Month: August 2016

The Super Air Knife: It’s Super Easy To Install

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

One of the more commonly asked questions about one of our more commonly asked-about products is:

“How do you install a Super Air Knife?”

Well, I’m glad you (or, in this case, “they,”) asked! There are several options, and they’re all pretty simple:

The Universal Air Knife Mounting System – right out of the box, the 9060 Universal Air Knife Mounting System is ready to go. It gives you a complete range of motion, so changes to the angle, direction, and distance of the air flow to the target are quick and easy. Multiple systems provide secure support for longer Air Knife lengths.

The 9060 Universal Air Knife Mounting Systems are perfect for simple, fast installation and positioning.
The 9060 Universal Air Knife Mounting Systems are perfect for simple, fast installation and positioning.

The Air Knife Plumbing Kit – Air Knives 24″ and longer need to be supplied at multiple inlets.  A Plumbing Kit comes with everything you need to get that down to just one (lengths to 54″) or two (lengths to 108″) 1/2 NPT connections, saving you from hunting down the fittings and hose or tube, while ensuring you get sufficient air flow for optimum performance.

Plumbing Kits

The Super Air Knife Itself (part 1) – because the Air Knife cap & body are held together with a series of Stainless Steel cap screws, there’s a 1/4″-20 tapped hole, about 3/8″ deep, every 2″ along the bottom of the body. These are commonly used to install the Air Knife to an acceptable mount.

If you've got something to hold it to, mounting a Super Air Knife with 1/4"-20 fasteners is a snap!
If your equipment already has rails or a frame, mounting a Super Air Knife with 1/4″-20 fasteners is a snap!

The Super Air Knife Itself (part 2) – like I said above, when they get longer than 24″, an Air Knife needs to be supplied at both ends to ensure proper air flow across the entire length. There are MANY Super Air Knives installed over conveyor belts (a “textbook” application) that are simply supported by hard piping to both ends. The Air Knife is, essentially, as well supported as the piping.

Use the supply piping to adequately support longer lengths of Super Air Knives
Use the supply piping to adequately support longer lengths of Super Air Knives.

The Super Air Knife Itself (part 3) – I saved “part 3″ to talk about the 3” Super Air Knife specifically…see what I did there? These short, compact units can actually be supported and plumbed properly, using a Magnetic Base and a Stay Set Hose.

Install and reposition a 3" Super Air Knife using any steel surface with a Mag Base & Stay Set Hose.
Install and reposition a 3″ Super Air Knife using any steel surface with a Mag Base & Stay Set Hose.

If you’ve got an application for a Super Air Knife, we can help you get in installed, in a snap. Call me; let’s talk!

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Cold Gun Cools Cutting Die During Credit Card Manufacturing

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

I took an interesting call from a credit card manufacturer last week looking for a way to provide some cooling during their manufacturing process. First, the plastics used in the cards are melted and mixed with other materials then sent through an extruder where they are formed into flat sheets and laminated with a thin film as they exit the machine. The specific card design is then silk screen printed onto the card and once again laminated with another film to provide protection as well as extra strength. After being laminated, the sheets are sent through a die cutter where they are cut into the individual cards and embossed with the credit card number. It was at this point of the operation that the customer was starting to see the cards become warped due to the die cutter heating up, which resulted in irregular prints during the embossing stage. The customer is unable to use a liquid based cooling system in the process so they took to the internet to search for alternate cooling methods using air and decided to call the experts for assistance.

After reviewing the specifics with the customer, I recommended they use our Model # 5215 Cold Gun System with a single outlet flexible hose, allowing the operator to direct the cold air to the critical area, or in the particular case, the cutting die. The Cold Gun produces a cold airstream providing 1,000 Btu/hr. of cooling and a temperature drop of 50°F from the compressed air supply temperature. Incorporating a Vortex Tube, there are no moving parts and virtually no maintenance required, provided they are supplied with clean, dry filtered air. To ensure this, the system includes a filter separator to remove any contaminants or water in the supply line. There is also an integral magnetic base, allowing for a simple installation and the ability to relocate the device to another part of the process if needed.

5215
Cold Gun System, Model # 5215 with filter, single point hose with 3/8″ cone nozzle, optional 1-1/4″ flat fan nozzle and integral mag base.

Here at EXAIR, we are committed to providing the best assistance possible when considering our products as a solution. For help selecting the best option or to discuss the specifics of your application, give us a call.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

 

Energy Rebates and EXAIR Products

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

In case it goes unnoticed, EXAIR focuses on engineered compressed air point of use products to ensure that our customers are utilizing their costly utility as efficiently as possible.  The main benefits to purchasing EXAIR products are the support you receive from us at EXAIR, the quality of the product, the savings in compressed air, and the increase in safety.  Another added benefit is a large number of utility companies are offering rebates on the purchase of engineered nozzles, just like the Super Air Nozzles that EXAIR offers.

Many energy providers offer these energy rebates for commercial or industrial users.  Here in the Cincinnati area, Duke Energy offers rebates on items such as lighting, air compressors, engineered air nozzles, heaters / dryers for extrusion machines, energy management systems, variable frequency drives, data center equipment, even food service equipment, custom incentives, and many other items.

Duke Energy Rebate
Example of our local energy rebate offering for Engineered Nozzles

For each engineered compressed air nozzle that is installed, in order to meet the rebate requirements they must flow less than or equal to given flow rates in SCFM at 80 psig inlet pressure. The pipe sizes, flow rates, and EXAIR equivalents are shown below.

EXAIR Engineered Air Nozzle Part Number EXAIR Flow Rate @ 80 psig
#1102/#1103 – 1/8 NPT 10 SCFM
#1100/#1101 – 1/4 NPT 14 SCFM
#1108SS-NPT/#1109SS-NPT/#1110SS-NPT
All are 1/8 NPT		 2.5, 4.9, 8.3 SCFM
respectively
#1003 – 3/8 NPT 18 SCFM

By just replacing the nozzles the customer saved 2.7 SCFM per nozzle.If we take an example such as the EXAIR Case Study  shown below for 1/4″ copper tube that was being used as an open ended blow off.  The copper tubes were consuming 19.6 SCFM at 100 psig inlet pressure, there were 10 machines with one line per machine operating 40 hours, 52 weeks per year.   The customer retrofitted the open pipes with a model 1100 Super air nozzle and was able to reduce the air consumption by 2.7 SCFM per nozzle.  If they were to purchase these nozzles this year, current list price for a model 1100 Super Air Nozzle is $36.00 USD, then apply for the energy rebate offered by Duke Energy and receive $20.00 per nozzle replaced.  The total savings and return on investment is shown below.

Case Study 1561
EXAIR Model 1100 Super Air Nozzle Replaces Open Copper Pipe Blow Off

10 nozzles x 2.7 SCFM = 27 SCFM  x 60 minutes per hour x 8 hours per day x 5 days per week x 52 weeks per year = 3,369,600 SCF of compressed air saved per year.

3,369,600 / 1,000 SCF x $.25 = $842.40 USD savings in compressed air per year.

Cost Savings per week = $16.20 USD

Total purchase cost is  $36.00 x 10 nozzles = $360.00 USD

Energy Rebate = @20.00 per nozzle x 10 nozzles  = $200.00 USD in rebates.

$360.00 USD purchase price – $200.00 USD energy rebate = $160.00 USD final purchase cost.

Return on investment at a savings of  $16.20 USD per week is

$160.00 / $16.20 = Less than 10 weeks pay back!

By applying for the energy rebate this customer could reduce the ROI of this air savings project from just over 22 weeks (which is still very good) to less than 10 weeks.

If you would like to learn more about whether there are Industrial energy rebates available in your area, contact an Application Engineer and let us know where you are located and who your energy provider is.

We will help you determine the correct engineered solution to save your compressed air as well as help you to apply for eligible energy rebates in your area.

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

 

Heavy Duty Line Vac is a Simple Solution When Mechanical Conveyors Fail

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

 

Line Vacs can convey many things.
Line Vacs can convey many things.

 

A manufacturing plant had a machine that would process 6mm ceramic beads into small medical components.  They used a screw type conveyor to move the ceramic beads from a large container into a hopper above the machine.  In this situation, the customer called EXAIR prior to determining which mechanical component failed.  They contacted the conveyor manufacturer for assistance.  Because of the complexity of the conveying system, it would take time to evaluate.  They had to determine if it was the motor, the gear box, the shaft, or electrical system.  Depending on which item that failed, there was a good chance that it would not be in stock.  With this length of downtime, it would cost the company much money and delays in shipments. The operation had to be shut down until they could find a way to keep the hopper filled with ceramic beads.  Being that they were under the gun, they contacted EXAIR to see if we could help.

Heavy Duty Line Vac

Heavy Duty Line Vac

In discussing their layout, the hopper was 10 feet away from the supply container, and the opening of the hopper was 10 feet above the floor.  These lengths were well within the limits of the EXAIR Air Operated Conveyors.  I suggested the model 152200 Heavy Duty Line Vac Kit.  This unit has the highest conveyance rate, and it can move items in the range of plastic pellets to steel shot.  It does not have any moving parts, so it makes it very simple, reliable, and long lasting.  The Heavy Duty Line Vac is made of a hardened steel that makes it very resistant to abrasion.  The next question he asked was if we had it in stock.   We did!!!  EXAIR stocks every cataloged model number for same day shipping with orders placed before 3 p.m. EST.  We were able to ship the Heavy Duty Line Vac that same day to get his operation back up and running.  He did mention to me afterwards that he wished he had at least one Heavy Duty Line Vac on his shelf as a backup system.  It could have saved his company an entire day of downtime.

If your company relies on mechanical conveying systems to move product, you may want to have an EXAIR Air Operated Conveyor on hand just in case of an emergency.  When things go wrong, you do not want to be down any longer than needed.  If you need help in sizing the correct Line Vac for your application, you can contact an Application Engineers at EXAIR.

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