Month: December 2015

Not All Quick Disconnects Are Equal

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Quick disconnect pneumatic fittings have been a staple in any manufacturing facility I have ever visited in my 10+ years as part of the manufacturing world.   The fact is, they have been around for a lot longer than 10 years.   The style we see most often is the 1/4″ Quick Disconnect Fitting, and we are typically troubleshooting a lack of air volume problem because they are not sized properly for the application.  These can be found in any industrial supply companies catalog, your local hardware stores, and even auto parts stores.   Quick Disconnects are even sold with certain EXAIR Industrial Housekeeping products, the key being they are properly sized.

Properly sizing the quick disconnect is a critical step in the process of deciding how to lay out your piping system as well as how to ensure products operate at optimal performance.  As you can see in the picture above, the two quick disconnects on the left are both larger quick disconnects as well as larger NPT thread sizes.   The two on the right are smaller and probably a bit more common to see.  Also notice the thread sizes on each, these are also manufactured in many other NPT thread options.   The through hole on the quick disconnects is decided by the size of the QD, not the thread size on the other end.   The example I am illustrating is comparing the 3/8 NPT and 1/4 NPT quick disconnects: Even though you can have 3/8 NPT threads, your throat diameter of the QD is still restricted to .195″ I.D., the same as the 1/4 NPT.  This can be a large restriction on a product with a 3/8 NPT thread size.

The Inner Diameters of the Quick Disconnects

Also to be noted is that all QD’s of the same size are not made equally, tests have shown that you can lose as much as 20 psi through a quick disconnect and up to 40 psi when not properly matched with the female QD.   This leads to the next step which is to ensure that you are not purchasing a QD on appearance.  MAke sure to choose the QD designed to permit the amount of air you need to operate your point of use product without a volume or pressure loss.

These two points are reasons why quick disconnects can diminish your point of use compressed air product performance.  If you have questions on which size to use with your EXAIR product or need help determining why your point of use product is not performing how you would like, contact us.

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

 

Remove Irritants in the Work Place

Published on by John BallLeave a comment
Saving Money and Compressed Air
Save Money, Reduce Noise, and Minimize Compressed Air Use

We are having a mild winter in Cincinnati, Ohio, and even though the poison ivy seems dead, you can still catch it. My sweetheart was collecting brush, and in two days, she broke out.  She had a rash on her arms, legs, face, and stomach.  And if you ever had poison ivy, you know how itchy it is.  The problem is that if you itch it, you can spread it.

It started me to think of things that are a nuisance in manufacturing, like noise exposure to personnel and wasted costs within processes. The Intelligent Compressed Air Products by EXAIR can reduce noise levels and electrical costs.  One very simple exercise would be to locate all your open pipes that use compressed air.  They can be located on machines to blow off debris and even on the end of air guns.  For every open type pipe, place an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle on the end of it.  You will notice very quickly that the noise level is reduced.  It can drop the noise by as much as 40 decibels.  The other thing that you will notice is your monthly electric bill.  By adding our Super Air Nozzles to the end of your inefficient blow off pipes, you can be saving over $1,000/year for every open type pipe.

If you have poison ivy, I would suggest calamine lotion or here are some additional tips. If you have high noise levels and high energy costs, then I would suggest EXAIR products.  You can discuss how EXAIR can save you money and reduce your noise level by contacting one of the Application Engineers at EXAIR.

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

Vortex Tubes & Back Pressure

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

EXAIR Vortex Tubes are designed and manufactured to be the ideal solution for spot cooling applications.  They are ideal for end of arm tooling, in process checks, post welding, even to try and set a molten material before additional processing.   The Vortex Tubes work amazing with direct exposure to the point that needs to be cooled.   What if I had a 12″ wide weld that I was trying to cool in order to keep the heat from warping the material, could I simply connect a Super Air Knife that is 12″ long to the cold air output of a Vortex Tube?   The answer is you physically can, but the performance will not be optimal.

Cooling with the Vortex Tube
The EXAIR  Vortex Tube

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EXAIR Super Air Knife
EXAIR Super Air Knife

The reason behind this is the Vortex Tubes performance continues to diminish as back pressure increases.  Once you reach 3 psig of back pressure you will begin to see decreased cooling in the cold air flow, once you reach 5 psig of back pressure the temperature out of the cold end of a vortex Tube can be as much as 5 degrees Farenheit warmer than without any back pressure at all. While a  Vortex Tube is capable of feeding cold air into a Super Air Knife it will be under significant back pressure and eliminate much of its cooling capacity. The Super Air Knife also becomes a heat sink which absorbs a great deal of the Vortex Tube’s cold air.

How an EXAIR Vortex Tube Works
How an EXAIR Vortex Tube Works.

To think about why the Vortex Tube reacts that way, think of the Vortex Tube as a pipe tee.   If you put compressed air into one leg and put no restrictions on the other two, a.k.a. the hot and cold end, the air flows freely out both open legs,  now if you start to restrict flow by adding piping and other restrictions, a.k.a. a Super Air Knife, onto one leg and leave the other leg open, then you will simply get decreased flow out of the restricted side and more flow out of the open leg. The good news is, if you have an application where a slight back pressure on the cold outlet is not avoidable then you can compensate for this and we can help you as long as we know all the variables.

That still doesn’t really help me with cooling my 12″ wide weld. What I would recommend in the scenario of cooling a longer length would be to try and control the volume of the area you need to cool.  In other words, if you could put a tube around the weld area where you can blow just the cold air down this cooling tunnel then you would have a controlled volume of air that will be much easier to maintain a cool temperature and keep the airflow against the surface of the part.

If you would like to discuss a cooling application, please contact us.

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

 

Merry Christmas!

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Holiday 2015

From Everyone at EXAIR