Month: May 2016

Line Vac Helps Students With Automation Projects

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Over the past year I received a contact from a professor and student combination from Madison Area Technical College inquiring about the sizes available for our Line Vac products.  They were using a 2″ Line Vac in one of their automation class labs and wanted to try something a little bigger for a new project.  The 2″ Line Vac was one they had used in the past on different projects and had always worked well.   The new project however increased the bag size and made the conveyance difficult for the 2″ Line Vac.

The Initial e mail received.
The Initial e mail received after a short conversation.

With the picture below of their current setup and a good understanding that they will be placing three items into a heat sealed bag that is roughly 3″ long and 2″ wide we settled on using the 3″ Aluminum Line Vac at a low pressure to convey the baggies to their secondary function.   As you can see in the video below, the Line Vac is activated by a sensor and operates for just seconds in order to convey the bag of parts successfully to the other side of the machine cell where the bag is then picked and placed by a robotic arm.

The existing 2" Line Vac they had in place.
The existing 2″ Line Vac they had in place.

After the project was completed we received a mention through social media, as well as a brief video showcasing the Line Vac in use.  The video showcases how easy it is to install an EXAIR Line Vac into a tight space where adding other conventional mechanical conveying systems would be considerably more elaborate.  The Line Vac is being controlled via a PLC that energizes a solenoid valve on a timer to convey the package in a matter of seconds.

 

Social Media Contact
Social Media Contact

We are very pleased to see the projects these kids turned out, and the leadership shown by Peter, their instructor. Manufacturing programs such as this one at Madison Area Technical College are important for our economy and for the future of these kids. We’d like to congratulate them all on their accomplishment.

If you have a project you are trying to move products from one point to another, contact us.  If you are a professor, student, or even a mentor to an educational program that would benefit from EXAIR products, please contact me directly.

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

Cabinet Cooler Systems Simple, Quick, and Easy

Published on by John BallLeave a comment
In this corner EXAIR Cabinet Cooler
In this corner:  EXAIR Cabinet Cooler

 

When compared to air-to-air heat exchangers and refrigerant based air conditioners, Cabinet Cooler systems win hands down.

Companies generally do not have issues with their control panels until the heat of summer. As the ambient conditions get warmer, the temperatures inside electrical panels also rise.  Sensitive electronics start to malfunction and shut down.  A telecommunication company was having the same issues.  They operated an ultra-broadband access service.  When the temperature alarms triggered, the system would shut down and reset.  This on and off cycling concerned the engineers in damaging and reducing the life of the electronics inside the telecommunications control box.

They contacted EXAIR as a possible supplier to retrofit their cabinets in critical areas. They started the conversation with a list of some stringent requirements.  They indicated that they were looking at other options like a refrigerant panel and an air-to-air heat exchanger.  The challenge was on…

Conditions:

Power Consumption: 350 Watts

Maximum Ambient Temp: 150 Deg. F (65 Deg. C)

Cabinet Location: Very limited space

Requirements:

  1. Retrofitting capability and ease of installation to existing cabinets
    1. EXAIR Cabinet Cooler: Excellent. 22mm knockout hole, about 30 minutes to install and weighs 0.5Lbs (0.2Kg).
    2. Refrigerant Type: Poor. Large panel cut outs, roughly 4 hours of installation, and weighs about 30Lbs (13.6Kg)
    3. Heat Exchanger: Poor. Large panel cut outs, roughly 2 hours of installation, and weighs 16Lbs. (7.3Kg)
  2. Fit into tight spaces
    1. EXAIR Cabinet Cooler: Excellent. For this application, it is 5.2” (131mm) high and 1.17” (30mm) diameter.
    2. Refrigerant Type: Poor. 22” (560mm) X 12” (305mm) X 8.5” (216mm). But also need additional room for air flow.
    3. Heat Exchanger: Good. Roughly 11” (279mm) X 16.5” (419mm) X 3.5” (89mm). But also need additional room for air flow.
  3. Able to handle high ambient condition
    1. EXAIR Cabinet Cooler: Excellent. We have a HT version for conditions up to 200 Deg. F (93 Deg. C).
    2. Refrigerant Type: Poor. Limited to about 125 Deg. F (52 Deg. C) maximum.
    3. Heat Exchanger: Good. Limited to 160 Deg. F (71 Deg. C) maximum
  4. Keep internal temperature at or below 95 Deg. F (35 Deg. C)
    1. EXAIR Cabinet Cooler: Excellent. With the high ambient temperature, it has very little effect on the cooling capacity.
    2. Refrigerant Type: Poor. The refrigerant will not work with the high ambient unless a water-cooled condenser is used. Added cost.
    3. Heat Exchanger: Poor. This unit will not be able to keep the temperature below ambient temperatures.
  5. Low maintenance (or maintenance free)
    1. EXAIR Cabinet Cooler: Excellent. No moving parts!!! With filtered compressed air, just put it into the panel and let it run. No PM required.
    2. Refrigerant Type: Poor. Minimum quarterly cleaning of condenser, changing the condenser filter, do electrical checks on compressor and fans, and refrigerant leak checks.
    3. Heat Exchanger: Good. Electrical checks on fans.
  6. Long life span
    1. EXAIR Cabinet Cooler: Excellent. 5 year warranty with units lasting over 10 years.
    2. Refrigerant Type: Poor. With high ambient conditions, the compressors and fans can short cycle causing premature failure.
    3. Heat Exchanger: Good. The fans can quit allowing electronics to heat up.
  7. Low cost (!!!) (This had 3 exclamation marks)
    1. EXAIR Cabinet Cooler: Excellent. Base unit less than $300.00
    2. Refrigerant Type: Poor. Base unit is near $1,500.00
    3. Heat Exchanger: Good. Base unit is near $1,000.00

Overall, in this scenario, there is no comparison. The EXAIR Cabinet Cooler can be mounted in minutes and start supplying cool air to the electrical components.  With no maintenance required and no moving parts, you can get many years of service.  Simple, quick, and easy made EXAIR Cabinet Cooler the correct choice.  All Cabinet Cooler systems are available with a UL Listed NEMA 12, NEMA 4, or NEMA 4X rating. They are CE compliant and available in 316SS for highly corrosive applications. If you have electrical heating issues like the telecommunication company, you can contact one of our Application Engineers for help.

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

 

A Customized Line Vac Moves Dog Bedding

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

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One of the interesting things about working with a variety of applications on a daily basis, is realizing every answer isn’t cut-and-dry.  There are, of course, times when we can specify the exact amount of compressed air required, or the air volume needed to maintain a specific temperature, but conveying applications tend to be a bit different.

A reseller contacted me with an application in need of moving bedding material for dog beds.  The end user needed a reliable way to move the cotton fill for the beds, and wanted to find a way to limit handling by employees, while maintaining a reliability in the amount of material conveyed.

Due to the light weight and density of the cotton, we considered a Light Duty Line Vac, which has an option of sizes up to 6” in diameter – a benefit to this application because the cotton can cluster in groups up to 5” wide.  So, the end user decided to test a Light Duty Line Vac and fell in love with the concept and results.  But, the conveyance capacity of the Light Duty Line Vac was below the needs of the application, meaning we needed to consider a revision to our initial solution.

Finding a new solution meant exploring a number of different options.  We looked into the standard Line Vacs available from stock, threaded Line Vacs, and custom-made Line Vacs with cam lock fittings.  All the while we kept an eye on the throat diameter of each size, the related compressed air requirements, connection options, and lead time.

An initial concern at EXAIR was the cotton “clumping” and being delivered in a the form of a ball. The “clumping” of the cotton was of relatively little concern to the customer, their bigger indicator of success in this application was in how quickly the bedding material could be conveyed.  Having this as the decision driver led us away from the Light Duty Line Vacs we originally sought, and towards a modified version of our stock model 6087 (4″ aluminum Line Vac) with an additional compressed air inlet machined into the body of the unit.  The additional compressed air inlet was introduced by request from the customer, to provide guaranteed air delivery during higher compressed air flow conditions, brought about through higher operating pressures (not to exceed 250 PSIG).

Finding this custom solution wouldn’t have been possible without the Light Duty Line Vac, its large size availability, attractive compressed air usage, and ability to chip from stock.  We never would have explored this special solution, which the end user went on to implement in 12 locations!  If you’re considering a Line Vac for an application in your facility, consider a Light Duty Line Vac, standard Line Vac, or even a custom solution.  No matter the solution, we’ll be happy to help.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Save Money By Using Your Own Thermostat? Well…

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Last week, I wrote about what a great idea it is to use a thermostat with a Cabinet Cooler System. I’ll let another cat out of the bag right now and tell you that there are less expensive thermostats than ours. But just like the savings you might realize on the purchase by foregoing a thermostat, using a poorly specified thermostat can also be the last savings you see.

In a Cabinet Cooler System application, we’re refrigerating air. This makes for a cool, clean, and dry atmosphere for your electrical & electronic components to operate in.

UL Listed & CE Compliant, EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems maintain NEMA 4, 4X, or 12 integrity.
UL Listed & CE Compliant, EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems maintain NEMA 4, 4X, or 12 integrity.

Not all thermostats are designed to read air temperature – in fact, a LOT of common, commercially available thermostats are designed for use with liquid. Using these to control air temperature will lead to slow response times. That means one of two things will happen:

When the air inside the enclosure is cooled to the thermostat’s set-point temperature, it won’t shut off the compressed air flow to the Cabinet Cooler unit, resulting in unnecessary compressed air consumption.  And that’s a shame.

OR:

When the air inside the enclosure is heated to the thermostat’s set-point temperature, it won’t start the compressed air flow to the Cabinet Cooler unit, resulting in a potential overheating of those expensive…or critical…or both…electronic components.  And that’s a REAL shame.

We don’t want to see you using any more compressed air than you need to.  And we SERIOUSLY don’t want to see you fry your electronics.  If you’d like to find out more about EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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