August 2015 – Page 7

In late Fall of 2013 I traveled to Mexico to meet with our Central and South American distributors. We spent several days together, discussing products, applications, varying business climates in differing countries, marketing, selling, and a variety of other topics. It was great to meet face-to-face, and after returning to the States, it’s been a pleasure to see these distributors work through applications and solve problems for their customers using EXAIR products. The problems solved with our products range from blow-off and cooling needs, to scrap removal and vacuuming.

The photos below, taken by our distributor in Colombia, show Ferric Oxide (Fe₂O₃), a fairly benign form of rust, accumulating around large wire spools. These spools are stored outside, and the rust is not detrimental to any processes, per se, but the accumulation around the spools is problematic. The end user needed a way to vacuum the debris that was not only effective, but reliable for long-term use – the electrically driven vacuums they had been using on-site were failing after a short time.

steel dust vacuum 1 — Large flakes which need to be vacuumed

steel dust vacuum 3 — Steel fines which need to be vacuumed

steel dust vacuum 2 — Problematic area of this application

As I discussed the application with our distributor, we went over the variables which would ultimately determine the correct system and model number. The larger, more flakey material (shown in the first photo above) is suitable for use with a Chip Vac, Heavy Duty Dry Vac, or Heavy Duty HEPA Vac system. But, the second photo showing the finer steel dust led us to refine this list to only the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac.

The reason for omitting our other vacuum systems and focusing solely on the HEPA unit, was the potential for airborne dust and a desire to offer the end user a removable and cleanable component to the vacuum system.

The HEPA filter of our Heavy Duty HEPA Vac system will filter the incoming material to 0.3 micron level with a 99.97% efficiency rate. Filtration at this level is suitable for small particles such as the steel dust in this application. And, the Heavy Duty HEPA Vac system uses a serviceable pre-filter which can be cleaned and reused as necessary.

These features, coupled with the longevity found in our vacuum systems (no moving parts = no wear points or components to break down over time), provided an excellent solution for this customer.

If you have an application in need of a compressed air based solution, give us a call.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

I received a call about a blow-off operation. The customer had an automated machine that would thread, cut, and stack a 1” (25mm) diameter pipe. The operation was ran by a CNC lathe that would thread both ends and cut the pipe to length. An automatic arm would feed the next piece of pipe into the lathe, and at the same time, push the finished piece of pipe through the chuck. Another robot arm would grab the finished pipe and stack it. The reason for his call was that he was losing coolant from his CNC machine. He used the coolant for the cutting and threading operations. When the CNC lathe would cut the pipe to length, the coolant would leak into the center of the pipe. As it was being brought out of the machine, coolant would leak onto the floor. It was a safety issue as well as the cost to replace the coolant. He wanted to keep as much coolant inside his machine during his operation.

The customer believed that he would need two types of products to solve his problem. He was looking at a Standard Air Wipe to remove the coolant from the outside of the pipe, and a Super Air Nozzle to remove the coolant from inside the pipe. In getting more details about the application, we were able to determine that we could use just the Standard Air Wipe. With the design of the EXAIR Air Wipes, a 30 degree angle of compressed air is directed toward the center in a 360 degree air pattern, just like a cone. This design allowed us to address both problems. The primary function of the Air Wipe would be to blow the coolant from the outside of the pipe. As it passed through the chuck to the robot arm for stacking, the Air Wipe would blow the coolant off the pipe and back into the machine. The second function of the Air Wipe was to keep the coolant from leaking through the center of the pipe. With the finished pipe being stacked, the conical air flow would blow into the open cavity of the chuck and right into the center of the pipe. As the new pipe was being cut, the Air Wipe would increase the pressure inside the pipe, keeping the coolant from seeping into the center.

Air Wipe - How it works — Air Wipe – How it works

I recommended model 2482, 2” (51mm) Standard Air Wipe Kit. The kit included the Air Wipe, shim set, filter separator, and pressure regulator. This would insure long lasting operations with the ability to control the amount of compressed air being used. Here at EXAIR, we enjoy solving problems. I was able to correct his problem with one product item, instead of two or more. It is not just about the amount of sales, but about helping our customer in the most effective way. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of your applications, you can contact the Application Engineers at EXAIR.

John Ball Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Month: August 2015

Vacuuming Fe2O3 with an EXAIR Heavy Duty HEPA Vac System

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Cleaning with an Air Wipe

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