We have decided that EXAIR will celebrate Founder’s Day each year on February 22nd (or the closest working day) in order to commemorate the birthday of our founder, Roy Sweeney.He founded EXAIR in 1983 and was the driving force behind building the strong, successful and innovative company that EXAIR has become over the years.Today would have been his 83rd birthday.
We choose to make this day a celebration, a fond remembrance, and a day of service to others much in keeping with the values that Roy felt very strongly about.Countless individuals, churches, charities, youth groups and performing arts organizations were helped by the strong commitment to philanthropy practiced by Roy and his wife Jackie.
We here at EXAIR are blessed to have had Roy in our lives, and we want his giving spirit to live on through us.To commemorate this initial Founder’s Day, we have made significant contributions to:
We fully expect to extend this new tradition next year, and in subsequent years, through further commitment to community involvement.
So as we celebrate today with cake and funny memories, we wish Roy a happy birthday.We miss having him here.We remember what he did for all of us and for countless others.And we pledge to continue his commitment to helping those who need it.
Over the last 3 months, I have been in contact with a customer, keeping track of an application that involved the EXAIRE-Vac. The customer had reached out to us looking for some advice on how to solve a process problem. The operation is a drawing/stamping process, and the when the part exits the machine there is coolant that resides in a deep draw section, approx 0.4″ in diameter by 3.5″deep. About 1 oz of coolant per part is retained, and over many 1000’s of parts, would add up to lost dollars and messy clean up.
The customer was looking for an automated process that would be able to draw out the coolant and direct the liquid back to the coolant reservoir, all while maintaining the current machine run rate. We settled in on the model 840015 Adjustable E-Vac Generator. The Adjustable E-Vac has a straight through pathway from suction through to discharge, allowing for fast evacuation times. A simple turn of the unit changes the vacuum and flow levels to best match the needs of the application. The Adjustable E-Vac coupled to a solenoid valve controlled by the stamping machine resulted in the automatic system the customer was looking for.
Adjustable E-Vac Family
The customer ordered a unit, and based on the preliminary bench testing, it was approved for a production run trial. After some tweaking in the production environment, the unit was performing to spec, and was then subjected to a 100,000+ part run. The results were a success! Instead of the parts exiting onto an inclined conveyor, relying on gravity to drain and causing coolant to collect under the conveyor, the coolant could be removed in a controlled manner and sent back to the reservoir. Less mess and no coolant loss.
EXAIR manufactures (3) types of E-Vacs – Low vacuum generators for porous materials, high vacuum generators for non-porous materials, and the adjustable type for flexible vacuum performance. They are available in multiple sizes, to best match the vacuum requirements, while using the least amount of compressed air.
To discuss your application and how the EXAIR E-VAC can benefit your process, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our other Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.
A customer had an application where they were using a plastic blasting media (PBM) to remove a coating from composite sheets. Being that I was unfamiliar with this type of blasting media, I went to the web for research. This process is very interesting as it can remove coatings, paint, powder coats, etc. without harming the substrate. It is widely used in the automotive and aerospace industries as it can be used on materials like very thin metals, composites, and even hardwood.
In our experience with non-conductive materials, static can be a huge problem. And in this case, it was. The PBM was “sticking” to everything including the composite material that was being cleaned. They were losing material as it was leaving the blasting chamber. As with any type of blasting system, you want to reuse the material to economically reduce waste and keep the operation running longer. As you can see in the picture below, the PBM is clinging to the internal components because of static. This static force was keeping the PBM attached to the composite sheet and allowing it to leave the chamber.
Inside the Plastic Blasting Media cabinet
As a quick remedy, they tried to use compressed air to blow the PBM back into the cabinet. They were using copper tubes that were flattened to create a homemade nozzle. This style of nozzle is unsafe and very loud. It was also difficult to get the correct amount of blowing force because static can build at different rates. The higher amount of static charges, the stronger the attraction. They needed a better method as they found themselves wasting not only the blasting material, but also much compressed air.
With applications similar to this, we like to remove the static at the problem area. Then, we do not have to be concerned about the static forces. For their application, the cabinet had a 6” wide opening where the composite material would exit. So, I recommended two pieces of the model 111206, 6” Super Ion Air Knife Kits, to be mounted just outside the cabinet. One Super Ion Air Knife would be mounted above the sheet to clean the top surface, and the other mounted below the sheet to clean the bottom surface. I recommended that they position the Super Ion Air Knives at a 45 deg. angle to the surface of the composite sheet in the counter-flow direction.
This position will optimize the performance of the Super Ion Air Knife. It increases the contact time to coat the surface with ions to remove the static and to keep the PBM inside the cabinet. With the design of the EXAIR Super Ion Air Knife, it has a 40:1 amplification ratio. That means that for every 1 part of compressed air, it will entrain 40 parts of ambient air. So, it can operate with much less compressed air. Once they mounted the Super ion Air Knives, they were amazed at the performance. It was very quiet; it used very little compressed air; and it kept the composite sheets completely clean. After the static forces are removed, it only needed a light breeze to remove the PBM from the surface.
Super Ion Air Knife
If you find that static is creating process problems, wasting time, and costing you money, EXAIR has a large line of Static Eliminators that can help you. For this customer, it was a simple phone call to EXAIR that got his operation back up and running fast and smooth without static.
An EXAIR Atomizing Nozzle used to minimize dust in the feed bowl of a cement mixer.
One of the most difficult aspects of handling and working with dusty materials is suppression of airborne contaminants. Small particles can easily become a dust cloud, minimizing visibility and decreasing the quality of working conditions. This then leads to lower productivity, low morale, and a missed opportunity to maximize the potential of personnel and equipment.
Our distributor in New Zealand recently assisted one of their customers facing this set of problems when working with cement and microsilica as it was poured into a mixer. An exhaust fan was in place, but failed to extract the dust sufficiently, so a new approach was needed to minimize the dust.
An AN2010SS No Drip Atomizing Nozzle provides the needed dust suppression in this application.
The solution was to use an EXAIR AN2010SSNo Drip Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzle, shown above in the red box, to produce an atomized water mist. The dust produced during pouring is captured by the small droplets of atomized water produced with this nozzle, reducing the dust and allowing proper use of the mixer.
The 9218 Stay Set Hose positions the atomizing nozzle where it needs to be.
In order to position the nozzle exactly where it needs to be, an 18” Stay Set Hose, shown above with the red arrow, was used to position the nozzle. This hose is built specifically to have “memory” of the desired position, allowing for quick, easy, and repeatable position of the nozzle attached to the hose.
This simple setup is controlled through a timer to ensure water and compressed air use realize maximum efficiency. It’s an easy solution to a painful problem for this customer.
If you’d like to explore how an EXAIR solution can solve problems in your facility or application, please contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.
