Month: March 2016

Atomizing Nozzles have added benefits that can really help

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

When a customer says the words “Great”, I like to share.

A customer of EXAIR purchased an SR2010SS Atomizing Nozzle for a new project.  He requested the Siphon Feed design so that he did not require a liquid pump (reducing the price of the project).  He attached it to a robot arm to spray water for activating a chemical on a substrate.  With the No Drip Option, he could start/stop the spray with a solenoid valve without getting drips of water into unwanted areas.

nodrip_SR
Siphon Feed No Drip Atomizing Nozzle

 

In robotics, there is much programing to make sure that the arm moves accurately throughout the space. In this application, the degrees of freedom were tight; so, our customer created a solid mount to attach the Atomizing Spray Nozzle onto the robot arm.  After all the components were assembled for the project, they began preliminary runs.

With a deadline looming around an end-user visitation, they started to run parts through their system. They noticed that the solution required more water to activate.  They contacted EXAIR quickly for help.  I mentioned that if they required more water, they can change the Air and Liquid Cap to a larger size.  The first question that my customer asked was if we had them in stock.  The second question was if changing the air and liquid cap would require removing the Atomizing Nozzle.

The first question was simple. We stock over 10,000 items for same day delivery.  If the order comes in to us before 3 p.m. EST, we can ship same day.  For this customer we were able to overnight the parts.  The second question was answered with a video.  Being that he mounted the body to the robotic arm, the liquid and air cap could be removed easily with wrenches.  In our design of the atomizing nozzles, we can interchange up to 4 different sizes with a quick change to the liquid and air cap onto the same body.  Our customer was quite happy about that.  With little time to program the exact location of the movements, he did not want to remove the Atomizing Nozzle from the arm. We shipped him the 3 other sizes next day, and he was able to find the correct size to use before the visitation of his customer.

If you would like to know more about how our products and services can help you in a pinch, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR at 1-800-903-9247.

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

EXAIR Offers Cabinet Cooler Sizing Guide

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment
DSCF6228
Front face and panel of enclosure to be cooled

A common misconception about heat load in an electrical enclosure is that the amount of heat is relative to the volume of air within the cabinet.  While the volume of air is important, it is also dependent on the enclosure size as a whole, and a much more fitting approach is to consider the amount of heat transferring through the surface area (of the enclosure).

An end user recently reached out to me with an overheating enclosure (shown above), facing the problem which plagues all overheated electronic devices – downtime.  And, in this particular case, the customer was concerned about the size of the enclosure, considering it to be rather large.

DSCF6229
Complete enclosure in need of cooling

Truth be told, they were right!  But, the size of the enclosure isn’t the only variable we consider when calculating heat load and recommending Cabinet Coolers.  We also consider the temperature differential currently in place, and the maximum (worst) possible operating conditions (and subsequent ΔT under those conditions).  We also consider whether any fans are currently in place, using their diameter to determine flow and calculate the heat each fan is removing from the enclosure.  We then use this data to offset the heat load calculated based on surface area and temperature differential.

Using the Cabinet Cooler Sizing Guide to gather these details and determine heat load, we can definitively calculate BTU/hr., Watts, kcal/hr., or any other heat load variant.  If you have an overheating enclosure and need a hand determining the best method to cool it, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans

Application Engineer

LeeEvans@EXAIR.com

@EXAIR_LE

Here We Go Again, Making Your Life Easier

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

If you’ve seen our latest E-NEWS, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t get our E-NEWS (and you’re reading this blog on purpose,) you should…sign up here:

This is all it takes to subscribe to our E-NEWS.
This is all it takes to subscribe to our E-NEWS.

But I’ll tell you what the “headline story” is about anyway, right now. EXAIR has been making Air Knives for about 30 years now, and if the front covers of our catalogs for at least the last 6 years mean anything, the Super Air Knife is our unofficial “flagship product.” It IS the most efficient and quietest blow off product on the market, as well as the most versatile. They come in lengths from 3″ to 108″, and can be coupled together for much longer uninterrupted curtains of high velocity laminar air flow. You can regulate the pressure supply to produce however strong, or light, of an air flow that you need to solve your application. We make them in aluminum, 303SS, 316SS, and even PVDF for whatever environment you may need to expose them to. And they’re all in stock, available for immediate shipment. We even have a variety of useful accessories to help you get the most out of our Air Knives…making them easy to install, position (or reposition,) plumb, operate, etc.

EXAIR has a comprehensive line of beneficial accessories for our Engineered Compressed Air Products.
EXAIR has a comprehensive line of beneficial accessories for our Engineered Compressed Air Products.

We didn’t start off with all this, back in the 1980’s, though. Some of them were developed by our Engineering folks (Design AND Applications) based on our collective experience and knowledge, and they’ve proven to be valuable additions to the product line. I’m proud to be a part of this team…after all it was one of my heroes, Henry Ford, who said “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they’d have said ‘faster horses.'”

Not that we discount the value of what users want…we actually keep a running list, informally called the “Can’t Do It List,” on which we record inquiries for product applications that we don’t have a solution for…yet.  We meet and review this list twice a month, so it’s always on the “front burner,” so to speak.

I won’t lie; not everything that goes on that list makes it into our catalog. Nor does everything proposed organically by Engineering folks here. But when it does, it’s kind of a big deal to us, and we get excited. Like the introduction of the Stainless Steel Plumbing Kits for our Stainless Steel Air Knives that are the highlight (again, for the Engineering folks here anyway) of the latest E-NEWS. Which I hope you’ve subscribed to by now. If you haven’t, go ahead…I’ll wait.

But seriously, I hope you do take advantage of our E-NEWS as a way to keep on top of the latest developments in compressed air product technology from EXAIR. And if you ever want to talk about an application or a particular product, give me a call. If we’ve got something, that’s great. If not, maybe you’ll see it in an upcoming E-NEWS. I promise that you’ll find that just as cool as we do.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Ready For Spring

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

Temperatures are changing here in the Midwest which means Spring is right around the corner. Basically what that means for Ohio is that it could be close to 70° and sunny one day and 32° with snow flurries the next. For my oldest son and I, the warmer temperatures mean camping and fishing are getting closer (YES!) but it also means that it’s time for the dreaded Spring cleaning and the yard work begins.

Having been a little preoccupied with our new family addition, I haven’t had much time to stay on top of keeping things tidy. In fact, my garage looks like the Tasmanian Devil had himself a good ole time (with the help of a certain 7 year old). The sidewalk and back patio both need pressure washed and our storage shed could use some attention as well. Hoping to get a start on these projects in the next few weeks!

In industry, keeping a clean work environment can be vital to maintaining a steady production flow. Luckily EXAIR has you covered with our compressed air operated Industrial Housekeeping Products. Requiring no electricity means there are no expensive parts to replace or motors to burn out from the rigors of industrial use. Designed to fit standard steel drums, the units are easy to use and operate.

Take for example our Chip Vac System designed to vacuum dry or coolant covered chips or other dry media. Or the Heavy Duty Dry Vac System which is similar to the Chip Vac but features a more powerful vacuum and holds up better to abrasive material (sand, glass, garnet) with its hardened alloy construction.

For liquid handling we offer our Reversible Drum Vac Systems that are capable of filling or emptying a 55 gallon drum in 90 seconds. Maybe you have suspended solids in your coolant that need filtered? The Chip Trapper System would be the ideal choice to separate chips from your coolant stream and then return the clean coolant back to the sump.

Finally for dusty environments, we offer our Heavy Duty HEPA Vac providing 99.97% filtration at 0.3 micron with it’s HEPA filter to trap dust and fine particles.

Understanding the need to keep things neat and clean, we are currently offering a free Vac-u-Gun with the purchase of an Industrial Vacuum System through 5/31/16.

Vac-u-Gun Promo
Order by 5/31/16 to take advantage!

If you need any help with selecting the right product for your needs, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN