EXAIR Blog

Custom Air Amplifiers To Meet Most Any Requirement

September 22, 2017 — Russ Bowman

When I think of “special” in regard to Air Amplifiers, I’m more inclined to think of the applications they can be used in. I mean, the Air Amplifier itself is about as straight-forward as an engineered compressed air product can be:

Air Amplifiers use the Coanda Effect to generate high flow with low consumption.

Considering the simplicity of the product itself, they can be used for a large variety of “typical” applications:

Cooling
Drying
Cleaning
Ventilation
Fume Exhausting
Dust Collection

There are no shortage of “special” applications either. They’re used successfully in Air Operated Conveyance applications (when the stronger vacuum head of a Line Vac isn’t required) and we’ve even got a customer who uses one instead of an E-Vac Vacuum Generator for a “pick & place” operation…they’re picking up small, porous fiber discs (sort of like a coffee filter) one at a time, and the E-Vac wanted to pick up a good part of the whole stack, no matter how low they turned the pressure. And of course, I can’t think of anything more special about Air Amplifiers than this:

You have to read it to believe it. Follow the link and click on “Case Study: Roaring Banana Breath”

With fifteen distinct models to choose from in a range of sizes (3/4″ to 8″,) materials (aluminum or Stainless Steel) and even a High Temperature model that’s rated to 700°F (374°C), we’ve still made a fair number of Custom Air Amplifiers too…thirty-four, to be exact, as of this writing.

I won’t bore you with all the details – I can’t, actually, because some of them are proprietary* – but here are some “regular” examples of “special” accommodations:

Connections: EXAIR Air Amplifiers have smooth bores on the inlet & outlet plenums that you can hose clamp a hose (or round duct) to if you need to get air flow from, or to, one place or another. Sometimes, though, they’re going in to an existing system, so we’ve made them with flanges (150#RF and Sanitary Tri-Clamp, for example) or threads (NPT or BSPP.) If you want to use something other than a standard hose or duct line, we can help.
Material of construction: Our durable, lightweight aluminum Super & Adjustable Air Amplifiers are just fine an awful lot of the time. Our type 303 Stainless Steel Adjustable Air Amplifiers will hold up to heat and corrosives. We’ve also in PTFE (Teflon™) as well as a range of metal alloys to meet specific corrosion or wear conditions. If your environment calls for a little something extra, we can help.
Assembly: Super Air Amplifiers are fitted with a stock shim that gives you published performance. We’ve got other thicknesses, though, if you need more (or less) flow, though. Adjustable Air Amplifiers are, well, adjustable…you just thread the plug in/out of the body until you get the results you want. Sometimes the user knows what shim they want in a Super Air Amplifier, or what gap their Adjustable Air Amplifier needs to be set to, and we can assemble it accordingly. If you have a ‘tried-and-true’ performance setting and want it met right out of the box, we can help.
Assembly, part 2: Good engineering practices call for lubrication on O-rings and threaded connections, and we use high quality, general purpose compounds when assembling our Air Amplifiers. These are detrimental, however, in certain situations (silicone exclusion areas, I’m looking at you.) If certain chemicals or compounds are prohibited by your application, we can help.

*Let’s say you’ve done the “heavy lifting” to call out one (or more) of these special design features. If we make a custom product (and that’s not just Air Amplifiers, by the way) using directions based on your time and labor, we’ll treat that product as proprietary to you, and you alone.

EXAIR has 208 catalog pages worth of Intelligent Compressed Air Products on the shelf…8 of those pages are our Air Amplifiers. If you want to talk about customizing one to meet your needs, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Types Of Compressed Air System Dryers

September 21, 2017 — jsnicholl

Many times, when discussing product selection with a customer, we commonly reference supplying as clean and dry air as possible to promote peak performance. In iron piping systems for example, when moisture is present, rust can develop which can reduce the performance of end use compressed air operated devices like air tools or cause issues on the exhaust side as you could exhaust unwanted mist onto a surface, like in a painting operation.

Example of a desiccant dryer

Typically, an efficient and properly installed industrial compressed air system will include some type of dryer to remove any moisture that may be present in the supply.

Let’s take a look at the various types of dryers available.

Refrigerant and desiccant dryers are two of the more commonly used types of dryers.

Refrigerant based systems have several stages. The compressed air first passes through an air to air heat exchanger which initially cools the air. The air is then delivered to an air to refrigerant exchanger where an external source of liquid refrigerant further cools the air and sends it to a separator, where the water vapors condensate and are removed through a drain trap. Now that the air is dry, it is then cycled back to the air to air exchanger where it is heated back to ambient temperature and exits the system.

