Month: November 2009

Super Ion Air Wipe Removes Chips From Composite Material

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We all know that plastic and other composite materials can harbour quite a lot of static charge.  And movement or friction is a primary generator of this charge.  As the winter months continue to approach us, all sorts of static issues will continue to show their face. 

One call I received last week came from a customer whose company manufactures different types of material handling, storage, and transport products.  Part of their manufacturing process involves a pultrusion line that creates a 1-3/4″ OD continuous tube.  Once hardened, small slits are cut along the OD of this tube.  Because of both the travel motion of the tube and the slitting process itself, a static charge is continuously generated, and the shavings from the slitting process tend to stick to the outside of the tube.  This can cause false rejects in their inspection process.

So, I recommended that they install one of our 4″ Super Ion Air Wipes with Power Supply.  This unit will provide a 360° ring of ionized air to both eliminate the static charge and blow the chips off the surface of the tube.  This will allow a clean, static free part to advance to the subsequent stages of their manufacturing process.

Emily Mortimer
Application Engineer
emilymortimer@exair.com

Chip Vac Aids Recycling, Cleans Lathe

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Who ever thought an industrial vacuum could be so green? And it is not only because our Chip Vac is being used to aid recycling. Some additional attributes lend themselves to its green-ness.

     1. No Moving Parts – The Chip Vac can last a lifetime without wearing out or breaking. There are multiple versions of a Chip Vac (Heavy Duty Dry Vac) for heavier more abrasive products to ensure a long lifetime.
     2. Use With Multiple Drums – Switch the drum lid assembly from one drum to another as you machine different materials. This allows you to keep the materials separate and optimize the efficiency of your scrap metal recycling.
     3. No Electric Motor – no worries with continuous operation, no motors to throw away and replace, lower sound levels than an electric motor for a friendlier work environment.

This particular application utilized the Chip Vac on a cedar lathe operation. The customer can sell both their cedar product and the waste cedar chips. They used to brush the chips off the machine and off of the floor into a dust pan to place them in a large bag. Now they simply place a large bag into the Chip Vac drum. Once the drum is full, they seal and remove the bag for sale at a later date.

The Chip Vac has sped up the reclamation of the cedar chips and simplified the process.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

Replacing Gas Powered Sump Suckers

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A dyeing machine builder was using gas-powered sump suckers to change fluids throughout their facility.

They spewed fumes throughout the plant, creating environmental issues; constantly needing LP fuel tanks changed and at the most inconvenient times. Batteries would run low, requiring a jump-start or replacement.

They purchased an air powered EXAIR model 6196 Reversible Drum Vac to compare performance. The results were impressive. The Reversible Drum Vac was  faster, quieter, smaller, safer, and with no smelly exhaust.

There was also a cost advantage. The cost of the Drum Vac was less than they spent on general maintenance and fuel for the gas-powered ones. Payback was within a few months and will continue to provide savings in the future as the Drum Vac has no moving parts and will operate indefinitely.

 The customer was so pleased that he provided us this testimonial:

Exair,
I just received our reversible drum vac. It works great and looks like it will last a lifetime.We replaced two gas-powered sump suckers that constantly needed LP fuel, a battery boost (or a new battery) or oil change etc. Yours is faster, quieter, smaller, safer and no smelly exhaust.

 I spent less money on the Exair than I would have had to spend on general maintenance and fuel for the old mechanical ones. Payback will be quick.

Another customer satisfied with an EXAIR “built to last” product. 

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
joepanfalone@exair.com

Vortex Tube Cools in Dyno Application

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Imagine if you can, the chassis of a 20,000 lb. bus or large RV being strapped to a dynomometer for a performance test. This is exactly what one of our customers does albeit on an infrequent basis, but often enough that they have to be concerned about an overheating condition that appears in the tires. The tires are running over the same surface on the dyno drum and the thousands of interactions of the tread slipping over the drum cause friction and heat. In time the tires overheat and can fail.

In the past, the customer has “shaved” the treads off the tires they use, but that is time-consuming and problematic to say the least. The customer could also look into investing in a newer dyno with through-the-roll cooling, but they are very expensive and for the rate of use, not a viable option for this company.

So, cooling the surfaces that generate the heat is the next option and that is where EXAIR comes into play. Since all the chassis are of a dual, rear wheel configuration, we have 4 points to cool, 2 per side.

One of the requirements of the cooling system was that it be compact so it could fit in under the chassis on a fixture without interfering with the test. After discussing the options, the customer decided to go with (4) model 5315 Cold gun Systems, to cool the tire/drum interface. The customer tried it and the Cold Guns were able to keep the tires and drum cool.  Even under high load, the temperature only climbed to a little more than warm, which was totally acceptable.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com