Month: November 2015

EXAIR Cabinet Coolers Nominated for Product of the Year

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

We have just found out that four of our new problem solving products have been nominated for Plant Engineering’s Product of the Year (Please Vote for us HERE).  The first candidate I would like to showcase is in the Automation & Controls category.  The Electronic Temperature Control for Dual Cabinet Cooler Systems effectively turn the compressed air supply to the Cabinet Coolers on and off as needed to maintain a constant temperature inside of a hot enclosure. Using the air intermittently to maintain a specific temperature is the most efficient way to operate.

Please Vote!
Please Vote!

The ETC Dual Cabinet Cooler Systems work in conjunction with EXAIR’s UL listed Cabinet Cooler Systems which provide cooling for your electrical enclosures without the use of refrigerant based coolants or fans.   The Cabinet Cooler Systems utilize a compressed air driven Vortex Tube which uses compressed air. This cold compressed air is exhausted into the enclosure which results in a cool working environment for your electronics. Warm air from inside the enclosure is vented safely back out of the cabinet through built in exhausts and the compressed air is only utilized when the internal air temperature reaches the digitally set temperature on the ETC.

How the EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System Works
How the EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System Works

Another added benefit of the ETC on the Cabinet Cooler system is the real time readout of the internal air temperature of your enclosures.  This is on top of the push button set point which will give you a +/-2°F ambient temperature inside of your enclosure.

EXAIR ETC Dual Cabinet Cooler System
EXAIR ETC Dual Cabinet Cooler System

The ETC Dual Cabinet Cooler Systems are designed for larger heat loads ranging from 3,400 BTU/hr. to 5,600 BTU/hr.   The units are available in NEMA 12, NEMA 4, and NEMA 4X ratings.   This means whether you are in a fairly clean environment or a dirty, hot, muggy environment, EXAIR has you covered.

If you would like to discuss either the ETC or the Cabinet Cooler Systems, please contact an Application Engineer.   If you would like to vote for our products, please check out the Plant Engineering Product of the Year page here.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer Manager
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

EXAIR Safety Air Guns: Improving Efficiency Worldwide

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Back in September I wrote about how our Model 1410SS-CS Blow Guns were recommended within a Cleaning Application for castings prior to wash. Update: The customer, in India, has since implemented the suggested changes and our distributor has monitored the daily use of compressed air. At the time of the first blog we estimated 75% air savings based on the information we had from the customer. The final result was nearly 70% compressed air savings. Also, the operators report that the air guns were easier to operate and provided sufficient force for their applications.

In our continuing support of the customer, we identified three other areas within their production plant where an improvement could be made with the application of some EXAIR Heavy Duty Safety Air guns.

Blowoff 1Blowoff 2Blowoff 3

The first application is one where the frame of a tractor has been steam washed and is subsequently blown off by hand. In this application, the operator needs to get into some tight areas to get water condensate blown out before the partially assembled frame can be painted. He was using a simple, rubber hose that he would kink over and stop the air flow. No nozzle, no air gun, nothing.

The second application was one where the operator appeared to be using some sort of modified water valve like you would see under your sink or toilet in your home. This operator was charged with blowing debris from primed surfaces before painting for the sheet metal body parts that make up the tractor housing.

The last application I will mention is one where an operator was responsible for blowing off the painted surfaces as they were exiting the drying oven after paint and cure. His job was to ensure the painted surfaces were clean and cool so they could be assembled together more quickly.

When I was deliberating about which of our solutions to recommend, I wanted to try and keep things simple and interchangeable for the end user. So, I made a recommendation for all three applications to use the same Safety Air Gun. That recommendation was model 1310-12. The projected savings for all three applications is well into the 70% range. The other benefit is that using the Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns instead of these other home-made and modified solutions is that the inherent safety of the applications will also improve as will the noise generation be reduced.

We think we have a good shot at replacing the blow offs in these areas since we already had one success with proven results. This will be our second strong case for the customer to follow recommendations. So they are confident in achieving similar efficiency improvements as the first blog explains.

Do you have home-made blow offs that you use in your production areas? Do they use a lot of compressed air?  Are they safe?  Do they make a lot of noise and leak a lot?  Perhaps you would be well served to allow us to help you as well. We can make some preliminary comparisons to give you a good idea about how much air you could save. We have the EXAIR Efficiency Lab which is a service to our customers where they can send in their existing nozzle, gun or home-made item to have it tested by our engineers. We can then prepare a complete report about air flow comparisons, force, noise and what we would recommend from our offering to replace it. There isn’t any obligation to buy anything. Only the peace of mind that you made a good due diligence effort to make sure that what you are considering as a solution is better than what you have there now.

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
nealraker@exair.com
EXAIR_NR

Line Vac Cleans Up a CNC Sawing Application

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

A machine shop facility contacted me about an issue they were having with metal chips. Their operation used CNC saw machines to cut metal products of various types and sizes to specific lengths.  They used belt conveyors that were fitting inside the CNC machines to remove the excess chips to a recycle bin.  The cut pieces were then ejected from the CNC machine for the next operation.  The issue was when they would cut tubing.  For the solid pieces, the conveyors inside the CNC machines would work great to remove the chips.  But with hollow stock, the inside of the tube would catch majority of the chips.  So, when the part was ejected, chips would accumulate on the outside of the CNC saw machine.

To solve this problem, I recommended a model 151150 Threaded Heavy Duty Line Vac with a model 9034 solenoid. The reason for the Heavy Duty Line Vac is because it is made of a hardened alloy that is resistant to the abrasion of the metal chips.  The 1 ½” NPT threaded ends made it easy to attach rigid pipe to both ends.  The vacuum end would remove the chips from inside the tube, and the transfer end would send the chips to the recycle bin.  Also, with the controls on the CNC machine, the user could send a signal to the solenoid valve to only operate during cutting operations.  (An added benefit to save on compressed air.)  In his setup, we attached the Heavy Duty Line Vac to the CNC saw machine.  It would ride along with the motion of the saw.  As the saw was cutting, the Heavy Duty Line Vac vacuumed the chips from inside of the tube.  As the saw blade retracted, the Heavy Duty Line Vac would retract as well.  This opened the area for the part to be ejected except now there were no chips accumulating outside of the machine.

Heavy Duty Line Vac
Heavy Duty Line Vac

Keeping work areas clean and recovering debris as it is produced results in a more efficient process and a safer environment. If you every need to bounce some ideas for solving problems like with the customer above, you can always contact an Application Engineer to see if we can help you resolve the issue.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
1-800-903-9247
Twitter: @EXAIR_JB

EXAIR Receives 4 Finalists for Product of the Year 2015!

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Voting is now open and we would like your votes!

For 28 years, Plant Engineering magazine’s knowledgable readers have chosen  outstanding new products that help them do their jobs smarter, safer, more efficiently and more productively. These products, which are newly released in manufacturing industries,  are recognized with Plant Engineering’s Product of the Year Award. Many products categories are represented including, Compressed Air, Automation and Controls, Electric Motors and Drives, Environmental Health,  and Fluid Handling among others. Four of the products we released in 2015 are finalists in four different categories. Voting is open now and goes on through January 8, 2016.

Here are the products up for the 2015 award:

  1. High Lift Reversible Drum Vac:  Nominated in the Environmental Health category, our new High Lift Reversible Drum Vac is ideal for the recovery of fluids like: coolant, hydraulic oils, sludge and chips, waste water, tramp oil and liquid spills. The High Lift Reversible Drum Vac has been engineered to recover liquids found within below grade sumps, wells, underground tanks, pits and drains with up to 15′ of lift.  VOTE HERE
  2. No Drip Liquid Air Nozzles:  These patented atomizing spray nozzles, in the fluid handling category, have the added benefit of positively stopping liquid flow when compressed air is shut off. The nozzles are ideal where no post-spray drip is permissible. When the compressed air supply is shut off, the no-drip nozzle positively seals off the flow of liquid, eliminating the possibility of drips. Effective when using liquids up to 300 cP. VOTE HERE
  3. Electronic Temperature Control for Dual Cabinet Cooler Systems:   The Electronic Temperature Control (ETC) for dual-cabinet cooler systems installed on large or high heat-load enclosures keeps electrical units cool while minimizing compressed air use. Available in cooling capacities up to 5,600 BTU/hr.,  It permits just enough cooling for the electronics without going so cold as to waste compressed air. VOTE HERE
  4. Back Blow Air Nozzle:  These nozzles are designed to effectively blow debris and liquids from pipe or hose inside diameters, channels, bores, holes, internal threads, and other internal part features. An array of holes provides forceful 360-degree airflow to clear out coolant, chips, and light oils from machining processes. This nozzle prevents blowing chips further into a part, tube, or pipe and eliminates any safety hazard created by blowing debris out the far end of a pipe or tube.   VOTE HERE

We appreciate all who are willing to vote for our products and are proud to continue bringing you the best products we can offer. Thank you for the support.

Sincerely,
The EXAIR Team
@exair
1-800-903-9247