Desiccant dryers typically incorporate 2 tanks containing a porous desiccant which causes the moisture to sort of “cling” to the surface. In these systems, compressed air flows through one tank, while, using it’s own regeneration cycle, heated or unheated air is blown through the desiccant in the other tank to remove the moisture and dry the air.

Membrane Dryers are typically used at the end use product. These types of systems utilize membranes to dissipate water vapor as it passes through the material, while allowing a small amount of the dry air to travel the length of the membrane to sort of “wipe” the condensate and remove it from the system.

Deliquescent Dryers use a drying agent which absorbs any moisture in the air. As the vapors react with the desiccant, like salt, the desiccant liquefies and is able to be drained at the bottom of a tank. These are the least expensive dryers to purchase and maintain because they have no moving parts and require no power to run.

When a dryer is being considered for a particular setup, there are 3 common reference points used when determining the dryers rating – an inlet air temperature of 100°F, supply pressure of 100 PSIG and an ambient air temperature of 100°F. Changes in supply pressure or temperature could change the performance of a particular dryer. You want to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations when dealing with variances as they will typically provide some type of conversion.

For help with this or any other topics relating to the efficient use of compressed air, please give us a call, we’d be happy to help.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

Heated Desiccant Dryers image courtesy of Compressor1 via creative commons license

Engineered Nozzles Replace Segmented Coolant Hose for Ink Drying Application

September 21, 2017 — Tyler Daniel

Segmented Hose on the left and an HP1126 1″ Flat Nozzle on the right

A common item that can be found in a majority of machine shops is the blue or gray knuckle-jointed hose used to dispense coolant on lathes and CNC machines. EXAIR also uses this same hose with our Cold Guns and Adjustable Spot Coolers for applications that cannot or do not wish to use liquid coolant as a means of keeping the heat down on their tooling. Since the cold air discharges at atmospheric pressure, this is an acceptable application. Another application is using this style of hose as a compressed air blowoff. This is NOT a proper use of the hose and is not only a considerable waste of compressed air but can also pose a safety hazard. Using this method for compressed air blowoff is not compliant with OSHA 1910.242(b) (a directive we blog about).

I was recently contacted by a customer in Indonesia that was using an array of (6) of these knuckle-jointed hoses with a ¼” round nozzle attachment for a blowoff operation. The customer had a series of rubber pads used in the construction of a toy castle. The pads were brought along by an overhead conveyor and a design was printed on the head of the pad. The nozzles were used to dry the ink before the pad made it to the next part of the process. This was a new product line and the processes involved were being evaluated for potential places to save on compressed air rather than adding overall capacity to their system. After using a variety of EXAIR products for other blowoff applications, they came back for another engineered solution.

After testing both a 1009-9280 (Adjustable Air Nozzle w/ 30” Stay Set Hose) and an HP1126-9280 (1” High Power Flat Nozzle w/ 30” Stay Set Hose), the customer determined that the airflow pattern from the 1” Flat Nozzle was more conducive to drying the rubber pad and purchased the remaining units to replace their original method. The compressed air savings was noticed immediately!!

For the old operation, they had to regulate the pressure down on the hose to 25 psig so that the hose wouldn’t break apart. (1) This hose , with a ¼” round nozzle, will consume 52 scfm at 25 psig of supply pressure. With (6) of these they were consuming a whopping 312 scfm!! Since the HP1126 is compliant with OSHA directive 1910.242(b) and will not break apart at higher pressures, they were able to operate at 80 psig while only consuming 17.5 scfm. They saved more than enough air for their new process and are evaluating whether or not they can turn off one of their smaller 25 HP compressors.

The new setup with the EXAIR engineered solution was able to save them 207 scfm of compressed air. Assuming a cost of $.25/1000 scfm and a 40 hr work week, this translates to an overall savings of $6,458.40 per year off of their utility bill.

207 scfm x 60 minutes x 8 hrs/day x 5 shifts/week x 52 weeks/year =25,833,600 scf

25,833,600 scf x ($.25/1000 scf) = $6,458.40

If you’re using an inefficient compressed air blowoff in your facility, give us a call. An Application Engineer will be happy to evaluate your process and determine the safest and most efficient solution. With same day shipment for stock items on orders placed by 3:00 pm EDT, we can get a solution out to you by the following day!

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

Super Air Amplifiers – Adjustability for Blowoff, Drying, Cooling, Circulation and Ventilation

September 20, 2017 — bsbergmann

The Super Air Amplifier is a powerful, efficient, and quiet air mover. Applications currently in place include blowoff, drying, cooling, circulation and ventilation. Sizes from 3/4″ to 8″ are available to best match the air volume that is necessary to achieve the process goals. There are a couple of ways to change the performance of the Super Air Amplifier if either a small or large change to the output flow is required. AirAmplifiers

The chart below shows the Total Output Flow for each of the 6 models. As an example, the Model 120021 or 121021, when operated at 60 PSIG of compressed air supply, will have a total output flow of 120 SCFM. These same devices when operated at 80 PSIG will have a total flow of 146 SCFM. By simply using a pressure regulation device on the compressed air supply, the output performance can be tuned to match the desired outcome.

Capture

For those applications where much greater flow and/or force is needed, the option of installing a thicker shim is available. The Super Air Amplifiers are supplied with a 0.003″ shim installed (the 8″ model 120028, has a 0.009″ shim as standard) and can be fitted with shims of thicknesses of 0.006″ or 0.009″ (the 8″ model has an optional 0.015″ shim.) Installation of a thicker shim increases the slotted air gap, allowing for a greater amount of controlled air flow. As a general rule, doubling the shim thickness will double the air flow rates.

Patented* Shim Design for Super Air Amplifiers

The Super Air Amplifier design provides for a constant, high velocity outlet flow across the entire cross sectional area,. The balanced outlet flow minimizes wind shear to produce sound levels that are typically three times quieter than other air movers. By regulating the compressed air supply pressure and use of the optional shims, adjustability and flexibility of the unit is wide ranging and sure to meet your process needs.

If you have questions regarding the Super Air Amplifier, or would like to talk about any EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_BB

*Patent #5402938

About Double Acting Reciprocating Air Compressors

September 19, 2017 — johnball2014

My colleague, Lee Evans, wrote a blog “About Single Acting Reciprocating Compressors”, and I wanted to extend that conversation to a more efficient relative, the double acting reciprocating compressor. As you see in the chart below, this type of compressor falls within the same family under the category of positive displacement compressors.

Compressor Types

Positive displacement compressors increase air pressure by reducing air volume within a confined space. The reciprocating type of air compressor uses a motor that turns a crank which pushes a piston inside a cylinder; like the engine in your car. In a basic cycle, an intake valve opens to allow the ambient air into the cylinder, the gas gets trapped, and once it is compressed by the piston, the exhaust valve opens to discharge the compressed volume into a tank. This method of compression happens for both the single and double acting reciprocating compressors. With a single acting compressor, the air is compressed only on the up-stroke of the piston inside the cylinder. The double acting compressor compresses the air on both the up-stroke and the down-stroke of the piston, doubling the capacity of a given cylinder size. This “double” compression cycle is what makes this type of air compressor very efficient. A single acting compressor will have an operating efficiency between 22 – 24 kW/100 cfm of air while the double acting compressor has an operating efficiency between 15 – 16 kW/100 cfm. Therefore, electricity cost is less with a double-acting reciprocating air compressor to make the same amount of compressed air.

To explore the internals a bit closer, the mechanical linkage used to move the piston is slightly different as well as the additional intake and exhaust valves. Instead of the connecting rod being attached directly to the piston as seen inside a single acting compressor, a crosshead is added between the compression piston and the connecting rod (view picture below). The rod that connects the crosshead to the compression piston can be sealed to keep the cylinder completely encapsulated. For every rotation of the electric motor, the air is being compressed twice. With the added heat of compression, the double acting compressors are generally water-cooled. Also, with the added mechanism between the crank and the piston, the rotational speeds are typically less. Because of the larger size, water jackets, and added parts, the initial cost is more expensive than the single acting compressor, but the efficiency is much higher.

Double Acting Reciprocating Air Compressor

Double acting compressors are generally designed for rugged 100% continuous operations. Dubbed the work horse of the compressor family, they are also known for their long service life. They are commonly used in high pressure services in multistage styles and can come in lubricated and non-lubricated configurations. With the dual compression, slow speed and inter-cooling, it makes this type of air compressor very proficient in making compressed air.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photos: used from Compressed Air Challenge Handbook

EXAIR Line Vac Promotion Thru October 2017!

September 18, 2017 — Lee Evans

EXAIR will be giving away a free 2” Super Air Nozzle with the purchase of any EXAIR Line Vac from September 1^st through October 31^st, 2017. This special promotion will apply to all versions of Line Vac orders, whether aluminum, stainless steel, heavy duty, threaded/non-threaded, or 316SS sanitary flanged. Order within the promotional period and receive the free model 1122, a value of $65.00! The 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle is more durable than plastic flat nozzles, operates at lower noise levels and produces a powerful blast of compressed air in a laminar sheet.

EXAIR’s Line Vac family

Line Vacs provide a fast, easy way to pneumatically transfer dry materials from one location to another. They eliminate the need to have personnel manually transferring materials via bag, super sac, or bucket-and-ladder setups. Doing so reduces worker fatigue and allows conveyance to occur simultaneously with other process operations.

Line Vac removing trimmed scrap from label making application

What kind of an impact can this have? Here’s a link to a recent blog post where an EXAIR Line Vac saved the end user from having to shut down their conveyor to allow cleaning of spilled material underneath. And here’s a link to an application using Line Vacs to empty and refill a large tank full of desiccant. And here’s a link to an application where we customized a Line Vac for conveyance of dog bedding material. You get the idea…

Depending on application parameters such as bulk density of the material (lbs/ft³ or kg/m³), conveyance height/distance, and required conveyance rate, we can size a Line Vac properly through the support of our Application Engineers who have years of experience working with these products and their implementation into industrial solutions.

The EXAIR Line Vac Promotion – now through October 31st

We’re here to help you find a pneumatic conveyance solution for your application, and earn a free nozzle in the process. Contact our Application Engineers for assistance today.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Pressure Drop and its Relationship to Compressed Air

September 15, 2017 — Russ Bowman

“Nothing happens until something moves.”
-Albert Einstein

OK; that’s how I started last week’s blog on stuff happening when heat moves (or, more accurately, is transferred.) This week, it’s going to apply to pressure, and the movement (and/or lack thereof) of air in a pressurized system. There are two primary reasons why a discussion of this is important in the context of the use of compressed air products:

The first reason is about ensuring sufficient air flow to get the job done: As compressed air flows (or moves) through the system, it encounters friction with the inside wall of the line, be it pipe, tube, hose, etc. Several factors affect this – the diameter and length of the line, the number of directional changes (think elbows,) and the finish surface of the inside wall. The most important of these is the diameter…hopefully, the original plumbing layout didn’t use any more twists & turns than necessary, and no matter how hard you try, you’ll never polish the inside of a 1″ pipe enough to allow the same air flow as a 2″ pipe. The length, as they say, “is what it is.” Unless you can move your air compressor closer to the point(s) of usage (or the points of usage closer to your air compressor,) there’s not much you can do about this…unless, of course, you want to consider intermediate storage.

Let’s assume that your supply side, i.e., your compressor and main header(s), are adequately sized. The usual pressure drop challenge, as it relates to sufficient air flow, is the air line from the header, to the product. Put simply, the longer this has to be, the larger (in diameter) it’s going to have to be. Here’s a video that demonstrates the performance changes that come with different length (and diameter) supply lines:

The second reason has to do with where a pressure drop occurs, relative to the point of use. Common sense dictates the more energy you get to the point of use, the better & more efficient the use of that energy will be. The potential energy of compressed air is no exception. Consider these two blow off methods:

They may be loud, but they sure are inefficient…

With open end blow offs, like the copper tubing and modular hose shown above, the pressure drop occurs upstream, in the supply line itself…if you were to measure the pressure at the copper tubes’ manifold (left) or at any point in the modular hose (right,) it’s not going to be very high…it’s all being vented to atmospheric pressure through the open ends. Depending on the size, and quantity, of the discharge holes, the pressure may build up a little, but if it gets too high, it’ll blow that modular hose apart…it’s not made to withstand any significant pressure.

Engineered solutions (like EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products) are the efficient, quiet, and safe choice.

Engineered blow off devices, on the other hand, keep the air compressed right up to point of discharge, keeping the pressure drop (e.g., energy transfer) close to the point of use, for maximum efficiency.

If you’d like to find out more about optimizing your compressed air system for efficiency, performance, noise reduction and safety, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Custom Air Amplifiers To Meet Most Any Requirement

Types Of Compressed Air System Dryers

Engineered Nozzles Replace Segmented Coolant Hose for Ink Drying Application

Super Air Amplifiers – Adjustability for Blowoff, Drying, Cooling, Circulation and Ventilation

About Double Acting Reciprocating Air Compressors

Pressure Drop and its Relationship to Compressed Air

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