Cryogenic Deflashing & Deburring: What to Know Before You Send Us Parts

No. Nitrofreeze has no minimum piece count — we’ll process a single part. What we do have is a $125 minimum lot charge, which covers setup and machine time for a run of any size.

Prototype quantities are routine — a few hundred parts, or a few. If you’re validating a new mold or checking whether the process suits your part before committing to production, that’s a normal job for us, not an exception.

It depends on whether we’ve run your part before.

• A part we’ve never seen: 5–10 business days. That first run is our Pre-Production Engineering Evaluation. We build a part-specific recipe, run your samples, refine until the result matches your standard, and you approve it before it becomes a production job. Where it lands in that window depends on part complexity and how many refinement cycles it takes.
• A part with an approved process: 2 days after receipt. That is the standard turnaround for real orders once the recipe is settled and signed off.

Nitrofreeze also offers same-day and one-day service for a small premium on parts with an approved process. Expedited handling is available on evaluations too — tell us your timeline.

If you’re a new customer planning a schedule: budget 5–10 business days for the evaluation, then 2 days for every order after it.

The first run is free. Every new part at Nitrofreeze begins with a free Pre-Production Engineering Evaluation — we run your parts, prove the process, and tell you honestly whether it suits your part, including when it doesn’t.

• You send parts. There is no charge for the evaluation run.
• We develop the process — media size, chamber temperature, cycle time and basket configuration all get tuned to your specific part.
• You approve it. Nothing becomes a production process until you’ve seen the result and signed off on it.
• Production runs at 2 days after receipt against that approved process, to a recipe archived under a permanent identifier so every future order runs to the same parameters.

The full method is set out step by step on our Five R’s evaluation process — Receipt, Recipe, Run, Refinement, Repeat.

Send parts, and send us a Nitrofreeze PPEE / Sample Form (PDF) with them — packaged with the parts, or emailed to info@nitrofreeze.com. It tells us what we need to quote and process the job without going back and forth.

• Which process — cryogenic deflashing/deburring, or dry ice deflashing/deburring
• Part number, description and material
• Special handling — cleaning, lot sensitivity
• Special packaging — egg crated, individually bagged, double bagged
• Inspection requirements — areas of concern, magnification, flash tolerance, AQL
• Return shipping — address, carrier, account number and shipping speed

There is no upper limit we will not try our processes on. Nitrofreeze processes parts from 0.025″, including thin-walled sections, on up — what changes with size is the method, not whether we can take the job.

• Up to 12″ × 12″ — cryogenic deflashing and deburring in our machines. That is the largest part that fits in the chamber.
• Larger than 12″ × 12″ — dry ice deflashing and deburring, or hand work. A part that won’t fit in the machine is processed by directed media instead.

If you have a 14-inch molded rubber boot, or something bigger, send it. Size is not a reason we turn work away.

On the smallest side of the spectrum, 0.025″ with thin walls is the smallest we process. Small, intricate geometry is where cryogenic deflashing earns its keep — flash inside bores, on cross-holes, and along parting lines that hand-trimming damages.

Nitrofreeze deflashes and deburrs PEEK, Torlon, Vespel, Ultem, LSR and other silicones, EPDM, Viton and other fluoroelastomers, nitrile, Delrin and acetal, PTFE, PPS, Kynar and PVDF, glass-filled nylon, polypropylene, and beryllium copper — across molded rubber, molded plastic, and machined parts.

Yes — one thing, and we’d rather say so.

UHMWPE. It’s the one material we have not been able to deflash or deburr well or consistently. Every other material listed above we process as routine work, at any size.

We publish this because a “no” delivered now is worth more to you than a failed trial three weeks from now.

No. Cryogenic processing at Nitrofreeze does not affect surface finish, geometry, or the material itself. That holds for PEEK in particular — the material properties are unchanged by the process.

The flash is removed because it is thin enough to embrittle and break away. The body of the part never gets there.

In general, for estimating purposes, cryogenic deflashing at Nitrofreeze runs 10% to 20% of the value of the part. In absolute terms that has ranged from under a penny a part to several dollars, depending on size, flash condition and volume.

The more of this you send, the faster and more accurate the quote:

• Sample parts — and the more the better. Send us parts to verify on. Extra parts let us trial multiple variations of the recipe rather than guessing on a single attempt.
• A “golden” part — one you consider acceptable, so we know exactly what we’re aiming at.
• Material and grade — PEEK, 30% glass-filled nylon, Viton GF-S
• Part dimensions, including the largest overall dimension
• Where the flash or burr is — parting line, gate vestige, inside a bore, on a cross-hole
• What must not be touched — sealing faces, critical dimensions and their tolerances
• Quantity, per lot and per year
• Timing — standard, or expedited

Yes. Nitrofreeze is registered with the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) as a manufacturer/exporter under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and processes controlled parts for defense and aerospace customers.

Nitrofreeze is also ISO 9001:2015 certified, registered by NQA. The certified scope names this work directly — “Cryogenic Processing Services Including Cryogenic Deburring and Deflashing, Cryogenic Treatment, Dry Ice Blast Cleaning, and Thermal Cycling.” You can view and download our ISO 9001:2015 certificate rather than take our word for it.

We are not AS9100 certified. If your program requires it, you should know that now.

Yes. Proprietary geometry is normal in this work and an NDA is a normal part of starting. Send us yours, or ask and we’ll send ours.