Can You Hear Me Now?

July 23, 2010 — bdfarno

No this blog isn’t about a cell phone commercial, it’s about an application call I received this past week.  The call was from a customer that is trying to do an audit on his facility.  This was not an air audit to find all the leaks or an energy audit, but a sound audit.  The customer ran a production facility that had a regulation implemented to reduce all noise levels to 85 dBA or below.  They had purchased several engineered nozzles and air knives from us but still had open pipes and other devices in their system that they were unsure of the sound level produced.  What I offered to the customer was our Digital Sound Level Meter. 

 

The DSLM will measure sound levels from 35dB – 130dB and has a frequency range of 31.5Hz – 8 kHz, it is also NIST Certified.  The unit is used to monitor what sound levels you may have at your operator stations to make sure you are not exceeding the OSHA maximum allowable noise exposure or to find out if one blow off operation is in fact louder than another. 
With the unit in hand the customer was able to perform his sound audit and discovered that some non engineered nozzles that he thought were under 85 dBA were in fact louder and exceeding his requirement.  These nozzles were all removed and replaced with EXAIR nozzles that meet or exceed OSHA requirements.
The DSLM also allowed him to determine which of his operators were going to be required to wear hearing protection and those that were not.  The company now performs a monthly check on all of their systems to ensure nothing has changed and that none of their equipment needs replaced.  They also send their DSLM to us once a year to have it recalibrated and certified.
All in all the Digital Sound Level Meter can save employees hearing and help you to make sure that your nozzles are all performing at the sound levels you think they are.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com

Posted in Accessories, Compressed Air, Compressed Air Optimization, Customer Service, Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Is Your Compressed Air Blowoff As Flexible As Your Production Line?

July 2, 2010 — bdfarno

                On numerous occasions I have encountered applications where a customer runs several different parts or products through the same line or process and they need to be blown off before entering a certain stage.   This will sometimes not be achieved efficiently with using just a manifold or a system that is designed to blow off one part.  Sometimes it can work through just turning up and wasting compressed air just to blowoff that different part that the line was not originally designed for.    

                Rather than crank up your compressed air or have to make a new mount/ manifold every time there is a line change, install some of our Stay Set Hoses and or Swivel fittings. 

 

                The Stay Set Hoses can be bent and formed to reach almost any angle of a part that is coming through your blowoff stage.   The Stay Set Hoses are available in ¼” MNPT fittings, 1/8” MNPT fittings, or a combination of both, along with a variety of lengths.  You can mount anything from a Nano Super Air Nozzle all the way up to a Super Air Amplifier or even a Super Air Knife.   These would make adjusting your blowoff process much simpler when doing a line change. All you have to do is grab the hose with your hands and reposition to the correct location for the new product run.  If you don’t need that much adaptability, say you just need to refocus the nozzles every once in a while for a size change, check out our Swivel Fittings.  The application below is used on a line where the product sizes and features change frequently.

                The Swivel Fittings are offered in a variety of sizes and allow movement of 25 degrees.  They are also constructed of 303 Stainless Steel.  

                All in all, if you struggle with line changes and your rigid mount blowoff process playing nice together, it may be time to consider our Stay Set Hoses and/or Swivel Fittings.  

 Have a good 4th of July to all of our followers in the US, and a great weekend to to everyone. 

Brian Farno

Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com

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

Have A Dirty Super Air Knife Or Reversible Drum Vac?

June 25, 2010 — bdfarno

             I get a fair number of calls from customers asking for model numbers that they ordered years ago and now the product is dirty or what they think is worn out and bad so they just want to know how they can clean it or get it back within operating specifications.   For instance if you have a Super Air Knife that looks like the one shown below we can let you know the proper ways to clean and inspect the knife to get it back to operating like new.  

 

            In some cases your facility may not be staffed or equipped properly to handle the cleaning and refurbish of a Super Air Knife or a Reversible Drum Vac for instance.  This is a service that we can provide to you here at EXAIR Corp.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

            Take the Reversible Drum Vac  (RDV) that is shown above.   It was thought that this RDV was beyond repair.  The float could not even move because of all of the buildup.  The first step we took was to send the customer a PDF file we have on the process to clean a RDV.  One of the slides is shown below. 

 

             While this customer was not comfortable trying to return the product back to new, working condition we offered to have them send it to us for refurbish.  If you have a Reversible Drum Vac and are in need of cleaning please contact us, and we’ll get this slide show to you.

            This unit was in bad shape.  When we checked the flow rates on the RDV it was off the charts bad. After we refurbished the unit and replaced a single O-Ring, (also put new stickers on it to make it shine like new) the RDV worked just as good as a brand new unit.   It was sent back to the customer to be placed back into service instead of into a scrap bin.

            This is yet another way we are able to prove to you our customer that we want to do what is best for you.  We don’t want to just make a sale but build a relationship where we can not only help you get your application started up and running pristine, but also maintain that system and when it needs a little bit of work we’re here to offer our services.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com

Posted in Accessories, Air Knife, Compressed Air Optimization, Industrial Housekeeping, Uncategorized. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

We’ve Come a Long Way Baby

June 22, 2010 — japanfalone

In seventies we thought we were on the cutting edge of technology if we had a touch tone phone and an electric (no battery operated ones yet) calculator with a square root key.

In the eighties we were in tall cotton with a networked computer system running a point of sale program offered by Radio Shack, life couldn’t get better.

In the nineties we had cell phones as big as a brick, PC’s with color screens and not the monochrome green, automated reorder systems for parts, equipment service tracking, and some of us were dabbling in something called the world-wide web thinking it might actually be used someday by customers looking for us.

Entering the 21st century, everyone is carrying around laptops, I-pads, flip phones with built-in cameras and all are interconnected. Service techs and sales staff can access equipment, customer and part records with just a few mouse clicks. Trucks get tracked and dispatched with the use of global positioning, and the internet has become an integral part of our business and personal communications.

At dinner parties, when asked what I do for a living, a frequent riposte is ” so you work for an old school brick and mortar company” In actuality nothing can be further from the truth. I counter question them as to how high-tech is their customer service.

  • Can their customers talk directly with technical staff by online chat, e-mail. phone, and FAX ? EXAIR customers can.
  • Can their customers attain product information, prints, manuals, and pricing 24/7 ? EXAIR customers can. All this is posted on the internet.
  • Does their company interact with their customers through social media? EXAIR interacts with customers through Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging.

By now the conversation has generated shuffling feet and lowered eyes because they have come to realize their company’s automated telephone system is akin to the “old school” electric calculator.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

Posted in Accessories, Air Amplifier, Air Knife, Air Wipe, Cabinet Cooler, Compressed Air Optimization, Industrial Housekeeping, Industrial Safety Air Guns, Line Vac, Uncategorized. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »
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