I recently had the pleasure of working with a customer who needed a more efficient and effective solution for drying prestressed concrete (PC) steel wire strands after coating with a rust inhibitor. They were using a homemade device in the current process. The homemade block consisted of two separate pieces to permit them to open it up and thread a new strand in without having to feed all the way through the device. Maintaining this ability was critical to them in their process. Fortunately, EXAIR’s Super Air Wipe utilizes a split design that easily unlatches to accommodate their request.

The current solution was using far too much compressed air and causing pressure drops for their other processes. A review of their complete compressed air system identified these devices to be the highest consuming products that they had in the facility. The diameter of the strands ranged anywhere from 7mm-12mm, making our 1” ID Super Air Wipe an ideal fit for each size.

After implementation of the Model 2401 Super Air Wipe, low pressure alarms in their other processes had stopped and they were able to operate without any further issues. In addition to removing the periodic shutdowns, the sound level from the Super Air Wipe was significantly less than the homemade device, likely due to all of that unnecessary air!! While this wasn’t even a factor they’d considered, the operators are now able to operate without the need for hearing protection as the sound level had been reduced to 80 dBA, well within the safe standard for maximum allowable noise exposure as outlined by OSHA 1910.95(a). With the Super Air Wipe in place, they were able to save on compressed air, increase productivity due to the elimination of low-pressure alarms, and were able to improve the safety of the process for their operators. Not bad for a day’s work!

The Super Air Wipe provides a uniform 360° laminar airflow for blowing off, drying, cleaning, and cooling a wide variety of pipe, cable, extruded shapes, hose, and wire. Its split design allows it to be easily clamped around the surface of the material without having to “feed” the material through. If you’re processing any type of hose, wire, or extruded shapes that could benefit from installing a Super Air Wipe give us a call. With all sizes shipping from stock on an order received by 3:00 pm EDT we can have one to you as early as tomorrow!

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