Month: January 2014

Spool of Dispair

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

I had an application this week that showed the difference in power of HP1126 nozzle from an 1126.  A spool of nylon thread needed to be pushed from a ramp onto its side on top of a conveyor that would pass the spool under a bar code reading station.  I had my own skepticism if the 1″ Flat nozzle would be able to topple the 8″ diameter spool that weighs 3 pounds, but the customer agreed to try the 1126 Flat nozzle for the application, but she also purchased a HP1126 in case she needed more force.  It was very little risk to her if it didn’t work, because of EXAIR’s 30 Day Unconditional Guarantee.

guarantee

She set the system up, but could not get the spool to fall over.  She called in with the results and how it was set up so we could go through the troubleshooting steps. We asked the customer to put a pressure gauge on a pipe tee just before the nozzle.  The inlet pressure was 80 PSIG at the gauge, so we had a good air supply.  They changed the angle and position of the air blow off, but still no luck.  Fortunately for our customers, EXAIR’s flat Super Air Nozzles (1″ or 2″ wide) are the only flat nozzle family to allow for adjusting the air gap and force from the nozzle. In this case the customer bought one of each nozzle, a standard force and a high power version. But they could have chosen to simply purchase additional shims which can be changed to produce different levels of force. EXAIR’s flat nozzle family have shims from .005″ through .030″ in order to solve the broadest range of applications. Sure enough the nozzle the customer was using only had a 0.015″ shim.  The 1126 Flat Nozzle features a 0.015″ and the HP 1126 uses a 0.025″ shim. The next step in the process was to try  the HP1126 high power version. The larger shim in the second nozzle made all the difference in the world.  The spool moved easily off of the ramp onto the conveyor belt.

1126

If you have any questions or have your own application that you are doubtful of, feel free to contact us.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
Davewoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW

What Else Do I Need?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

This question comes up a good amount when a customer calls in and asks about an EXAIR Product.   What else do I need in order to get this thing up and running.   It will depend some on the application the customer is trying to solve and some on the equipment the customer may (or may not) have in house, and some on how convenient and easy the customer would like to make the whole process. Let us look at the Industrial Housekeeping products, more specifically the Reversible Drum Vac Systems. (Mainly because this is the most recent product I have had a customer ask what else he needs to buy.)

The customer had already chosen a 55 gallon system (other systems available include a 30 and 110 gallon). When we look at the three different 55 gallon systems we offer, there is a clear difference in the number of items included in each kit.  The #6196 is a basic Reversible Drum Vac Kit.  For a unit like this, all you need to do is to provide a compressed air source and a tightly sealed 55 gallon steel drum. The picture below will show each item that is included in the kit.

6196

If you are worried about some liquid spills on the floor and you would like to get some extra pick up tools and a dolly for the steel drum you are providing, then the #6296 Deluxe Reversible Drum Vac System is for you.   It will include everything from the basic system plus, a drum dolly, Spill Recovery Kit, magnetic tool holder, and extra plastic tools.  Again, the only items you will need to supply are the air compressor, and the tightly sealed 55 gallon drum.

6296

The final solution that EXAIR offers is everything you need, the whole kit and caboodle if you will. This kit prevents sourcing compressed air supply line and a closed top drum. It’s all in the box – with the exception of an air compressor. In the #6396 Premium Reversible Drum Vac System you will received the drum, everything in the Deluxe Kit, but some of the tools that were plastic get upgraded to aluminum tools.   This gives you the complete solution with a few clicks on our website.

6396

Throughout all of our product lines we give you the option to choose the best solution and most convenient package to get the problem solved quickly. We hold stock on all of our products (and accessories) so we can ship same day when we receive an order by 3:00 pm est.  We have the necessary accessories for you to get our units in and simply plug them in to your compressed air supply.  Why go to multiple sites or vendors when they are all in one place.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

EXAIR Products Solve Problems

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

Although we’re in the grasp of another cold spell in the Midwest, some overseas users of EXAIR products are experiencing overheat conditions of their electrical control panels.  So in the span of a single day we’ll help an end user in the United Arab Emirates determine which Cabinet Cooler will solve their overheating problem, and then walk through an interesting application with an end user in Connecticut wanting to use the hot air exhaust of a Vortex Tube to heat a strip of glue.  Like many customers who would like to use the hot air from a Vortex Tube, we discussed the fact that in order to gain workable amounts of hot air from a Vortex Tube the bulk of the inlet air must be exhausted. We generally recommend against the inefficient use of our products and there were certainly better ways to produce hot air for this application (we can’t win ’em all).

Foam Static
The application in this image needed to remove static while conveying small styrofoam beads. Over time, the beads collect on the dispenser, will not flow properly, and pose a risk to shocking the operators. The recommended EXAIR solution for this application was to install our Ion Air Gun to be used as needed by the operator.

Combine this with the numerous applications needing EXAIR Static Eliminators, such as what is shown in the photo above, and the repertoire of EXAIR products is quite formidable.  And, it makes it all the more important to confer with an EXAIR Application Engineer when considering use of an EXAIR product in a new application.

To see how our products can safely and efficiently improve your application or process, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Pitchers And Catchers Report Today!

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Just so you know, I’m not talking about anyone’s favorite Major League Baseball team; I’m talking about my oldest son’s Knothole team, the Titans. He wants to try his hand (or, rather, arm) at pitching this year, so we’re hitting the tunnel tonight. Since this is their last year of Knothole ball, the coach encouraged anyone who might consider pitching in High School to come out. Personally, after hearing that it was minus 4 degrees this morning on the radio weather report, I’m feeling warmer already, knowing I’ll be in the same room as some guys tossing baseballs here in a few short hours.

This is NOT what the pitching tunnel at our local sports center looks like.
This is NOT what the pitching tunnel at our local sports center looks like.

At EXAIR, nothing reminds us that it’s winter (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) like the number of calls that we get for our Static Eliminators. There’s nothing like some cold – and dry – air to really exacerbate a problem with static charge. If that’s a current predicament for you, give us a call. Not only do we have a wide range of solutions, you can get a free AC Sensor with your order right now.

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I did, however, talk to a customer just yesterday who was looking forward to warmer weather as well. Well, not just looking forward…he was anticipating it, in fact. Last summer, he’d purchased a Cabinet Cooler System that worked out so well, he wanted to outfit a few more electrical enclosures with them. He was concerned, though, that we wouldn’t be able to accurately specify which ones he needed, since it wasn’t hot enough to be a problem right now. I told him that I could help anyway; we just needed some dimensions and air temperatures. If you’re wondering how we do it (like he was), it’s like this. We want to know the following to size up a Cabinet Cooler System properly:

*The dimensions of the enclosure. We need this to calculate the heat transfer surface area.
*The current internal and external air temperatures. The difference in these, regardless of the time of the year, is proportional to the internal heat load: the amount of heat that’s being generated by the components housed in the enclosure. This difference, theoretically, will be roughly the same in January as it is in June.
*The maximum external air temperature. This is the one that lets us figure out the external heat load: the amount of heat attributable to the hottest day of summer.
*Maximum desired internal temperature. You can specify any temperature you want, and we’ll calculate the cooling capacity required, but, just so you know, our published cooling capacities are based on maintaining 95°F (35°C), which provides a good “safety factor” below the maximum of 104°F (40°C) that seems to be popular with manufacturers of electronic components.

In a nutshell, the data we ask for doesn’t rely on anything except the rest of the data. So don’t feel you have to wait on summer to arrive in order to worry about the heat…and what to do about it.  In fact, it might just make you feel warmer on a day like today to think about it!

Soon enough, I’ll be there with the other Titan’s fans, cheering on our boys at the ballpark, and a few (not me, thank you very much) may even complain about the midsummer heat. For now, I’ll take tonight’s brief respite as a reminder that spring is indeed coming.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
(513)671-3322 local
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(513)671-3363 fax
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