Cold Jet

Successful partnership with Danish machine manufacturer Cold Jet

Drive technology from NORD for dry ice production

NORD DRIVESYSTEMS works in close cooperation with its customers all over the world in order to find a suitable solution for the respective application. This also applies to a Danish company that manufactures machines for dry ice cleaning and production. Cold Jet required drive solutions that can be flexibly adapted to specific requirements – as well as comprehensive customer service with consultation and support on site. NORD is the right partner for the global company.

Dry ice blasting is an innovative industrial cleaning process, which uses the special characteristics of dry ice for the preparation of surfaces – for example, for removing adhesives, coatings or corrosion, for cleaning composite tools or moulds as well as for restoring vehicles or renovating buildings. Dry ice blasting is a sustainable technology that is used in many industries. Dry ice pellets or micro particles are blasted at supersonic speed, causing dirt or contamination to be loosened from the underlying substrate. When the dry ice meets the surface to be cleaned, it sublimes from solid CO2 to gas. The technology is very environmentally friendly, as it does not produce any dangerous secondary waste. This makes production processes cleaner and more effective.

Cold Jet: A pioneer in dry ice technology

Cold Jet was established in Ohio (USA) in 1988. Today, the company is represented with 13 subsidiaries worldwide, including Denmark. From the very beginning, the manufacturer was focused on developing environmentally friendly solutions. Initially, Cold Jet pursued the goal of replacing the use of chemical cleaning agents in the removal of airplane coatings. “Cold Jet pioneered modern dry ice cleaning technology and has since focused exclusively on developing advanced dry ice solutions – from dry ice production to application”, says Andreas Laursen from Cold Jet. “Today we produce devices that ensure that our customers can rely on the functionality of our dry ice solutions. In this regard, NORD is an important supplier.” Dry ice blasting is used in many different industries: from aerospace and aviation as well as the automotive industry to food & beverage and the packaging industry.

Cold Jet is working towards making recycled carbon dioxide usable for commercial and industrial customers worldwide. In addition to dry ice blasting devices and dry ice production machines, the company also offers CO2 recovery systems for collecting excess gas from the dry ice production and using it to manufacture more dry ice pallets. During the development and production of new machines and systems, the machine manufacturer attaches great importance to quality, reliability and flexibility of its suppliers and partners. In 2021, the Danish machinery company therefore switched from one of its previous drive suppliers to NORD. The globally present system provider with solution expertise in more than 100 industries was particularly able to convince with its extensive experience and knowledge. “NORD customises its devices to match our requirements,” says Leif, CO2 Development Engineer at Cold Jet.

Decentralised drive technology from NORD

Today, Cold Jet uses asynchronous motors from NORD with or without drive electronics in hydraulic pumps. Furthermore, the decentralised NORDAC FLEX frequency inverters with up to 22 kW are used in cooling compressors. The NORDAC <i>FLEX</i> SK 200E frequency inverter particularly impresses with its flexibility. It can be optimally adapted to individual specifications thanks to its scalable functions. With its extensive digital and analogue inputs and outputs including an integrated Ethernet module, it offers high compatibility with all common PLCs.

Cold Jet uses the NORDAC ON frequency inverters in conveyor technology. The decentralised NORDAC <i>ON/ON+</i> frequency inverters are characterised by their compact design, full plug-in capability and reliability. NORDAC ON was developed for operation with asynchronous motors and NORDAC ON+ was developed for operation with IE5+ synchronous motors. The inverters are designed for a power range from 0.37 kW to 3.7 kW. Thanks to their plug-and-play functionality, they significantly reduce the wiring effort and offer a maintenance-friendly and economic solution for modern production environments. The range of functions also comprises PLC on board for PLC functionality and drive-related functions including an integrated Ethernet interface. PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and EtherCAT can be set via parameters.

Customer benefits at a glance

“Decentralised drive technology is about eliminating unnecessary noise in the control cabinet by moving the drive electronics close to the motor”, says Nicolai, Product Development Engineer at Cold Jet. Electromagnetic interference is minimised due to the short distance between frequency inverter and motor. Moreover, shielded cables become obsolete, which further reduces the system costs. The decentralised design also allows for smaller control cabinets and additional cooling is no longer required.

“Another reason for relying on the decentralised drive technology from NORD is that all of our machines are modular, and we are centrally storing the components and are then able to combine them into a large system or machine”, Nicolai continues. Furthermore, the engineers at Cold Jet benefit from the practical plug-and-play technology of the decentralised drive systems and the resulting short installation times. The use of pre-configured drive solutions also has a positive effect on the total cost of ownership. “In addition to the space and cost savings with decentralised drive units, they also offer a high level of planning security for the future, as our customers can extend their system at any time – without the need of large conversions.”

Customised drive solutions

Cold Jet uses EtherCAT as communication protocol and therefore it was important for the machine manufacturer to find a partner who can offer respective drive solutions and PLC integration. This was another factor that made the manufacturer choose NORD. Furthermore, the North German drive expert is able to precisely adapt its drive systems to its customers’ requirements. Many of the customised plug solutions are based on the requirements of Cold Jet’s PLC system. “NORD is very flexible, and we appreciated that a lot”, says Nicolai. “In addition, NORD also offers great on-site support and helps us with our challenges – NORD is an important partner for us.”

NORDAC ON/ON+/ON PURE – SK 300P – Frequency inverter

Optimised by focus

Power range: 0.37 - 3.7 kW
Protection class: IP55, IP66, IP69 (in preparation)
Wall or motor mounting
Multi-protocol Ethernet interface
Plug-and-Play solution for fast commissioning

NORDAC FLEX - SK 200E - Frequency Inverter

Greater flexibility, lower costs

Power range: 0.25 - 22 kW
Protection class: IP55, IP66
Wall or motor mounting
Maximum flexibility thanks to modular structure

S3755 - Flyer NORDCON APP

Documentation Details

E3000 - Catalogue – NORDAC Electronic drive technology

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Documentation Details

Further information can be found here:

Drive Electronics

NORD's innovative Drive Technology range can be configured to match almost all applications. As a drives applications expert NORD cooperates with customers all over the world to provide solutions that are perfectly matched to their requirements.

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NORDCON

With the NORDCON Windows app and the NORDCON mobile app, NORD provides the right tool for commissioning and drive optimisation. Both enable easy access to electronic drive systems, simple parameter management and comprehensive diagnosis.

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Device description files

The implementation of NORDAC options in automation environments is particularly easy with the corresponding device description files (EDS, ESI, XML and GSD). All relevant files are ready for direct download – matched to the drive systems from NORD DRIVESYSTEMS. Efficient configuration, reduced installation times and increased productivity with one click.

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