Month: January 2011

If You Know Your Parties Extension…

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

When you call EXAIR during operating hours, you don’t hear that pesky recorded message or an automated system.  What do you get? A real person every time you contact us.  This has been something instilled by our founder and is continued today.  I don’t know of many corporations that you can call and always get to talk to a real person.

This was just one of many things a customer mentioned that he couldn’t believe while I was talking to him yesterday.  This gentleman had contacted me for help removing chips on a plastics machining operation.

He was first looking into using our Cold Gun to help cool his cutter in order to help remove the chips from the cutting area, however, the process was all done by hand so applying a Cold Gun would mean making the process more difficult to the operator.  After reviewing pictures and discussing the problem more in depth I recommended an Ion Air Cannon to be placed in the application.  A picture of the chips and their static cling is below.

The problem he was having was a static problem rather than a heat problem.   The plastic chips would buildup along his cutter path and cause the tool to not follow the guide system.  This would result in defective work.   He was not only looking to fix the problem on his current set-up but also on their newly designed method for cutting the same part.  I described to him that another benefit to our Ion Air Cannon is the Power Supply can control more than just one Ion Air Cannon.  This means if he expands his product size not only can his new setup be modular but his blow off and static elimination process can be also.

Then we began to discuss the volume of chips they were producing and how they cling to everything and are a nuisance to cleanup.  I asked if he has any 55 Gallon open top steel drums and he explained he did.  I then showed him the Chip Vac unit and he was amazed.  They had been looking into purchasing and fabricating some type of vacuum system but this fit right in to their needs and had no motors or bearings to worry about.  This means they could now cut good parts and cleanup at the end of the day.   But wait, there’s more.

While reviewing the application photos with the customer he explained to me they were upgrading the process and had been looking into new mechanical clamps to hold the workpiece to the table.  I then explained to him this is a perfect fit for our E-Vac Vacuum Generators.  Not only can he decrease his handling time by not having to install mechanical clamps but he can use them to pick and place the material and also hold the part that is being cut.  All of these processes would all be completed now using compressed air.

He was simply amazed at the number of possibilities we were able to offer to him.   He thought when he was contacting us that we would just sell him what he asked for and move on to the next sale.  This of course was not true.  He learned that not only do we care about our customers but we want them to succeed; and in order to do that, we strive to be your one stop shop.  When you combine our vast product selection, fast shipping, invaluable experience, and exquisite customer service you get a company that not only has the answers but cares about your success too.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_BF

Press Your Luck

Published on by Bryan PetersLeave a comment

As we near the middle of January, two things are front-and-center here in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The first is the ever-present coating of snow on the ground that is conveniently (not really) replenished every week or two so that the landscape is continually hidden from view for what seems like a month (and counting).  No worries, predictions are that a fresh batch is on the way this weekend or next week to keep the streak alive.

The second item of interest these days is the NFL playoffs.  Not that our local team is involved, mind you.  There seems to be a long-standing yet obscure rule somewhere in the hidden catacombs of NFL headquarters that states that the Cincinnati Bengals (I believe that Cleveland and Detroit must also be included) must spend a minimum of five years watching from the sidelines following any playoff appearance, and last year was our year.  No, these days those of us in Cincinnati have no local rooting interest.  Like many people, some of us compete in an online pool where we use our considerable professional football knowledge to predict the outcome of the games all season.

[Note to the IRS – nothing for you to see here.  Move along.]

I’ve done surprisingly well this season, and recently moved up to the #2 position for the year.  With the playoffs and Super Bowl ahead, I am faced with an interesting decision.  I managed to move up the rankings by making aggressive picks – not always choosing the favorite but correctly picking when upsets would happen.  It’s a risky move.  Back when I was in the middle of the pack, I figured I had nothing to lose.  I certainly wasn’t going to win by simply picking the favorites each week because most people do that.  To truly move up and give myself a chance to win, I had to throw caution to the wind and play aggressively.  Using this approach, I was either going to move up or move down, but I certainly wasn’t going to finish in the middle of the pack.  With nothing to lose, I pushed on and after a few weeks, now I’m in the #2 position with the leader in sight.

Now that I have managed to make it near the front of the pack, what do I do?  Do I continue to try to pick aggressively and try to take the lead, or do I play it safe and protect my position?

