Month: November 2013

Chip Vac Clears Cast Iron Chips from Fixtures

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

On a recent trip to India, I had the opportunity to visit a few of our end user clients in the field to see how they were using our products. On one occasion, we visited a tractor assembly plant. One department in the plant was responsible for machining the finished surfaces of the cast iron parts that made up the sub-frame of the tractor. The surfaces that mated together needed to have a finish cut made on them so that the gaskets used could seal properly on a flat surface.

The original problem was that once a part was completed with the machining cycle, the cast iron chips remained in the fixture that holds the part. This material interfered with proper mounting of the next raw part into the machining fixture. The customer then tried the EXAIR Chip Vac System to remove the chips from their fixture between each cycle. The Chip Vac System performed excellently for this task. And so the customer decided to up-fit all of their machining centers with Chip Vac Systems.

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The advantages of the Chip Vac System in this case were:

  1. They could turn their existing 55 gallon, open top drum in to a collection tank by applying the Chip Vac lid and filter assembly. The drums were not being used prior to applying Chip Vac, so it was viewed as a good re-purposing of the drums.
  2. There are no moving parts to wear out with the Chip Vac. Motors, brushes and impellers used on traditional electric vacs simply do not stand up to industrial use as in these cases.
  3. The sound level produced by a Chip Vac is far lower than an electric vacuum. There are presently no such ministry of health rule in India which govern this issue, but the operators were definitely happy about less noise and so was the shop foreman.
  4. The 10 ft. hose easily reached inside the machine center to allow for quick and easy access to the fixture for vacuuming task.

EXAIR is a company who developed our Industrial Housekeeping Products out of need in our machine shop to have reliable products which were convenient to use. It is always good to see when others who have similar needs, use our product for the same kinds of problems we encounter when working in our own production areas.

Our Industrial Housekeeping Products consist of a wide range of products which include: Chip Vac, Heavy Duty Dry Vac, Reversible Drum Vac, Chip Trapper, Heavy Duty HEPA Vac and last but not least, Vac-U-Gun and Deep Hole Vac-U-Gun systems.

We are here to assist you in selecting the right product for your application. Please call us today to discuss your specific application needs.

Neal Raker, Application Engineer / International Sales
nealraker@exair.com

Tall Fences May Make Good Neighbors, But it’s Bad for Business

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

Well, my wife and I moved into the new house, so last week I started my first home improvement project.  Of course, there is the typical moving jobs of changing locks, painting rooms and putting up shelves or photos.  Those projects were enough to keep me busy for a couple of weeks, but with the last few weekends of good weather for the year, I decided that I was going to install a fence.  I got up on Saturday and took the trip to big box store to buy supplies.  I left there late in the morning with a lighter wallet and a truck full of pressure treated lumber, concrete, and a post hole digger.  I spent the rest of my Saturday digging post holes, which wouldn’t have been so hard, except for the old house had some bricks buried in the back yard, and a garage footer that was precisely where I decided to put my last fence post.4RailPostRail

As I was digging my fence posts, I was contemplating my station in life.  How did I come to a place where I need to separate myself from my neighbors by building a fence?  The most pressing reason for building the fence was to keep my dog in the yard.  He likes to chase things that are in his backyard, which I encourage. The problem is once the cat, squirrel or bird has left the yard, he still chases it into the neighbors yard.  After I find him in the neighbors yard, I have to apologize.  Since meeting several neighbors this way, let me say that it is not the greatest way to introduce yourself.

The icy stare of the neighbors after my dog had treed their cat convinced me that the old proverb, “tall fences make good neighbors” might not be exactly right.  I think it should be rewritten as “tall fences keep you from being a bad neighbor”, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it.  Many people have mistakenly attributed that phrase to Robert Frost, but according to YourDictionary.com and Wolfgang Mider, the author of “‘Good fences make good neighbours: history and significance of an ambiguous proverb’”, a version of this proverb exists in many different cultures and languages. Consequently, no one person can claim to have said this. Mendingwall

Robert Frost actually seems to be advocating against fences in his poem, Mending Wall, or at least arguing that things aren’t just as simple as the proverb makes it out to be.  I will let you read the poem to judge for yourself.  At EXAIR, instead of mending fences, we are trying to tear them down.  We make it a priority to be accessible to our customers at every turn.  Obviously, we post on this blog regularly, and as you see from my twitter handle at the bottom of this post, I (and every other Application Engineer) can be reached on twitter.  We make it a priority to be present on Facebook, Google+, and our Website.  Even still we are available everyday from 8 AM to 5 PM EST on the telephone at 1-800-903-9247, through email at Techelp@EXAIR.com, or online chat.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
davewoerner@exair.com
@EXAIR_DW

Do You Know What Time Of The Year It Is?

Published on by Leave a comment

Do You Know What Time Of The Year It Is? No not thanksgiving. No not Christmas. It’s static electricity season.

As temperatures drop and we heat our buildings we dry out the air. Low humidity air is less conductive so its ability to drain off static charges is lessened. Also we don soft fluffy warm clothing made of synthetic fibers. As we move about and rub against surfaces, we generate a static charge.

Most of the time we just experience an annoying jolt. But in this video, we see that a static discharge can be extremely dangerous. Notice the girl has on a sweater. as she gets in and out of her car she is sliding across the seat generating a healthy static charge. The results could have been catastrophic if it had not been for her level headed response.

Static electricity In the manufacturing sector can pose serious problems as well. Static charges can affect instrumentation, jam up parts feeders, attract dust and debris.

EXAIR  has a complete line of static eliminators to fit most any application.

Feel welcomed to call our application engineers who will be happy to assist you in picking out the right product for your application.

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

Movember Is Awesome!

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

In case you don’t know, today is the first day of Movember.  This is a month that some men decide to start with a clean-shaven face and grow out the mustache until the end of November to help raise awareness for prostate/testicular cancer. I, sadly, I am not participating this year, mainly because I am afraid my one-year-old daughter wouldn’t know who I am without a beard and my three-year-old would most likely want me to grow it back…immediately.  I grew my beard a couple years ago to help celebrate Movember and I liked it enough to keep it. But here is a link to a couple of my past Movember shenanigans. To give you some idea on what Movember is about, check the video below.

So that is one way that the month of November is awesome.  Here at EXAIR we like to celebrate November as well.  That’s right, we have not only made this month better one way, but two.  How you may ask?  First, we have extended the Safety Air Gun promotion which offers a free Chip Shield with the purchase of select Safety Air Guns.   The picture below is a link to that promotion.

Chip Shield Promo

Second, today marks the first day of our Super Air Knife promotion.   When you purchase a Super Air Knife and use the promotion from the link below, you will receive a free Soft Grip Safety Air Gun.

Super Air Knife Promo

So not only is November raising awareness on men’s health, but EXAIR is giving you two more reasons to like this month, a FREE Chip Shield with Safety Air Gun purchase and/or a FREE Soft Grip Safety Air Gun when purchasing a Super Air Knife.  If you have any questions on the promo’s or your compressed air system, feel free to contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF