Just this week I’ve been working with an aerospace manufacturer that had some concerns about a cleaning operation on one of their fin press machines used for a stamping process. After each operation, they need to blow out the dies to remove any residual oil and debris. They were currently using a ¼” open copper tubing operating at 90 psi. Their reason for contacting EXAIR was due to a recent OSHA compliance training that their production manager had attended. He learned about OSHA 1910.242(b), a directive that we’ve written about many times in the past, that states compressed air devices used for blowoff must maintain a dead-end pressure less than 30 psi. Additionally, the sound levels were far too high to adhere to OSHA directive 29 CFR 1910.95(a). This was a major concern for them and a common theme that we hear from many of our customers. As this manufacturer is clearly aware, fines associated with failing to comply to OSHA directives can be quite costly. Their failure to adhere to this and a few other directives led to a total penalty of $33,800.00.

After some discussion about the different types of solutions that EXAIR has to offer, we settled on the Model 1310-18-CS. At a sound level of just 74 dBA when operated at 80 psi, we were able to drastically improve upon the sound levels that he was previously experiencing. This was a very welcomed solution by his operators, as they were now able to clean out the dies without having to wear any hearing protection. The Chip Shield also added some additional protection so that no debris could come back towards the operator. In addition to addressing his sound level concerns, we were also able to save a substantial amount of compressed air. The 1310-18-CS will consume just 14 SCFM of compressed air at 80 psi. A ¼” pipe operated at this pressure will consume approximately 69 SCFM. This is an 80% reduction in compressed air usage for just one operation!!

If you have an application where sound level needs to be reduced or you’re looking to improve upon employee safety, EXAIR has the solution. Give us a call today to find out how we can implement a solution to keep OSHA inspectors at bay.

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD