Month: February 2013

A Lathe in Need

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

Lathe in need of Super Air Knife

One of our customers contacted me this week about a potential application for an Air Knife.  The problem they were facing was the uncontrolled accumulation of chips inside of a lathe.  As the chips freely bounced around, some would land on the cylinder rod used to automatically open and close the lathe door.  These chips would enter the cylinder rod bore, causing poor/slow operation, and eventually failure.

For such a problem, we considered two solutions.  The first, was to use (2) 18” Super Air Knives (aluminum) to create an air curtain.  This could eliminate the need for the door and the robot which loads the lathe could enter as needed, but this presents obvious safety concerns.  The second was to use a 12” Super Air Knife above the spindle head, and aim any chips created towards a designated collection point.

The later seemed to be the much better solution, but the only concern was a potential “crash” with various items that enter the machining center.  Fortunately the force created by a Super Air Knife is more than sufficient to direct the chips even from a distance of 12”.

This application concern was remedied using a Super Air Knife, an integral component to our Super Ion Air Knives, which are used to eliminate static.  If you have an application which may potentially benefit from these products, or any others we manufacture, give us a call.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@exair.com
@EXAIR_LE

An American Success Story

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I saw a story in the news recently about the Shale Gas Boom – it seems that developments in drilling & mining technology over the past few years have made access to shale gas a more economically feasible option. By that, I mean, it’s always been there, but until these newer technologies were developed, it’s always cost more to get usable gas out of the ground than it was worth.

I don’t know that a story gets more “American:” Ingenuity and know-how are leading to profitability, profitability will lead to industry growth, industry growth means not only more job opportunities, but also less dependence on imported energy sources, which is something our government leaders have been talking about my whole life. There are tons of political positions impacting this, but, even if that discussion was within the context of this blog, I still wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.

Which brings me to my point: I’ve always considered myself to be patriotic. I served six years in the United States Navy. I never miss an opportunity to vote, especially when the only items on the ballot are school or municipal levies, county/state representative primaries, etc.  I pay my taxes and abide by the law, even the speed limit (usually.)

Those are the ways that I have, and continue, to live out my patriotism. But it all comes from an engrained belief – and attitude – that I want to succeed personally, within a successful organization, in an environment provided by a successful nation. I believe this applies to my actions and involvement in my home, my community, my sons’ Scout units (it’s been a while since I mentioned Boy Scouts in my blog…I’m feeling much better now…), and, of course, my job. So, naturally, I’m always striving for improvement; looking for that “next level of incompetence” that I wrote about a while back.

That’s one of the reasons why I like working at EXAIR so much. We’re always looking to develop new products that will use compressed air more efficiently, safely, and effectively. This leads to profitability for the owners of our products, and for us. It’s what has made us THE market leader in engineered compressed air products, and inspires us to maintain that reputation by continuing to envision, engineer, and introduce new products with those principles of efficiency, safety, and effectiveness in mind. If it’s good for our company and yours, then it’s good for you and me, and THAT, my friend, is success.  Good luck with your American Success Story – I’m having a blast living out mine!

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
(513)671-3322 local
(800)923-9247 toll free
(513)671-3363 fax
Web: http://www.exair.com
Blog: http://blog.exair.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/exair_rb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair

EXAIR Heavy Duty Line Vac Re-Loads Rainfall Sander

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

In the world of lost wax casting a wax pattern is created and then fused to a wax runner system along with multiples of other patterns or perhaps the same pattern. Once the “tree” of wax patterns is created, the tree is coated with a fine material to reproduce fine details in the pattern and is then “stuccoed” with a coarse, ceramic material. It is this application of the coarse ceramic material process with which my most recent customer needed help. It was not so much the application of the ceramic material to the wax pattern but the refilling of the rainfall sander which is the tool that actually applies the ceramic to the patterns. Below is a photo of a rainfall sander for your reference.

As you can see a fine, water fall-like flow of sand dropping down from above provides the means for the “stuccoing” process.

rain fall sanderHDLV

The problem is that the hoppers for these machines can be in excess of 7 feet above the floor and require replenishing. The idea is to put just the right amount of material into the hopper without over-filling which has been a problem in the past with the customer dumping by hand over-head.

The solution the customer was looking for was the 1-1/2” Heavy Duty Line Vac to be used in a moveable cart-based hopper filling tool with a gallows-type over arm which can be placed above the hopper of each machine to provide the metered filling.

The reasons for picking the Heavy Duty version of the EXAIR Line Vac was for its robust resistance to abrasion from high speed materials moving through the throat area. Heavy Duty Line Vac is made of a high grade, tool steel with a proprietary surface treatment to harden the material even further to make the unit highly resistant to abrasion. The Heavy Duty Line Vac has been used with such materials as silica sand, ground glass and ground garnet for hopper replenishment in abrasive blasting applications, so it could handle the stucco material quite nicely. The higher conveying capacity of the Heavy Duty Line Vac also made quick work of the material being conveyed to make for unobtrusive service.

Neal Raker, EXAIR
nealraker@exair.com

Doomsday Prepper or Just Being Prepared?

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I watched “Doomsday Preppers” for the first time on TV. My initial take was that these folks have a screw loose. But then I remember the pictures of  the devastation Hurricane Sandy caused. It was cold and people were without food and shelter. Mobility was limited due to fallen trees and gasoline unavailable. Many of the residents were overcome with anxiety and mental breakdown.sandy

When hurricane Ike came through Cincinnati we lost power for several days. Lucky for us it was mild weather so shelter was not an issue and we still had water service. The worst was overcoming the temptation to open the fridge to get a beer.

This really got me to thinking. What would I do if I were thrust into a real dire situation. What if that meteorite had landed in Texas and taken out the refineries. A major disruption in fuel supplies would cripple the trucking industry, without gas farmers could not harvest the crops, businesses could not open their doors, without a job to go to, people would not have the money to buy supplies. OMG! , I am starting to sound like a “prepper”! In all reality, one does not have to go to the extremes but at least be prepared.

How well is your facility prepared for the impending heat this summer? Will you wait to experience a shutdown because of overheated control panels, or you preparing now for panel cooling?  EXAIR has a complete line of Cabinet Coolers , to cool your electronic enclosures, that have no moving parts and use compressed air for power . Now is the time to be thinking of beating the heat. Feel welcomed to contact one of our application engineers to go over your cooling requirements.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax (513) 671-3363
Web: http://www.exair.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair