Once upon a time, there was a process engineer that needed to solve a production issue on a rinsing line. They had used a spray nozzle that had too large of a spray pattern, with too much volume. And used a hollow cone pattern with not enough heat removal…Okay, so maybe I took this a little too far into the fairytales. I have legitimately had a very similar discussion with customers that are trying to find a spray pattern that is “Just Right” for their needs – the Goldilocks discussion of spray patterns. The best part of Atomizing Spray Nozzles from EXAIR is that we do help you find the nozzle that fits your needs. The shape of the spray pattern is one of the key variables that is decided first.
When determining what spray pattern is needed we need to take into account the purpose of the spray, whether it be to coat, rinse, cool, or add humidity. To go along with the purpose we need to understand the geometry of the part/target and whether the part is stationary, is the part moving, or is the nozzle moving. Once those variable are determined then we can select one of the three main spray patterns to drill down the final selection.
The main three patterns are:
Round Pattern
Flat Fan
Hollow Cone
Round Pattern – These are found in air atomizing and liquid atomizing. The air atomizing are available in both siphon fed liquid or pressure fed liquid. These are also broken into narrow angle or wide angle round. The diameter of the full cone spray of liquid will expand on both styles however the narrow angle tends stay more concentrated and can often be seen in rinsing, washing or heavy coating applications. Distance from the target that the nozzle can be will also help with whether a wide angle or narrow angle will be needed.
Flat Fan Pattern – These are currently offered in the air atomizing spray nozzles and both siphon fed or pressure fed options. They are also offered in narrow angle flat fan, wide angle flat fan, and deflected flat fan. These options will all be dictated by the target area needing covered and the distance to the target area. Flat fan pattern nozzles are often used with fine surface finish coatings that are being applied to either moving parts, or with nozzles that move around stationary parts.
Hollow Cone – This pattern is available in both liquid atomizing and air atomizing. The liquid atomized hollow stream nozzle is great for rinsing, or washing parts. The center of the cone being hollow can help to conserve liquid where it is not needed. The air atomizing hollow cone 360° nozzle can spray so wide it has been used for inside pipe wall cleaning / coating as well as for dust suppression in large areas.
No matter the application, there is a combination of spray nozzles that should fit “just right”. The Application Engineer team here at EXAIR are all equipped with knowledge and experience to help determine what is needed or at the very least some methods to get to a final solution. If you would like to discuss the needs within your facility, contact us.
Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF