How To Hold Up Just About Anything

My youngest asked me if we had any duct tape the other night. I got a swell of pride from the confirmation that I had indeed been successful in teaching him at least half of the basics of mechanical repair:

WD40 Duct Tape Flow Chart

However, he’s eleven, and I distinctly remember being an eleven year old boy, so I (prudently) asked what he wanted it for. He said he wanted to hang some posters in his room. Two things popped into my head:

1. I (or, even worse, his mother) would eventually be responsible for removing the duct tape, and
b. I know what duct tape can do when you try to remove it from drywall (again, from my experience as a former eleven year old boy),

I suggested that we use a more appropriate method, like Scotch tape. He was OK with that.

At EXAIR, we get questions from customers all the time about how to properly install/mount/support our products. Some are fairly straight-forward:

*Super Air Amplifiers (up to 4”) have an integral 2-bolt flange for secure mounting.

*Line Vacs (except Light Duty) are available with a rigid mounting bracket…these come with the Kit, or can be purchased separately.

*Cold Guns, Adjustable Spot Coolers, and Mini Coolers are supplied with magnetic bases for quick and easy mounting & positioning.

*We have a brand-new mounting bracket for our Atomizing Spray Nozzles…they have no fasteners; the Spray Nozzle simply “snaps” in, and out, as needed.

*The Ion Air Cannon comes with a sturdy stand for easy wall, bench, or machine mounting.

*Modular E-Vacs are block design, and have a series of mounting holes for convenient mounting.

*Even our Soft Grip Safety Air Guns have a built-in hook, for easy storage when not in use.

Many other products, like our Super Air Nozzles, Small/Medium Vortex Tubes, and our Adjustable Air Amplifiers (to name a few) are lightweight and compact enough to be secure when installed on properly supported compressed air piping. For added convenience, though, we offer value-added accessories such as Stay Set Hoses, Magnetic Bases, and Swivel Fittings as well.

Perhaps the most versatile product, as far as mounting is concerned, is the Super Air Knife. The 3” unit can actually be secured in place by properly supported piping, like the above mentioned lighter weight products. All Super Air Knives have ¼”-20 tapped holes, on 2” centers, along the entire length – these provide an easy way to mount to any nearby sturdy structure. If you’re mounting one over a conveyor belt, you can even support them by plumbing the compressed air with hard pipe to both ends. For quick, convenient, and easily re-positionable mounting, our Universal Air Knife Mounting Systems are just the thing.

These are just a few of the installation options available for some of our products. If you have questions or concerns about how to mount an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product, give us a call…we’re eager to help!

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

Super Air Knives Used To Deflect Fumes and Smoke from Furnace

One of our overseas distributors had an interesting application in a foundry. Their customer has a large furnace that opens at various times for a variety of reasons. When the furnace doors open, smoke and fumes come rolling out of the furnace. The customer has a large vent hood type system to aid in removal of these fumes and smoke. Unfortunately the vent does not capture all the smoke when released. So, the customer devised a plan to mount (4) model 110042SS 42” Stainless Steel Super Air knives onto large masts to get them up high enough to create a “ceiling” of air that would deflect the smoke into the vent hood for removal. Following are a couple of photos of the set up.

SAK2 sak1

Below is a photo of the control cabinet housing the filter and regulator equipment.

SAK3

Previously, the customer had nothing in place to assist the vent hood. Now they do and are quite happy with the result.  There were some small system adjustments that needed to be made, but once fully operational, the Super Air Knifes performed well to help reduce the overall pollution seen within the area.

Neal Raker, Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

Thermodynamics of Panel Cooling

With more and more electronics being utilized in manufacturing areas, problems with heat and debris have become more of an issue compared to old school hard switching. When sizing up panel coolers, most customers think that it is the hot environment that is the heat load. Rightly so, it does present a heat load but its greatest effect is preventing heat generated by the internal electronics from getting out. Thus the inside panel temperature will be whatever ambient is plus whatever heat cannot permeate through the walls of the panel.

Energy, in this case heat energy, moves from a high energy source towards a lower energy source. The rate at which it will travel depends on the thermal conductivity of the material that it has to travel through and the temperature differential between one side and the other. Fiberglass batting has a low level of conductivity which is why it is used to insulate our homes. Electrical panels are made of steel which has a higher rate of thermal conductivity but still has some resistance.

To better understand the dynamics of the thermal process, lets assume the panel is not operating so there is no heat being generated inside. The internal temperature of the panel will be the same as the temperature outside the panel. Now when the panel is turned on, internal components begin to generate heat. Some of this heat is able to permeate through the panel walls at some given rate. As the heat energy being generated exceeds the rate it is radiated, the temperature inside the panel will rise.

Panel Cooling

When we do panel cooling calculations, we ask for the temperature inside the panel, the temperature just outside the panel, and the approximate panel dimensions. From that data we can calculate the amount of heat that is trapped inside.

We are coming up to the summer season and with it, overheating control panels. All of us at one time or another have opened the doors and positioned a fan to cool the electronics. This is not only a safety violation but coats the electronics with contaminants.

ETC CC

EXAIR has a cost effective alternative using compressed  air to introduce cool dry refrigerated air into the panel and exhaust the hot air out through the cooler itself. This provides a closed loop system preventing any condensation and debris from getting in.

Now is the time to start preparing for the summer heat wave they are predicting.  Give our application engineers a call with your data and they will calculate your cooling requirements. Or you can go online and fill out a form  and submit it electronically.

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

Video Blog: Digital Flow Meter Software Installation

Check out my video below walking you through the installation of the Digital Flow Meter Software.  And if needed, here is a link to the first video showing how to install the data logger onto the digital flow meter.  Enjoy!

Lee Evans

Application Engineer

LeeEvans@EXAIR.com

@EXAIR_LE