There are a number of fascinating facts about jets…both the aircraft engines and the EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products: Because they don’t require dense air to engage spinning blades (like their propeller driven counterparts,) they… More
The Super Air Knife and the Amplification Ratio
The EXAIR Super Air Knife has a 40:1 amplification ratio. So, what does this mean? The definition of ratio is a relation between two amounts showing the number of times one value is contained within the other. For the Super Air Knife, it is a value that shows the amount of ambient air that is drawn into the compressed air. With an amplification ratio of 40:1, that means that there are 40 parts of ambient air for every 1 part of compressed air; which helps make the most efficient air knifes available in the market.
Most people think that compressed air is free, but it is most certainly not. Because of the amount of electricity required, compressed air is considered to be the fourth utility for manufacturing plants. To save on utility costs, it is important to use compressed air very efficiently. So, the higher the amplification ratio, the more efficient the compressed air product. Manufacturing plants that use open fittings, copper tubes, and drilled pipes for blowing are not efficiently using their compressed air system. These types of products generally have between a 5:1 to 10:1 amplification ratio. When EXAIR began, they knew that there was a better way in saving compressed air by increasing the amplification ratio.
EXAIR initially created a line of air knives called the Standard Air Knife and Full-Flow Air Knife. They utilize a Coanda effect to blow air at a 30:1 amplification ratio. These air knives were much more efficient for blowing air than the open fittings, tubes and drilled pipes. But, EXAIR knew that we could design a more efficient air knife, the Super Air Knife which has a 40:1 amplification ratio.
I like to explain things in every day terms. For this analogy, the amplification ratio can be represented by gas mileage. Like your car, you want to get the most distance from a gallon of gas. With your compressed air system, you want to get the most utilization for blowing. With an EXAIR Super Air Knife, it has a 40:1 amplification ratio.; or, in other words, you can get 40 mpg. If you use the EXAIR Standard or Full Flow Air Knife, you can get 30 mpg. But, if you use drilled pipes, copper tubes, etc. for blowing, then you are only getting 5 to 10 mpg. If you want to get the most “distance” from your compressed air system, you want to check the “gas mileage” of your blow-off components.
EXAIR can “tune up” your blow-off systems to make them efficient and safe by contacting an Application Engineer. We will be happy to help you.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
EXAIR’s Super Air Knife: The Benefits of Laminar Airflow
When a wide, even, laminar flow is necessary there isn’t a better option available on the market than EXAIR’s Super Air Knife. We’ve been manufacturing Air Knives for over 35 years, with the Super Air Knife making its first appearance back in 1997. Since then, the Super Air Knife has undergone a few enhancements over the years as we’re constantly trying to not only introduce new products but also improve on the ones we have. We’ve added new materials, longer single piece knives, as well as additional accessories. But, by and large, the basic design has remained the same. As the saying goes: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”.
What really sets EXAIR’s Super Air Knife above the competition is the ability to maintain a consistent laminar flow across the full length of the knife compared to similar compressed air operated knives. This is even more evident when compared against blower operated knives or fans. A fan “slaps” the air, resulting in a turbulent airflow where the airflow particles are irregular and will interfere with each other. A laminar airflow, by contrast, will maintain smooth paths that will never interfere with one another.
The effectiveness of a laminar airflow vs turbulent airflow is particularly evident in the case of a cooling application. The chart below shows the time to cool computers to ambient temperatures for an automotive electronics manufacturer. They used a total of (32) 6” axial fans, (16) across the top and (16) across the bottom as the computers traveled along a conveyor. The computers needed to be cooled down before they could begin the testing process. By replacing the fans with just (3) Model 110012 Super Air Knives at a pressure of just 40 psig, the fans were cooled from 194°F down to 81° in just 90 seconds. The fans, even after 300 seconds still couldn’t remove enough heat to allow them to test.
Utilizing a laminar airflow is also critical when the airflow is being used to carry static eliminating ions further to the surface. Static charges can be both positive or negative. In order to eliminate them, we need to deliver an ion of the opposite charge to neutralize it. Since opposite charges attract, having a product that produces a laminar airflow to carry the ions makes the net effect much more effective. As you can see from the graphic above showing a turbulent airflow pattern vs a laminar one, a turbulent airflow is going to cause these ions to come into contact with one another. This neutralizes them before they’re even delivered to the surface needing to be treated. With a product such as the Super Ion Air Knife, we’re using a laminar airflow pattern to deliver the positive and negative ions. Since the flow is laminar, the total quantity of ions that we’re able to deliver to the surface of the material is greater. This allows the charge to be neutralized quickly, rather than having to sit and “dwell” under the ionized airflow.
With lengths from 3”-108” and (4) four different materials all available from stock, EXAIR has the right Super Air Knife for your application. In addition to shipping from stock, it’ll also come backed up by our unconditional 30-day guarantee. Test one out for yourself to see just how effective the Super Air Knife is on a wide variety of cooling, cleaning, or drying applications.
Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD
The Case for the Cold Gun
Heat is an unavoidable by-product of any cutting or machining operation. Think about it: you’re creating friction on a piece of material with a fast-moving piece of harder material in order to forcibly separate pieces of the original material from its existing shape & size. No matter what, something’s going to get hot: the work piece, the tooling, or (almost always) both. If you don’t do something about it, your parts can become damaged, your tooling can become dull and brittle, and productivity will suffer.
There are ways to alleviate the problem…you can slow the speed of your tooling, but that’s hardly practical, and only marginally effective. You can use liquid cooling…in fact, you may have to if the particulars of the operation require the lubrication you can only get from a cutting oil or liquid coolant. But those can be messy, expensive, and the time you spend maintaining the coolant could certainly be spent better elsewhere…like, on machining your products!
The EXAIR Cold Gun Aircoolant System is a novel solution to these problems…heat related and otherwise:
- The Cold Gun uses compressed air to produce a stream of clean, cold air at 50°F (28°C) below supply air temperature.
- They use Vortex Tube technology…no moving parts to wear out.
- Cold flow and temperature are preset to optimize cooling capability, and are non-adjustable to prevent freeze-up during use.
- Eliminates the expense of both the purchase & disposal of cutting fluids.
- Removes the potential for health problems associated with breathing mist & vapors, and the safety issue of slipping on a wet floor.
Cold Gun Aircoolant System selection is easy & straightforward…we offer a standard, and a High Power version to meet your specific needs.
We also offer Single & Dual Point Hose Kits, to further meet the needs of your application. Right now, you don’t have to decide up front…order a Cold Gun Aircoolant System with a Single Point Hose Kit before December 31, 2018, and we’ll throw in the Dual Point Hose Kit for free.
If you’d like to find out more about how Cold Gun Aircoolant Systems can improve your machining or cutting operations, give me a call.
How to Calculate SCFM (Volume) When Operating at Any Pressure
If you need to operate at a different pressure because you require less or more force or simply operate at a different line pressure, this formula will allow you to determine the volume of air being consumed by any device.
Using the EXAIR 1100 Super Air Nozzle as our example:
Lets first consider the volume of the 1100 Super Air Nozzle at a higher than published pressure. As shown in the formula and calculations it is simply the ratio of gauge pressure + atmospheric divided by the published pressure + atmospheric and then multiply the dividend by the published volume. So as we do the math we solve for 17.69 SCFM @ 105 PSIG from a device that was shown consume 14 SCFM @ 80 PSIG.
Now lets consider the volume at a lower than published pressure. As shown it is simply the ratio of gauge pressure + atmospheric divided by the published pressure + atmospheric and then multiply the dividend by the published volume. So as we do the math we solve for 11.04 SCFM @ 60 PSIG from a device that was shown to consume 14 SCFM @ 80 PSIG.
When you are looking for expert advice on safe, quiet and efficient point of use compressed air products give us a call. Experience the EXAIR difference first hand and receive the great customer service, products and attention you deserve! We would enjoy hearing from you.
Steve Harrison
Application Engineer
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Line Vac Makes Golf Ball Testing More Efficient
Recently, we at EXAIR worked with a major player in the golf ball manufacturing world. As an avid golfer myself, this was an application I could really get a ‘grip’ on and I had the ‘drive’ to propose a solution.
The customer was involved in Research & Development, performing testing on the golf balls through robotic hitting, collection, and attribute measurement. The current set up involved the ball being hit, gravity collection into a PVC tube, and then an operator unhooking the tube, walking it over to and unloading the balls onto a rack, in the same order of hitting. The customer wanted to eliminate the manual task of the tube handling and have the balls delivered directly to the rack area. The transfer would need to be 15′ vertically, then 15′ horizontally, before dropping down to table level. A typical rate is only 5 balls per minute. This is a perfect application for the Line Vac, a compressed air operated conveyor.
EXAIR had previously tested golf ball conveyance, as seen in the Line Vac video below (at the 1:53 mark) where golf balls are conveyed 100′, at only 30 PSIG of supply pressure.
To present the best solution to customer, we had 2 dozen golf balls sent to us, and we set-up and simulated the actual conveyance conditions of 15′ vertical and 15′ horizontal travel. We found that the balls could be conveyed at only 20 PSIG of supply pressure, when presented one at a time. When the inlet was flooded with golf balls, simulating a worst case condition, the Line Vac was able to perform the conveyance at 60 PSIG. Operation at 80-100 PSIG is possible providing a operational safety factor.
The customer was impressed with the results and has implemented the model 6984 – 2″ Aluminum Line Vac Kit into the process, making the process more efficient.
We have a team of Application Engineers that are ready to review your process and application, and help to determine if an EXAIR Line Vac can convey your material at the distance and rate desired. We may even have you send in small sample of the material, and we can set-up, test, and share the results with you.
If you have questions about Line Vacs, or would like to talk about any of the EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or any of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.
Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer
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Twitter: @EXAIR_BB
Golf Ball Pyramids by Beau B used under Creative Commons – CC BY 2.0
E-Vacs: Shrinking Foam Packages
A foam manufacturer was looking for a way to reduce the size of their shipping packages. The type of product was a polyurethane open-cell foam that they would place inside plastic bags to ship. With shipping charges, the dimensional weight, not actual weight, is used, and it can be very costly. Since it was open-cell foam, they wanted to evacuate the air from the plastic bags. This would decrease the package volume and reduce shipping costs dramatically.
The company gave me some details on the product and their process. The polyurethane foam had a density of 1.1 lb./ft3 (18 Kg/M3), and they were bagging pieces of the foam in plastic bags with the dimensions of 30” long by 10” diameter (0.75m long by 0.25m diameter). They attempted to use a shop vac to reduce the volume; but, it was too loud and too cumbersome for their process. They also noticed that the vacuum level was not enough to maximize the shrinkage. They searched the internet for a better way, and they found the E-Vac™ Vacuum Generators. They contacted EXAIR to get more information.
The EXAIR E-Vacs use compressed air to create a vacuum by a venturi method. It can reach vacuum levels up to 27” Hg (91 kPa). They are very compact and lightweight, and they do not have any moving parts to wear. So, they are very durable and long lasting in systems with cycling or continuous operations. In comparison, a typical electric vacuum has a vacuum pressure near 6” Hg (20 kPa). With the EXAIR E-Vac having a vacuum level 27” Hg (91 kPa), we can draw out much more air to reduce the volume.
At EXAIR, we pride ourselves on customer service. With this application, I was able to setup a representative sample for testing. I shot a short video to show the power of our smallest E-Vac. The video shows a representative sample with a smaller bag. You can see the volume change with polyurethane foam.
In addition to the video, I was able to calculate the time to evacuate the package to 27” Hg (91 kPa). EXAIR manufactures seven different sizes of High Vacuum E-Vac Generators with different flow ranges. The above customer requested an evacuation time in about 30 second. With Equation 1, I can determine the correct E-Vac size to meet the requirement.
Equation 1: q = V * ln(p0 / p1) / t
q = Vacuum flow rate (SCFM)
V = enclosed volume (ft^3)
p0 = atmospheric pressure (“Hg)
p1 = end vacuum pressure (“Hg)
t = evacuation time (min)
Details:
Volume of cylindrical plastic bag: V = 1.36 ft3
Atmospheric air pressure: p0 = 29.92” Hg
Final absolute air pressure: p1 = (29.92” Hg – 27” Hg) = 2.92” Hg
Time to evacuation: t = 0.5 min.
Thus,
q = V * ln(p0 / p1) / t
q = 1.36 ft3 * ln(29.92” Hg / 2.92” Hg) / 0.5 min
q = 6.3 ft3/min or 6.3 SCFM
From the specification on our E-Vac, I was able to recommend the model 810013M. At 80 PSIG, this model has a vacuum flow rate of 6.85 SCFM; plenty enough to hit the target time. After installing the E-Vac in their packaging process, they were able to reduce the size by almost 70%. This was very helpful in reducing the dimensional weight for each shipment; saving the company and their customers much money.
If you would like to send samples in for vacuum test or need calculations for performance improvements, EXAIR Application Engineers will be happy to assist you. EXAIR always likes to go that extra mile for our customers.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
EXAIR Webinar 11/7/18 2pm EDT: Understanding Static Electricity
Halloween has passed, temperatures are dropping, and you’ve had enough of constantly raking up leaves. It’s clear to everyone that summer is over (much to my dismay). As temperatures decline, so too does the amount of moisture in the air. As this happens, issues related to static electricity begin to increase. If you’ve ever walked across a carpeted surface, only to be shocked as soon as you touch a doorknob, you’re familiar with the effects of static electricity. In addition to painful shocks, static can contribute to a variety of problems within industrial processes.
We’ve talked here on the EXAIR blog about several of these different applications. Some examples include: removing static on plastic packaging, stopping dust from clinging to product, or aiding in part removal in an injection molding application. These types of applications can certainly occur year-round, but the absence of humid conditions dramatically increases the potential for them to occur.
They key to combating static electricity is first understanding how it it’s generated and how to test for it. To help you gain some more knowledge about static electricity and the problems it can cause, EXAIR is hosting a FREE webinar this week. Within this webinar you’ll learn how to identify a static charge, the series of events that are causing the charge, as well as various ways to eliminate this nuisance.
Brian Farno, EXAIR’s Application Engineering Manager, will be conducting the webinar at 2:00 ET on 11/7/18. Immediately following the presentation will also be a brief Q&A. If you can’t attend, don’t let that stop you from registering! A link to view a recorded version of the webinar will go out to all registered participants whether you’re able to attend live or not.
Click here to register and view details on this upcoming webinar. Make sure you’re educated on the issues associated with static electricity before it’s too late!
Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter : @EXAIR_TD
