Month: October 2009

Cooling Router Bit for Edge Lit Panels

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You’ve seen those promo displays where the edges of the plastic seem to light up. The company that makes them contacted me because he was having problems machining the edges to a smooth finish so that they would light up.

He uses a router bit to machine the edges. The router generates heat causing the plastic to soften and not machine well. EXAIR suggested their model 5215 Cold Gun to provide refrigerated air to cool the bit.

It worked so well that he was able to save $8 per sheet in what would have been scrap.

Do you have a cooling application that you would like to share with us? Speak with one of our Application Engineers by calling 1-800-903-9247.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

Adjustable Spot Cooler Keeps Gang Rip Saw Blades Cool in PVC cutting application

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

You have seen it before but maybe didn’t know what it was. I’m talking about plastic, dimensional lumber. The lumber is extruded first in sheet form and then ripped to size depending on the size lumber needed. It is the ripping process with a multi-blade rip saw that was causing problems for our customer. Basically, the blades would heat up to a point where they would melt the plastic instead of making a nice sharp cut.

The customer was having to stop the ripping process every ten minutes or so to allow the blades to cool down enough to continue for a while longer. The customer was using a simple nozzle, blowing onto the blades and the arbor to achieve the cooling more quickly. They noticed this did have a positive effect and so they thought that colder air would be better. So, they invested in (2) Model 3725 Adjustable Spot Coolers for the cold air source. Then, the Adjustable Spot Coolers were mounted to a 1-1/4″ PVC pipe with many holes drilled along its length. The purpose of the PVC pipe is to act as a manifold to distribute the cold air from the two Adjustable Spot Coolers mounted at each end. The pipe was 4 ft. long to cover the full width of the cutting area. In this way, the blades could be at any number, up to 14 and in any position and still receive the cooling flow during the cutting process.

This idea worked so well for the customer, they were able to achieve approximately a 25% productivity gain just by not having to stop all the time to allow for cooling. They are still evaluating whether they can go longer than the usual 3 weeks between sharpening of the blades due to cooler cutting conditions which keep the blades sharper longer.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

Cabinet Cooler Season Not Quite Over

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Yes, ladies and gentlemen, even as typical Cabinet Cooler Season begins to wind down, there are still those folks with control panel overheating problems for which we are more than willing and able to provide a solution.  An industrial resale company contacted me on behalf of one of their customers who had a major heat issue inside a large electrical enclosure and was looking for some help. 

After evaluating the information they provided, I determined that our largest Nema 12 dual cooler, model 4380, would be in order.  This unit does require 80scfm of air consumption at 100psi of inlet pressure during continuous operation.  However, I did recommend the thermostat controlled system to them, so that the cooler would only run when absolutely necessary.  With a factory preset thermostat setting of 95°F, this will ensure that the cabinet stays at a safe operating temperature without cooling more than necessary.  Thankfully, the end user did have quite a large compressed air capacity, so even with the cooler in operation, it would not starve their system. 

The installation of this system immediately stopped the heat-related shutdowns they were experiencing, and will continue to provide protection against them throughout the months and years to come.  With no moving parts to wear out or break, they can virtually “set it and forget it”, and the cooler will just turn on and off as needed.

Emily Mortimer
Application Engineer
emilymortimer@exair.com