Month: March 2009

Here’s an Easy One; Turn it Off

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Shutting down the supply of compressed air to an application while it is not running can reduce the consumption of compressed air. This is an easy remedy which can produce a significant savings.

Think about a place where you have a compressed air blow off with spaces between the parts or stoppages in conveyor travel. What about break times, do you continue to keep the air on when operators leave for a break?

Step number four in Six Steps to Optimization is:
1. Measure your air consumption
2. Locate and fix any compressed air leaks in the system
3. Upgrade your end use blow off applications with engineered products
4. Turn off the compressed air when not needed for production
5. Use intermediate storage of compressed air near the point of use
6. Control the pressure at the point of use to minimize consumption

A simple manual ball valve and a responsible operator can provide savings at every opportunity to shut down the air flow. But an automated solution is a no-brainer and can provide significant savings.

You can add a solenoid valve to your compressed air supply lines to aid in turning it off. An automated on/off solution can be found by using the EXAIR EFC (Electronic Flow Control). The EFC is made to accept 110V or 220V AC, and convert it to 24V DC to operate a sensor, timer and solenoid valve. Its multiple operating modes allow you delay on, delay off and delay on/off among others. The operating mode can then be set to the specific time necessary for a successful application.

The spaces between parts can be turned into money saved. Every time you reach the end of a batch run, the EFC can turn the air off. You can also add solenoid valves and run them from your machine controls. If the machine is off, or the conveyor has stopped – close the solenoid valve and save the air.

Take a look around the plant and see what you can find that could benefit from turning the air off; even if it is just for a moment it will help.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

Separating the Wheat From the Chaff

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I was recently contacted by a customer who processed grain seeds. From harvested wheat, he separates out the largest grains and processes them for next year’s seed. This is accomplished by screening.

The problem that he was having though, was the presence  of a particular weed seed that was approximately the same size as the wheat and would not separate out. This compromised the  quality of his seed stock.

Since this weed seed was considerably lighter than the wheat seed, I suggested he build a vibrating table positioned on a slant so that the seeds would progress to one edge of the table and free fall to a bin below. As the seeds were in their free fall state, position a model 110048, 48″ Super Air Knife blowing a laminar sheet of air through the downward falling stream of seed. This would redirect the lighter weed seed away from the heavier wheat seed.

Being resourceful as farmers are, he simply took a 4×8 sheet of plywood and mounted an electric motor to the bottom side. Then on the motor shaft he installed a metal disc with a hole drilled off center. This caused the plywood to vibrate. With a grain auger he poured enough grain to get a single layer falling over the edge. Then by adjusting the air pressure to the air knife, the right amount of force was achieved to blow the lighter weed seed away but not disturb the heavier wheat seed.

With a minimum investment, this customer was able to produce a superior grade of seed.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com