Dry-Ice Cleaning Cuts Packing-Machine Maintenance

By utilising cryogenic cleaning technology from Polar ICS on its weighing and packing machines, Turners PPL has reduced the time it takes to clean the machines by 60 per cent. Polar ICS's cleaning technology is based on dry-ice (or cryogenic) blasting, which enables production machines to be cleaned while in situ. Compared to traditional methods, Polar ICS's dry-ice cleaning solution is said to reduce cleaning time by approximately 90 per cent.

The cleaning process itself is also non-toxic, non-conductive and non-abrasive. Dry-ice blasting uses compact pellets that are accelerated in a jet of compressed air. These pellets strike the surface at the speed of sound, whereupon they crack and loosen the coating on the surface that is being treated. The pellets' -79C temperature makes the coating brittle, which cracks and loosens the surface, allowing the dry ice to permeate the coating.

The ice then passes from a solid state to vapour, which leads to a 700-fold increase in volume, an explosive effect that lifts the coating off the surface. Dry ice vapourises immediately on contact with treated surfaces. There is no secondary waste material - the only waste from the process is the coating that has been dislodged by the treatment, which can be swept or vacuumed. This also means that the technology can be used to clean difficult-to-reach surfaces.

Tyco Grounding Connector Cuts Installation Time

Tyco Electronics has introduced a grounding connector that shortens the installation time of a ground wire to a solar panel frame. The threaded connector is inserted through a hole in the frame and uses two hex nuts to help provide a reliable connection.

The connector handles six and 8AWG (13.3 and 8.4mm2) solid uninsulated copper wire. In connecting to the frame, the connector body and the one-piece lock washer nut penetrate the surface of the aluminium frame, helping to create a reliable ground path.

In the six-second short-term current test, the connector handles 1,530A with a 6AWG ground wire. With an 8AWG ground wire, a four-second test concludes that the connector handles 1,180A. In UL 486A/B pull-out testing, the connector provides 100lb (45.3kg) with a 6AWG wire and 90lb (40.8kg) with an 8AWG wire.