Month: September 2016

Let Us Help You Cool Your Electrical Control Panels

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

The warmer temperatures of summer are dragging on a bit late this year in Ohio, which can be great for weekend activities, but forces us to wait just a little longer before the weather officially “breaks”.  And, while the bringing of a new season may be a welcome change for many, the outside temperatures remaining high can mean an increased risk of overheating electrical panels.  Case in point, the images below show an electrical control panel with internal temperatures as high as 65.3°C with ambient temperatures around 35°C.

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This thermal image shows the view of an electrical control panel from the outside
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Another view from the outside of a nearby enclosure
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Thermal imaging showing the temperatures of the internal components of this cabinet
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At their maximum, components inside this enclosure reached as high as 65.3 degrees C

This type of scenario is common not only during the summer, but also of industrial manufacturing areas with heat producing equipment such as CNC machines, lathes, centrifuges, screw machines, molding machines, etc.

Thankfully, the solution for these applications is the same.  Using only compressed air, our Cabinet Coolers alleviate overheating conditions in control panels, regulating both temperature and humidity (relative humidity is regulated to 45% with the use of an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler).  By completing our Cabinet Cooler Sizing Guide, anyone can gain access to our Application Engineering staff and have the heat load of their application calculated by a trained engineer.  We can then make a recommendation as to the exact system needed for your application.

If you’re experiencing problems with overheating electrical control panels, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.  We’ll be happy to help.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Quick, Cool, and Quiet – The EXAIR Adjustable Spot Cooler

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I recently had the pleasure of assisting a caller with a cooling application. We’ve written before (more than once) about cooling applications & product selection, and I had a very similar conversation with this caller. Since the need was for cooling as quickly as possible to ambient temperature, the caller was keen on talking about Vortex Tubes.

This application entails operators placing small products, by hand, under the cold air flow for rapid cooling.  Now, a Vortex Tube can produce VERY low temperatures…down to -40F…so operator safety had to be addressed.  By keeping the Cold Fraction (the percentage of supply air flow which is directed to the cold end) high, we can also keep the temperature high enough to not present a hazard (i.e., frostbite) but still plenty low enough for effective cooling.

Since sound level was also a concern, we discussed mufflers…with Hot and Cold Mufflers installed on a Medium Vortex Tube (models 3215, 3225, or 3230, which were what we narrowed our discussion to,) a sound level of 81-84 dBA will be produced.  That’s within OSHA’s limits for 8-hour exposure, but isn’t exactly “communication-friendly” for operators that need to talk to each other on a regular basis.

The Model 3825 Adjustable Spot Cooler System incorporates the performance of the three Vortex Tube models that we were talking about into a convenient mag base mounted assembly, fitted with a cold muffler, flexible cold air hose, and additional sound level suppression to 72-74 dBA…which makes a significant difference in areas where operator conversation is critical.

EXAIR's Adjustable Spot Cooler provides cold air, on demand - quiet and easy!
EXAIR’s Adjustable Spot Cooler provides cold air, on demand – quiet and easy!

The temperature control knob allowed them to dial in the optimal cold air flow, keeping the temperature low enough, and flow high enough, for rapid cooling of the parts.

If you’d like to find out just how cool an EXAIR Vortex Tube/Spot Cooling Product can make your application, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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A Good Example of Dedication and Commitment from the First Grade

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

This year, my oldest daughter started First Grade.  My second daughter will be starting preschool two days a week, and the youngest, well she just has no fear and doesn’t see the consequences of her actions at this point in life.   To say the least, the past few weeks have been extremely busy, as I am sure it has been for most of us.

A Great Message For School. (Not On Our Schools)
A Great Message For School.

I went to the parent – teacher introduction night with my beautiful wife and we got to meet the first grade teacher who definitely has her work cut out for her.   The amount of effort and care this teacher has poured into this class is already apparent in the first week of school.   She sent us all her personal cell phone number, sends out updates through a smartphone app, and has even told all parents that if a child in her classroom is involved in an activity outside of school that she will attend one of these events because she wants to see the children in their element and see what makes them happy.  All of these “extra” things the teacher does, she doesn’t get paid for, and is strictly doing out of her love for teaching and the children she teaches.  She legitimately loves her job and wants to see each of these students succeed in life.

There are people who teach that go to their job and give the bare minimum to not get let go and to merely collect a paycheck.   There are also a great number of educators that go above and beyond every day of the school year.  When it comes to teachers, so far my oldest daughter has been extremely blessed.  She had an amazing teacher for both Preschool, Kindergarten, and now even First Grade.   Each of these has also been at 3 different schools where she has thrived and I could not be happier with our school district.  I even mentioned to my wife, who is a former primary teacher, that I do not look forward to the year that one of our three daughters has a teacher that she does not agree with.  (That is going to be an extremely long year.)

Just as I noticed the level of dedication from the teachers I have had the joy of meeting, I have also realized that in order to succeed and thrive, there has to be dedication and going beyond the minimum.  This is what I see everyday when I walk through the doors here at EXAIR.  Whether I am walking through the front offices or the production areas, we by no means have a single team member that gives the minimum.  Every person here cares about whether or not the other succeeds, and we all work together with the same goal, blow our customer’s expectations out of the water.  This is just one reason we continue to release new products, offer the best means to contact us, as well as ship stock products same day, and provide order confirmations and install support for every single order.

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

 

Photo Credit: Jdog90 – Flickr – Creative Commons https://flic.kr/p/awAXzv

 

 

Changing of the Seasons

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According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Fall Equinox and thus the end of summer occurs tomorrow, September 22, at 10:21 am EDT for us here in Cincinnati, OH.

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Just as the seasons change and the weather goes from warm, humid days to cooler, drier times, we see a change at EXAIR in what challenges our customers face. Telephone calls and online chat topics about overheating electrical enclosures and Cabinet Cooler Systems tend to drop off and invariably the topic of static issues and the EXAIR Static Eliminators solutions take their place.

EXAIR has many available solutions for total static control, whether on a moving web, sheet stock, or three dimensional parts, extrusions or plastics.

Static eliminators with air combine EXAIR engineered airflow products with an ionizing point to eliminate a static charge quickly and at great distances.  Laminar flow air streams make it possible to blow away dirt and debris, and deliver the ionized air to neutralize surface static.  They are ideal for hard to reach places and obstructed surfaces, high speed moving objects, and surfaces with extremely high charges. Some examples are the Super Ion Air Knife, Ion Air Cannon, Ion Air Gun, and the Ion Air Jet.

Static Eliminators

Static eliminators without air may be necessary when even small amounts of air can disrupt the product, such as light weight materials. EXAIR offers two types of ionizers to handle these types of applications.  The Ionizing Bar is ideal for flat materials when the bar can be mounted close to the media.  The Ionizing Point is a good solution for spot neutralization such as in winding or slitting operations where its compact size allows for installation close to the source of the static generation. Both of these products should be mounted within 2″ of the surface they are removing static.

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Ionizing Bar

When you notice static beginning to build in your process, feel free to contact EXAIR and one our  Application Engineers can help you determine which  Static Eliminator solution can help you.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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Sun and Earth Graphic courtesy of Ruslan via Creative Commons License