Pneumatic Cylinder Blow Off

February 24, 2010 — kaedwards

We have a customer who manufactures pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. The cylinders, of course, are round with some kind of machined end which has threaded holes and/or mounting features.

The manufacturer assembles and machines the parts and then runs them through a mineral spirits bath to remove any cutting fluids and oil.

Now they need to remove the mineral spirits from the cylinder to prepare it for a label. They currently do it by hand with an air gun. The air gun generally move the mineral spirits around the cylinder until it evaporates. The coverage area of the air gun they use is small and it takes too much time to remove the mineral spirits. They were trying to reduce the time necessary to remove the mineral spirits.

After consulting with the customer, EXAIR recommended a 3″ Air Wipe, which covers the product range diameters from 1″-2-1/2″ diameters. The operator is still picking up the cylinders but then simply running them through the Air Wipe which provides a one time 360 degree blow off.

I did also recommend some strategically positioned air nozzles to remove liquid from the holes and mounting features because the Air Wipe will not reach those areas on its own, but the customers needs were only to prepare the cylinder surface for a label.

The reduction in blow off time allows the operator to do additional tasks. Additional tasks which have become necessary to remain competitive today.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

Posted in Air Wipe. Tags: , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Out With the Old and In With the New

February 22, 2010 — japanfalone

Oh really!!  Being in my senior years I’ve been around long enough to see things come full circle. What is being touted today as new is merely something recycled from the past with a new coat of paint.  I have a closet full of ties: wide ones, thin ones, stripped ones, paisley prints, stripes, and colors of all sorts. I don’t throw them away because over time they come back into style.

When we were kids, Mom reused jelly jars for juice glasses. Grandma recycled flour sacks into pillow cases. Anything headed for the dump Dad stripped of its nuts and bolts and saved them in recycled baby food jars. As we outgrew our clothes, we recycled them down to our smaller siblings.

Then there came the era of “planned obsolescence“.  The idea was not to make products designed to last, but they should be made cheaply and simply discarded and replaced. This would create jobs and stimulate a robust economy. So we became a wasteful, consuming, throwaway society.

Today we have come full circle. Catch phrases such as sustainability, recycle, and conserve are the rage. Oh really! That’s what we used to do. So is this really new or simply recycled from the past with a new coat of paint?

EXAIR does not subscribe to planned obsolescence. For 27 years we have built our products to last and back it up with a 5 year built to last warranty. Nozzles, jets, and air knives have been around forever. So their basic concept is not new. What is new is what EXAIR has done to design them to conserve compressed air, operate at low sound levels, and be compliant to OSHA directives without sacrificing performance.

If you need help in retrofitting your inefficient nozzles or have an application that requires the use of compressed air call one of our application engineers at 1-800-903-9247

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

Posted in Air Amplifier, Air Knife, Air Wipe, Cabinet Cooler, Compressed Air Optimization, Industrial Housekeeping, Industrial Safety Air Guns, Line Vac, Static Elimination, Super Air Nozzle, Vacuum Generators, Vortex Tubes. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Ionizer to blow debris out of deep pockets on thermoforming application

February 19, 2010 — ndraker

Thermoformed parts are an all too familiar sight in industry. They are used for everything from making the inside shells of refrigerators and dishwashers to in process fixtures to transport delicate items such as flat screen TV’s.  We had one customer who had a thermoformed part that had a particularly deep draw of about 16″ by about 6″ square. He was having a lot of trouble with the debris from a router application getting down into these pockets and creating problem for his parts nesting properly within one another. It also left a trail of debris everywhere these parts went.

So, to clean up his process, the customer ordered an ion air gun for his operator to blow the parts down prior to stacking which eliminated the static and debris issues they had with the finished product.

We are in the middle of static season right now, so if you find yourself in a low humidity room dealing with insulating materials and cannot seem to keep debris from clinging to your parts, or you are receiving the dreaded static discharge, think about having an active static eliminator (ionizer) in hand to take care of the problem. I used to work in plastic injection molding industry and wish I had known about ionizers much sooner than now.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

Posted in Static Elimination. Tags: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment »

Air Filters are Important for Compressed Air Products

February 17, 2010 — kaedwards

You may notice that EXAIR offers most of our products in a kit form. These kits always contain a filter and pressure regulator with any other associated parts for a specific product. A filter is always a good addition to an end use compressed air application to keep the application running clean and effective.

A compressed air filter/separator is available with filter elements in different micron sizes to remove smaller or larger particles depending on the end use product you are using. All of EXAIR filters have 5 micron elements to remove solid contaminants and water condensate prior to running through the end use product.

It is first important to make sure the filter is sized properly for the peak flow demand of the compressed air product. We make sure all of the filters in our kits are sized properly for peak demand of the individual product. If multiple products are ordered and only one filter is desired for multiple end use products, make sure to consult an Application Engineer for the right size filter.

Filters also generally come with a clear polycarbonate bowl or a metal bowl to hold the condensate and/or contaminants. polycarbonate bowls can be damaged by some lubricants and chemicals therefore should have a metal bowl guard to protect people. Metal bowls provide much greater protection for applications of higher temperature, pressure and where chemicals may be present. If you are uncertain of the environmental conditions, a metal bowl is the best bet.

Keeping the filter bowls drained is important. EXAIR’s filters are automatic drain, which have a float mechanism to open a drain valve and release the liquid and contaminants. This keeps the filters low maintenance.

Since the filter elements trap contaminants, they will need to be changed as part of a regular maintenance program. Keeping the elements clean minimizes pressure drops in the compressed air system which keeps your end use application working properly. EXAIR also supplies replacement elements for all of our filters so we may assist in keeping your system running optimally.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

Posted in Accessories. Tags: , , , , . Leave a Comment »
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