The radio and television airwaves are filled with former athletes and professional talking heads giving their predictions for these games and their “expert” analysis on the factors that will influence the outcomes.  One theme seems clear – it’s too late to change who you are at this stage.  There is no point trying to change your tendencies in any significant fashion because those tendencies got these teams to where they are right now – in the playoffs with a chance to win a championship.

That’s a viewpoint that I can agree with wholeheartedly.  If you are out front, the easiest way to get caught is to stop pushing yourself, slow down, and fall back to the pack.

Here at EXAIR, we are still pushing ourselves as hard as ever.  Proof can be seen in our new Catalog 24, which was released last week.  You can request your copy here.

Catch us if you can.

With that thought in mind, I think I’ll play out the season the same way that I have the past few weeks – by pressing my luck.

No Whammies!

Bryan Peters
President
bryanpeters@exair.com

Winter Static is on the Rise

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Winter time brings with it many good things; seasons greetings, the happy new year, warm fireplaces and some folks even like snow (I am one of them). Winter can also bring some bad things like difficult driving conditions, shoveling driveways and an increase of production problems caused by static. 

Did you know that moisture has the ability to reduce a static charge from a surface. Moisture in the air during the summer months is typically higher than it is in the winter, and the higher humidity of the summer can keep minor static problems at bay. But as winter brings the colder, drier air more static related problems arise in production facilities.

Static also comes from insulating materials exposed to friction, vibration or separation. Materials like glass, plastic and paper are good insulators and can create big static charges. As we see more plastic materials being used in production environments we also see more opportunities for static to generate. 

A solution is found by using one of EXAIR’s Static Eliminators. All of our static eliminators use the same technology and power supplies to generate static eliminating ions. These ions can be delivered with an air stream from one of our products like a Super Ion Air Knife or Ion Air Cannon. We also provide non air assisted static eliminators in the form of our Ion Bars and Ion Point.

Air Assisted products can remove larger static charges, charges which are farther away, traveling at high-speed or hard to reach due to some interference. The non-air products are for slow speed applications where they are positioned within 2″ of the statically charged surface.

Fundamentally, the EXAIR static eliminators all work the same way. The difference in the products is generally the shape of the air/ion cloud they produce. The size and shape of the problematic area will typically have an effect on which static eliminator is chose for the job.

We have a broad choice of static eliminating products to cover varied applications. If you need any assistance in choosing the best product or have any questions about static and your application, we will be happy to help.

Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com

New Year, New Catalog, New Ventures

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Now that we are all back in the office and everyone is finally weaning themselves off the holiday snacks, we can catch up with work.  Here at EXAIR we just launched our new catalog, it’s the largest catalog yet and by far the best looking since I have been here.  While the catalog is a printed catalog that only gets released once a year we are constantly making changes to the sections and updating our PDF versions on our website with all the new products we are releasing. 

While this is the first new catalog release I have been here for it is quite an experience.   The fact that this catalog has four more pages than catalog 23 is just the beginning of the changes we are going through.  This catalog showcases all of our new products that we have had for several months but were not in the printed version yet.  Things like our 110 Gallon Chip Trapper and or our brand new Tool Holder for some of our Industrial Housekeeping Products.   This catalog also contains an entire new section that we have never had before. 

What is the section you ask?   EXAIR is now offering Atomizing Nozzles.  These are liquid nozzles that combine compressed air with liquid and provides you, the customer, with an Atomizing Nozzle. These nozzles create a mist of liquid spray for applications such as washing, cooling, coating and dust control.

What does this mean for you? We can now not only help you blow the moisture off your parts after a rinse or coating but we can also help you to apply that liquid too.  That’s one less website or phone call you need to make to try to find the right part for your application.  Not to mention a lot of the parts will be interchangeable, so if you need to vary your spray pattern you can do it with the simple swap of a nozzle cap. 

While this is only a sampling of the Atomizing Nozzles and their possibilities, you’ll have to wait a little longer for the full scoop.  If you don’t want to wait, you can request a catalog or register at our Knowledge Base to download the catalog sections from our PDF Library.

This is just the beginning of the advancements and I am sure just the tip of the new products we will be releasing this year.  What other company do you know has released a new catalog, new products, and a complete new product line, all within the first week of the year?

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
brianfarno@EXAIR.com