Without this abrasive belt cleaning system on our sander, we would be consuming 12 sanding belts per day, or 60 belts per week, at $65.00/each; that equals $3,900 of cost/week, or about $195,000 cost of belts/year. I can honestly say that we just don’t buy sanding belts anymore; since we began cleaning with this IceClean System, we buy a set of belts about once per year.

Our costs to achieve this level of saving is less than $300/week for dry ice particles and compressed air used when cleaning. Our net result is we’re saving about $180,000/year per by doing this. This level of savings from reduced belt usage returns our investment in the system over four times per year, and we’ve been operating this system almost four years now. It’s operated trouble free, and our product quality has improved by sanding with consistently clean sanding belts.

If you sand softwoods, like we do, you should install this. Where else can you return your investment over 4 times per year and continue returning it year after year? It’s been a great investment for us.

The installation of IceClean Systems Abrasive Belt Cleaning System has reduced our sanding belt use and cost by about 93%. Dry ice is available and economic. Both our bottom-line and our sander operators love this cleaning system. Cleaning belts right on the sander is done by just pushing a button; cleaning instead of changing belts keeps their hands out of the sander and gives them extra time for other duties. This is like a lucrative belt recycling project, avoiding 14 out of 15 abrasive belts going to the landfill. Our quality has improved, and our sander doesn’t have to work as hard with consistently clean belts. It’s a win in many ways for us.

IceClean Systems Abrasive Belt Cleaning System has lowered our sanding belt cost by over 90 percent. Installation was quick; they did it over the weekend. Dry ice is easy to get, and belt cleaning is easy. Downtime from changing belts and belts going to the landfill have both been reduced dramatically. It’s been almost 3 years without a service call. If you sand softwoods, you need this. Payback was in weeks.

For over three years, we’ve operated IceClean Systems’ On-Sander Abrasive Belt Cleaning System on our 4-head Timesaver. We haven’t had one downtime day with this system and have had zero service calls. Everything from the installation of the system and the operational/safety training to its’ operation has worked out perfectly for us. We used to change belts every couple of hours; but since we started cleaning them, we change belts about every nine months. Due to IceClean’s equipment and consulting on our sanding program, we’re getting hundreds of full belt lives with this on-sander cleaning process and dramatically reducing landfill waste.

If you are production sanding softwoods and not cleaning belts with IceClean Systems’ equipment, you are missing out on so many benefits. Knowing what we know, we can’t imagine operating without it.

 My plan for the future, after I retired from manufacturing sanders, was to focus on sanding calibration consulting and also to develop an effective and economic belt cleaning system. When I saw IceClean’s dry ice abrasive belt cleaning system, I felt it was unlikely that I could develop a better belt cleaning product and ceased any plans to do so. IceClean Systems has improved upon their product since then by making it more industrial strength and reliable. This is what the woodworking industry has needed for a long time.