One of our customers manufactures glass containers and drinking glasses. They run a high-speed, high production line and sell these products all over the world. This application concentrates on their drinking glass production line.

The molten glass goes into a mold and the drinking glass in pressed into shape. The cooling process begins immediately after the glasses exit the mold. Cooling the glasses quickly minimizes the chances for warped product. To begin cooling the glasses they simply use air circulation by using assorted nozzles to move the warm surrounding air.

The problem was dead spots produced by the nozzles and low air flow areas created by the way they were mounted. The tight spaces and interference from other machine parts left dead spots in the cooling air flow which resulted in hot spots on the glasses. These hot spots did result in warped product.

After discussing the application and gaining an understanding of the process, EXAIR recommended our 12″ stainless steel Super Air Knife. The low profile of the knife allowed it to mount  in a tight space where the air can blow on to the glasses. The uninterrupted air flow of the knife is a better solution than a bunch of nozzles because it will produce even and consistent results without peaks and vallies in the air flow. And the stainless steel material is well suited for an elevated ambient temperature environment found in the glass plant.

Many times in circulation applications like this it is not necessary to run the product at full pressure, a simple pressure regulator will allow customers to turn the pressure down as low as possible which keeps the efficiency maximized. The number of products EXAIR has which can offer air circulation is huge! This maximizes our ability to solve your application, and minimizes your time in locating a solution.  

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com