EXAIR Air Knives are amazing. You simply supply them with compressed air, and they are designed to entrain the ambient air around them to generate much more SCFM than is being fed to them at a 30:1 or a 40:1 ratio. They are much quieter, more efficient and a much lower cost (see chart) than any option we know of to blowoff, dry, clean or cool. The Air Knives all produce a nice laminar flow of air that is dependable to consistently handle each application.
There are so many applications, from drying, cooling, cleaning, opening bags, floating webs, and keeping environments separate, to many very unique and creative applications such as; floating tortillas from one belt to another, keeping camera lens covers clean when filming (even on a boat in the ocean), and one application documented on Nat Geo that is, well let’s say extremely unique (find out more here). As there are so many possible applications, there are of course multiple Air Knives to choose from. Our catalogue has 17 pages dedicated just to Air Knives. How do you choose which is best for your application? Let’s take a look and see.
At EXAIR we offer 3 types of Air Knives, Super, Standard, and Full-Flow. All of these are great Knives, and have their own strengths. We also can help If your application requires a special shape, design, or material, we will be happy to work with you to design the best solution for your unique application.
The column on the above left shows you a solid difference of the 3 Air knives. The chart below shows you the most efficient and the quietest Air Knife. You will see that the Super Air knife is our most versatile, by far the most popular purchased Air Knife. Even with a slightly higher purchase price, it doesn’t take long to understand the overall value and long term cost saving makes the Super Air Knife, not only the best choice for nearly all applications, but also the the best value.
All 3 types of Air Knives are stock items, and can typically be shipped the same day. The standard lengths in stock are 3″,6″,9″,12″, 18″ and then every 6″ up to 48″ — The Super Air Knife will go up to 108″ (in stock) with the previous mentioned lengths, plus 54″ and then every 12″ up to 108″ long (yes 9 feet). We can also customize sizes if that is what you need.
As you can see the Super Air Knife is the clear winner of the 3 options and is the most recommended. But there are a few reasons to purchase the Standard and the Full Flow Air Knives. The Standard is generally purchased for the lower price point. The Full-Flow is generally purchased for the small envelope. Here is great way to look at the three options. The Super Air Knife is like a Tesla – it’s arguably the best vehicle on the road today. It is the most efficient with a slightly higher cost than it’s similarly sized counterparts. But when you factor in the cost of gas, the Tesla is actually one of the least expensive option over a lifetime. The Standard Air Knife is more like the family van. It is dependable and it gets the job done, it has a lower sticker price than the Tesla, but each time you fill that gas tank you begin to realize how affordable the Tesla actually was, and you end up having a little regret. Lastly we have the Full-Flow Air Knife that is most comparable to the compact car. Sometimes you need that small car so that you can park in the “compact only” parking places in the parking garages in the city. All of these cars get you from point A to point B, and they all have a purpose and a demand. There is not a bad choice, but there is a best choice, and the best choice is 100% dependent on your needs.
If you have any questions, or would like to discuss in more detail, please reach out to me, or any of our application engineers.
Application Engineer
Brian Wages
EXAIR Corporation
Email me: BrianWages@exair.com
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