Blade for Cutting Dry Ice (Solid CO2 @ -78 C)

V

venuram1

Joined
Feb 15, 2013
Messages
2
Hi,

I would like to introduce our company. Ours is specialized company in dry ice making. Solid CO2 from liquid CO2. We will make dry ice in different sizes ranging from 500 g Block to 1100 g Block.

The final product, dry ice (Solid CO2), is an ice like material, which has a temperature of around – 78 C. Recently one of our customer asked us to supply 250 g Blocks instead of 500 g Blocks; which means we have to cut 500 g block into two. We have purchased a cutting machine, which is a meat cutting machine (not a machine which is specialized to cut dry ice blocks). The result of which we have to replace 3-4 blades in a day. It is very expensive.

We are looking for a dry ice cutting machine and blade. We will be utilizing the machine 15 hrs/day. Kindly suggest a suitable machine and blade.

Find attached some real pictures.

http://postimage.org/image/tw14uqind/

http://postimage.org/image/pzmr3ad0b/

http://postimage.org/image/wjzrwkqg9/

Thanks...
 
What kind of blades are you using in that machine? That blade looks really aggressive for cutting such hard material, I'd suggest a high quality blade for metal cutting with a lot more teeth per inch and see how that does.
 
I would think that a more aggressive blade would be better as it would not stay in contact with the dry ice as long, therefore not getting as cold. I think the extreme cold is what is ruining your blades, and not the wear from abrasion. Also if you could speed up the blade it might help. There was a dry ice plant where I used to live years ago that sold dry ice to the game wardens for use in branding wild life, and they only scored the sheets so they could be broken into smaller pieces. Seemed to work. Don't know how precise you need to cut your blocks, but scoring might be an option.

Blessings,

Omar
 
Very interesting question. I would think that a blade might not be the answer. I would imagine that a device similar to a log splitter, except the correct size. Maybe a bandsaw or similar would work. A heated wire, similar to a cheese slicer would be ideal in some apparatus as well.
 
You should get a blade made out of BOhler K390. Its as wear resistant as steel gets, tough, and made for cold working.
 
I would use a nichrome wire suspended vertically. Use a variac to pass current through the wire to heat it up. You don't need it to be red hot. The hot wire should cut the ice by melting it rapidly; will turn it into steam. There are many devices, some sold commercially, that use a hot-wire (Nichrome, as it lasts a long time before breaking) to cut styrofoam. I used to cut 3-inch-thick x 2 foot wide x 5 feet long blocks of styrofoam this way for many yrs in hospitals. The styrofoam was used to produce "molds" for Cerrobend shielding blocks for radiation. Used in Radiation Therapy Department in "any" larger hospital that has radiation therapy department.
I made my first one using refrigerator wire and a rifle cleaning rod about 40 yrs ago. Use Google to see the idea and to purchase Nichrome wire.
I have never tried to use this for dry ice, but I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine. Here's one of many links on Google.
http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/item/st1435
 
I recommend a blade from Mission Knives. They have a very interesting titanium alloy blend that is extremely durable. If you search on YouTube for "Mission MPK 12 Ti", you'll find a destructive test where they fail to break their blades even after being submerged in dry ice.
 
RevDevil said:
Very interesting question. I would think that a blade might not be the answer. I would imagine that a device similar to a log splitter, except the correct size. Maybe a bandsaw or similar would work. A heated wire, similar to a cheese slicer would be ideal in some apparatus as well.
Click to expand...

Beat me, sir. I was still typing. :)
 
A hot wire would be a really inefficient way to cut dry ice IMHO. You'd be spending WAY more on energy that you would on blades, especially considering how poor heat transfer is through the sublimating ice. I think your best bet would be to use a sharp metal point, like a chisel or equivalent, to score the ice and then snap it along the score line. The thicker metal would last longer, and you could rig something up that would force blocks between 2 points just closer together than the block is wide, scoring it on both sides. Suspend the block by its edges over an opening, tap with a hammer, and it should snap cleanly in two.
 
My dad use to transport and work with dry ice for a hospital. Ban saw or rough toothed hand saw.
 
BC582.jpg

Brick Splitter might work for you. They have blade on top and bottom. The top blade moves down when you pull the handle. Kind of in a cam action. They work well for some brick, not at all for others.
 
Wow. RevDevil, you were correct. There are some great ideas here, including some that have been proven.
 
My Dad works in a metal cutting industry, cutting those fierce metals. So I think heavy duty band saw machine will do the job.
 
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