Universal Ice Blast (UIB) has entered into a tri-party working arrangement with Ford’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Group (AMTD) and Metaldyne to perform tests on transmission parts from Ford’s Van Dyke plant.
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Ford and Metaldyne will use Ice Blast technology to both clean and remove burrs and flashing resulting from the manufacturing processes.
UIB said the deal is another entry into the precision cleaning market which could reach $US670 million over the next 10 years.
“The arrangement should result in sales of equipment this year and additional revenues as we gain experience in this application specific market,” a spokesman said.
Metaldyne has agreed to provide infrastructure and operational support, AMTD will provide robotic and ice blasting equipment and UIB will provide technical personnel and expertise to assess and perform the tests.
“We are especially pleased that it is being recognised that our ice blast technology directly addresses the problems of delaminating caused by high pressure water blasting and at the same time delivering a reduction in contamination. With its low pressure yet effective cleaning mechanism we can deliver remedies and cost reductions to manufacturers,” the UIB spokesman added.
In addition to two specific projects, UIBI will evaluate other opportunities in the deburring/de-flashing/cleaning of products manufactured by Metaldyne which provides 75% of valve bodies to upstream manufacturers.
