Heat is the enemy of cutting tools. It is common to use coolant but in some applications this is not a workable solution. In the medical and food industry any residual liquids need to be thoroughly cleaned off. This not only adds another process but creates a disposal problem of the spent cutting fluid.

Air is an environmentally friendly alternative to coolant. EXAIR air knives are engineered to deliver 30-40 times the volume of air than the volume of compressed air used and deliver it with controlled accuracy to the point of the cut where the heat is being generated. Cooling it at the point of the cut prevents the heat from spreading to the rest of the part causing distortion and problems with handling.

A case in point is a sheet metal fabricator who was having problems with heat build up on his shearing blade. Water coolant was not an option because it could not be contained. Running without coolant caused premature blade wear and constant tear down to sharpen the blades.

By installing a model 2612 Full Flow EXAIR air knife, the large volume of air produced along the entire length of the shear blade provided for even cooling and a consistent cut. They were able to double their tool life and increase production by eliminating frequent tear downs.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com