Benefits of Measuring Compressed Air Flow

March 11, 2010 — kaedwards

I will now attempt to compare compressed air flow measurement to my recent endeavor to shed a few pounds, wish me luck…

Over the years EXAIR has grown and added to our in-house compressed air system. Little by little the length of compressed air pipe has increased, the diameters have increased, the number of fittings have increased and the number of connections have increased. Simply adding a new pipe drop from the header or another tool to the compressed air system seems harmless.

Needless to say, if everything about the compressed air system was working fine, we paid little attention.

In the same way, over the years I have grown, little by little a pound here a pound there. I am still able to get the job done, keeping up with my kids (they are still young) and generally move around OK so there is really no issue. As long as I was doing alright, I paid little attention.

Then the doctor told me to lose weight, eat better, exercise etc… So I started counting my calories using a nifty app on an I Touch. It provides feedback about the number of calories in foods and has given me a target caloric intake per day in order to lose weight. What I found was I had no problem eating twice what this app recommended for someone my size and age. I was shocked, but the simple feedback set me down the right path.

Much is the same about gathering feedback from our compressed air system. Once  EXAIR installed some digital flow meters we were provided with good feedback about our air consumption habits. We first learned that when we stopped working, the compressed air system was still consuming air!? Realizing it was leaks in the system, we began to identify and fix them.

Flow meters can also help you identify the largest air consuming processes in the plant when they are installed at multiple branches of the system. They will also help to identify the air savings once the process has been optimized with efficient blow off products, leaks are fixed and pressure is reduced.

Flow meters can also keep general awareness of the compressed air consumption at the forefront. If air flow values change significantly from one day to the next it may point to a broken component or leaking valve etc…

It is the feedback provided by the flow mater which allows you to have a starting point to reduce air consumption, it also allows you to put a value on the air you have saved after you have put forth the efforts necessary. A flow meter keeps the subject of air consumption relative to the process on an ongoing basis and helps people understand the importance of keeping the system efficient.

That is also the case with the my feedback about calories – It helps keep me in line, know where I stand, and pay attention to an important subject which is easily overlooked.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

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Prevent Hearing Loss

March 8, 2010 — japanfalone

The latest buzz (sic) of  TV commercials is for a drug to treat tinnitus which is a ringing in the ear. Tinnitus can be caused by various events one of which is loud noise. Pete Townshend of “The Who” rock band is an example how debilitating this condition can be. The band’s planned spring 2010 tour was ditched when Townshend’s tinnitus returned. 

Hearing conservation is serious business. OSHA has specific directives governing noise exposure (Standards -29 CFR) which persons in the workplace can be exposed to. When noise exposures average 85 dB or greater during an 8 hour workday, monitoring is required.

EXAIR has an economical  digital sound level meter   that can  help monitor the sound levels around your facility. The source of loud noises can be quickly identified and isolated so corrective measures can be taken to reduce or eliminate the problem. For compressed air noise, it is often as simple as replacing the existing inefficient blow-offs with EXAIR’s engineered compressed air products such as the super air knife, super air amplifier, or super air nozzles.

Feel welcome to contact me if you have any questions

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

Posted in Compressed Air Optimization, Super Air Nozzle. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Transfer of Glass beads With Heavy Duty Line Vac Improve Road Marking Application

March 5, 2010 — ndraker

I’m sure we have all had the chance to drive down a newly paved stretch of road which has just received its lane markings in yellow and white paint. While you are driving you can’t help but notice that the lines on the road almost seem to glow as if they were back-lit by some lighting source embedded within the paved surface because it is so bright. The lane markings are made in such a highly reflective way to insure visibility during heavy rain and fog conditions.

In a manner of speaking, the source of the light is embedded within the painted surface itself. When these lines are painted, the paint actually has thousands of small glass beads mixed in with the paint as it is applied to the road. Glass beads have the physical property that they can refract and reflect light back to its source, your headlights. And so the glowing effect is achieved.

What does this have to do with EXAIR? Our 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac Model 150200 is used to replenish the glass bead hopper on the painting truck from a larger bulk holding tank on another truck. Plenty of compressed air is available on the bulk truck as a 185 CFM compressor is also on board. So, it made perfect sense to be able to use the conveyor. The hopper on the paint truck can easily be re-loaded with about 300 lbs. of bead in less than 10 minutes time. Before, the implementation of the Heavy Duty Line Vac, the customer had to purchase their glass bead in 40 lb. bags and load the hopper manually. A process that took every bit of 1/2 hour with all the climbing and handling of the bags. Model 150200 2″ Heavy Duty Line Vac was selected for its highest available conveying capacity and also for its ability to resist abrasion from product running through the inside and from regular handling during use on the road.

With the new set up, the feed truck can easily pull up along side the painting vehicle, throw the hose into the hopper, turn on the compressed air and it is that easy. No more bags to deal with, no more spillage, no more risking operators climbing up and down from the feed hopper to load it.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

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Staying Sharp…and Ahead of the Competition

March 4, 2010 — kaedwards

Whilst sitting down to do my taxes the other night, the lead on my No. 2 pencil broke.  I immediately remembered that the electric pencil sharpener we used had become quite dull, and being non-repairable, had made it’s way to the garbage can.  So I went to the garage to use the trusty hand crank style.  This too proved to be in less than prime condition.  It was one of those cheap plastic kind that only has one blade inside and never gets the point as sharp as I want it.  And when it does get barely sharp enough to use, the unbalanced design of the low-cost sharpener usually winds up snapping off the point.  Having had enough, I pulled out the Swiss Army Knife and sharpened it ‘carpenter’ style.

Learning from my past mistakes, I stopped in an office supply store over the weekend and began looking at the various sharpeners available.  I immediately passed up another non-repairable electric style, which, I might add cost twice as much as the hand crank versions.  I found that this particular store had two brands of the hand cranked style I liked.  Both claimed all metal construction, and looked very similar from the outside.  But I was determined I would not waste my money on another cheap pencil sharpener.  I kneeled down on the floor and opened the two units up.  Although this got some strange looks from other customers as well as staff of the store, I was glad I did it.  The lower cost of the two units was a single blade.  The slightly higher priced unit ($2 more to be exact) had the two-blade style I was after.  I took it home, installed it and immediately ran around the house looking for any pencil in need of sharpening.  After 5 minutes of pure pencil sharpening joy accompanied by that glorious sawdust/graphite smell, I finally let my son have a turn.  He was super excited because 1) this was a pencil sharpener just like the one he used in school and 2) mounting the new sharpener gave me a chance to position lower, so that he could more easily use it. 

So, what does this have to do with EXAIR?  Just as spending a little extra time researching the pencil sharpener paid off, so too will evaluating the next compressed air product you buy.  You might find a lower cost imitator out there, but when you compare apples to apples, you’ll find that any marginal cost savings is soon lost due to poor engineering and manufacturing techniques.  And as an added bonus, our engineers often find they can help customers not only find the best product for their application, but show them a more efficient way to install and use it.

There’s an old familiar saying that rings true here:  You get what you pay for.  Speaking of paying, think I’ll stop and buy a few packs of No. 2 pencils on the way home…

Dan Preston
Mechanical Engineer 
EXAIR Corporation

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