Boy are my fingers tired today… Here’s a video with a quick Vortex Tube demonstration and some common applications we solve with them.
Kirk Edwards
Application Engineer
kirkedwards@exair.com
Month: March 2011
The Bundle of Sticks
An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. He ordered his servants to bring in a bundle of sticks, and said to his eldest son: “Break it.” The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the bundle. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. “Untie the bundle,” said the father, “and each of you take a stick.” When they had done so, he called out to them: “Now, break,” and each stick was easily broken. “You see my meaning,” said their father.
This fable, from Aesop himself, defines the importance of a little help.
Asking for help doesn’t always come natural for me. In fact, quite the opposite is usually closer to the truth. Which is a real shame, because in my personal and professional environments, I’m surrounded by more than capable people who are more than eager to provide assistance.
The other day, I took a call from a customer, asking me how to properly size a Cabinet Cooler system. Since it’s part of my job to size Cabinet Cooler systems, I told him what data I needed. He gave it to me, and I told him what system he needed, nice and simple like. He said there were several different installations where he needed one, and asked how he could size them – he didn’t want to trouble me. I jokingly (well, half-jokingly) told him there were WAY worse things I could be doing than heat load calculations, but seriously, I was happy to do it. It’s not just because it’s part of my job. And it’s not just because I like to help people. And it really wasn’t to avoid another less pleasant task.
There’s something to be said for job satisfaction; no doubt about it. Who doesn’t like to reap the fruits of a project well done? There’s also something to be said for applying one’s training, experience, and acumen to achieve the best possible results. I had also told the caller that there wasn’t anything hard about the calculations we do to size a Cabinet Cooler system – it’s a relatively simple formula. However, since it’s one that we work with every day (and more often than that, now that we’re heading into warmer weather), we’re in tune not only with the data, but the details of the operation. We may recognize anomalies or abnormalities where a different solution may be best for the application.
Asking for help doesn’t come natural for me, but I’m starting to think more about it since that conversation with our new customer the other day. How much more might I get done, and how much less might I screw up, if I learn to lean a little towards others with more knowledge and expertise in certain areas? I think it’ll be OK, as long as I remember to pick up a bundle of stick to break myself every now and then.
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
(513)671-3322 local
(800)923-9247 toll free
(513)671-3363 fax
Web: www.exair.com
Blog: http://blog.exair.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/exair_rb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair
All You Wanted to Know About Coolants
Coolants are used in the metalworking industry whether it be cutting, grinding, bending, stretching or stamping to perform two functions:
- Provide lubricity to reduce friction and the heat generated by it.
- Dissipate and carry away the heat from the tooling and the part.
To say that this is all it does, would be a gross over simplification. Material, tooling, and tolerances all pose their own unique requirements. The type of coolant and the additives in them address these specific and complex machining issues.
Types of machining coolants
Straight Oil (100% petroleum or mineral oil)
These may have additives designed to improve specific properties. For severe applications, straight oils may contain wetting agents (typically up to 20% fatty oils) and extreme pressure (EP) additives such as sulfur, chlorine, or phosphorous compounds. These additives improve the oil’s wettability; that is, the ability of the oil to coat the cutting tool, work piece and metal fines. These additives also enhance the anti-welding properties to control BUE (build up edge on the tool).
Advantages – Excellent lubricity, good rust protection, good sump life, rancid resistant
Disadvantages – Poor heat dissipation, increased risk of smoking, misting, and fire, oil film on work piece requires subsequent wash operation, limited to low-speed, severe cutting operations
Soluble Oil
Petroleum oil (60%-90%) and water are mixed together with emulsifiers and other chemicals to form oil-in-water emulsion making a milky solution. Normal milky emulsions have particle size ~ 2 to 50 microns in diameter.
Advantages – Good lubrication, Improved cooling capabilities, General-purpose product for light to heavy-duty operations
Disadvantages – More susceptible to rust problems, Susceptible to tramp oil contamination and bacterial growth, Susceptible to evaporation losses and may form precipitates on machine
Synthetic
Synthetic Fluids contain no petroleum or mineral oil base and instead are formulated from alkaline inorganic and organic compounds along with additives for corrosion inhibition. They are generally used in a diluted form (3 to 10%). Synthetic fluids often provide the best cooling performance among all cutting fluids.
Advantages of synthetic fluids: very good cooling ability, good lubrication properties, good stability in hard water, good corrosion protection, low mist, easy handling, cleaning and maintenance.
Disadvantages of synthetic fluids: some toxicity, easily contaminated by foreign oils, relatively high cost.
Semi Synthetic Fluids
These are similar to soluble oils since they are water-based emulsions. However, there is usually 5 to 20% mineral oil emulsified into the water to form a micro emulsion. The emulsion particle size is 0.1 to 0.01 microns in diameter.
Semi-synthetic fluids combine advantages (and disadvantages at some extent) of mineral emulsions and synthetic fluids: They have better corrosion protection than synthetic fluids and better cooling and wetting capabilities, easier handling and maintenance than mineral emulsions.
Disadvantages of semi-synthetic fluids: misting, relatively poor stability in hard water, contaminated by foreign oils, some toxicity.
Maintaining the cleanliness of your coolant will extend its life and prevent health hazards. Using the EXAIR Chip Trapper to pump out your machine sump on a scheduled basis will filter out problem causing debris. Watch a video of the chip trapper in use.
Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax (513) 671-3363
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair
How to Keep Water Off Your Camera Lens
Over the year that I have worked at EXAIR so far I have had a fair share of calls come in from movie production / filming crews that are looking for ways to keep the camera lenses clean and clear of water during the wet shoots they are doing. Several film houses and production crews have had exceptional results using our Air Knives.
Let’s say you are shooting a film in the rain, or a pool shot, anything involving liquid flying toward the lens of the camera. You will probably already have your camera in a protective case, or poncho, to keep it from getting wet but you can’t put anything over the lens to protect it from getting droplets on the lens which will ruin the shot. (Similar to this video of a not so fun track day.)
What the crews will do is mount our Air Knife across the top of the camera lens blowing downward to create a barrier of air for the lens. This won’t disturb the shot or the focus like a protective sheet of Lexan or glass could. What the air stream will do is help keep all the droplets off the lens and blow the water away from it. A Super Air Knife or Full Flow Air Knife typically works just fine and doesn’t consume a lot of compressed air or nitrogen. Which is generally present on most shots or you can get it very easily from a rented compressor. If the video above would have been a filmed shot from a stationary point the film would have been nice and clear if an EXAIR Air Knife would have been present to blow off the rain. It could have even turned out something like this.
So if you are filming a movie and debris or water on the lens is a problem just give us a call. We’ll help you size the appropriate Air Knife for the lens you are using.
Oh yeah. That second video is me.
Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF