Month: February 2010

Are you in the pharmaceutical industry? Have you ever had this problem?

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

In the pharmaceutical industry it would seem that a lot of time and energy is spent on packaging and re-packaging tablets, gels, capsules and other forms of medication. One example that I just became aware of was the need to empty individual container bottles so that the product could be re-packaged due to a mis-print on label applied to the bottle.

In this scenario, the customer has to empty the bottles and get the product back into their packaging machine hopper. Besides being a real pain to have to open each bottle and empty, the customer also has to get these tablets back up into the packaging machine. The tool they decided to use was our 1-1/4″ 316 Stainless Steel Line Vac. The Line Vac had to be made of 316 stainless in order to be considered a normally accepted material for use in applications dealing with medications. The FDA regulates this.

The facts that the 316 stainless Line Vac was a normally stocked item for us and also that it was meant exactly for this type of “bucket and ladder” type conveying application made it a perfect fit for this particular application.

If you are in the pharmaceutical packaging business and can recall where you may have had similar applications for packaging, let us know.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

Pneumatic Cylinder Blow Off

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

We have a customer who manufactures pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. The cylinders, of course, are round with some kind of machined end which has threaded holes and/or mounting features.

The manufacturer assembles and machines the parts and then runs them through a mineral spirits bath to remove any cutting fluids and oil.

Now they need to remove the mineral spirits from the cylinder to prepare it for a label. They currently do it by hand with an air gun. The air gun generally move the mineral spirits around the cylinder until it evaporates. The coverage area of the air gun they use is small and it takes too much time to remove the mineral spirits. They were trying to reduce the time necessary to remove the mineral spirits.

After consulting with the customer, EXAIR recommended a 3″ Air Wipe, which covers the product range diameters from 1″-2-1/2″ diameters. The operator is still picking up the cylinders but then simply running them through the Air Wipe which provides a one time 360 degree blow off.

I did also recommend some strategically positioned air nozzles to remove liquid from the holes and mounting features because the Air Wipe will not reach those areas on its own, but the customers needs were only to prepare the cylinder surface for a label.

The reduction in blow off time allows the operator to do additional tasks. Additional tasks which have become necessary to remain competitive today.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

Ionizer to blow debris out of deep pockets on thermoforming application

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Thermoformed parts are an all too familiar sight in industry. They are used for everything from making the inside shells of refrigerators and dishwashers to in process fixtures to transport delicate items such as flat screen TV’s.  We had one customer who had a thermoformed part that had a particularly deep draw of about 16″ by about 6″ square. He was having a lot of trouble with the debris from a router application getting down into these pockets and creating problem for his parts nesting properly within one another. It also left a trail of debris everywhere these parts went.

So, to clean up his process, the customer ordered an ion air gun for his operator to blow the parts down prior to stacking which eliminated the static and debris issues they had with the finished product.

We are in the middle of static season right now, so if you find yourself in a low humidity room dealing with insulating materials and cannot seem to keep debris from clinging to your parts, or you are receiving the dreaded static discharge, think about having an active static eliminator (ionizer) in hand to take care of the problem. I used to work in plastic injection molding industry and wish I had known about ionizers much sooner than now.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

Air Filters are Important for Compressed Air Products

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

You may notice that EXAIR offers most of our products in a kit form. These kits always contain a filter and pressure regulator with any other associated parts for a specific product. A filter is always a good addition to an end use compressed air application to keep the application running clean and effective.

A compressed air filter/separator is available with filter elements in different micron sizes to remove smaller or larger particles depending on the end use product you are using. All of EXAIR filters have 5 micron elements to remove solid contaminants and water condensate prior to running through the end use product.

It is first important to make sure the filter is sized properly for the peak flow demand of the compressed air product. We make sure all of the filters in our kits are sized properly for peak demand of the individual product. If multiple products are ordered and only one filter is desired for multiple end use products, make sure to consult an Application Engineer for the right size filter.

Filters also generally come with a clear polycarbonate bowl or a metal bowl to hold the condensate and/or contaminants. polycarbonate bowls can be damaged by some lubricants and chemicals therefore should have a metal bowl guard to protect people. Metal bowls provide much greater protection for applications of higher temperature, pressure and where chemicals may be present. If you are uncertain of the environmental conditions, a metal bowl is the best bet.

Keeping the filter bowls drained is important. EXAIR’s filters are automatic drain, which have a float mechanism to open a drain valve and release the liquid and contaminants. This keeps the filters low maintenance.

Since the filter elements trap contaminants, they will need to be changed as part of a regular maintenance program. Keeping the elements clean minimizes pressure drops in the compressed air system which keeps your end use application working properly. EXAIR also supplies replacement elements for all of our filters so we may assist in keeping your system running optimally.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com