suitable for this process. We offer cryogenic tumble deflashing in house and have for many years.

The second form of cryogenic deflashing utilizes a media to spray the parts. This process was introduced several years after cryogenic tumble deflashing. We refer to this form simply as cryogenic deflashing. Parts are inserted in to a basket which is then put into the machine. This process is computer controlled and capable of saving recipes for each particular part that is run. Variables that are computer controlled include time, temperature, throw wheel speed (rate at which media is blasted), and basket rpm. Other variables include amount of parts in the basket and the media size used on the parts. This process is more efficient than tumble deflashing for many kinds of parts. Parts with parting line flash, gate flash, ejector pin flash, and flash within cross holes and slots will be removed with this process. This form of deflashing is more effective because cycle times are shorter due the extra media blasting capability. As a result, we are able to save you more money when deflashing your parts. This particular cryogenic deflashing service has become one of our most successful service offerings.

Cryogenic deflashing offers an efficient means to remove flash from your parts. Turnaround time is typically two days after receipt which means fewer delays. Process times are often twenty minutes or less, allowing significant cost-savings. If your parts have very exquisite geometries and a fixture is required, we can design and build one. For those utilizing cryogenic deflashing in house within their manufacturing process, now is the time to outsource especially with fluctuating manufacturing orders. Think about all that wasted money spent on unused liquid nitrogen. Shipping costs are much less than the money wasted on lost liquid nitrogen. Call us today at 800-739-7949 for an efficient way to remove flash from your molded parts.

For more information about cryogenic deflashing, take a look at http://www.nitrofreeze.com/services/deflashing/. For a Frequently Asked Question section on the process, please visit http://www.nitrofreeze.com/services/deflashing/cryogenic-deflashing-frequently-asked-questions/. To see the cryogenic deflashing process in pictures, go to http://www.nitrofreeze.com/services/deflashing/cryogenic-deflashing-process/.

We will be presenting these services at the Eastec 2009 tradeshow at the Big E Exposition fair grounds in Springfield, Massachusetts from May 19th to May 21st. You can also visit us at MassPlastics 2009 tradeshow at the Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Fitchburg, Massachusetts on October 21st and 22nd. Hopefully we will see you there!

Cryogenic Deflashing & Deburring for the Medical Device Industry

Since the turn of the New Year, we have seen an influx of medical customers seeking cryogenic deflashing for molded parts and cryogenic deburring for machined parts. These two services can eliminate those strings, residual fibers, hanging burrs, and excess flash from medical devices prior to final inspection and shipment.

However, many questions arise as to how our process works and if it will adversely affect the medical customers’ parts. Two main concerns of our medical customers are cleanliness and structural deterioration of their parts. I would like to address these concerns as it is important for medical consumers to know their manufacturing processes very well.

Our cryogenic deflashing and deburring process removes excess flash and burrs; that is all that it does. Your surface finish will not be affected. Your parts will look exactly the same as they did when you shipped them, except they will be flash and burr free. One of the beauties of cryogenic deflashing and deburring is that all the small cross-holes and inner part geometries will be clean of flash and burrs thanks to media as small as 0.015”. After the process is complete, a post-tumble usually lasting less than a minute is initiated. This helps remove all the excess media from the parts. We can also clean your parts after the cryogenic deflashing or deburring is complete. We use mild and medium surfactants to remove residual media, flash, and burrs. This process helps remove surface tension from the parts as well.

Now it is important to address the structural deterioration issue. First, cryogenic deburring or deflashing will not cause your parts to fail any earlier. We run our processes above material freeze temperatures or at them. We never go lower than the freeze temperature. Cryogenic deflashing and deburring requires that the flash and burrs be frozen in order to remove them. That is why we have to go down to cold negative temperatures. Some medical customers are misled into believing that liquid nitrogen touches the parts. This is not the case; rather liquid nitrogen is converted into gaseous nitrogen which then cools the chamber were the parts have been inserted. Our deburring and deflashing cycles usually last no more than twenty minutes. Therefore, it is not long enough a time to cause structural deterioration that could shorten the life of medical parts.

For more information about cryogenic deflashing, please look at http://www.nitrofreeze.com/services/deflashing/cryogenic-deflashing-using-blast-media/. For information regarding cryogenic deburring navigate to http://www.nitrofreeze.com/services/deburring/cryogenic-blast-deburr/. If you have any questions about deflashing or deburring for medical parts, please call us at (800)-739-7949 or email us at info@nitrofreeze.com. Call us today to send us your samples.