Super Air Knives are a versatile product for a wide variety of applications, including cleaning, drying, blow-off, and cooling. With no moving parts, the Super Air Knives provide a hard hitting curtain of air, with laminar and uniform airflow for your industrial application needs. The 40:1 air amplification is a great way to maximize the use of your compressed air supply, while maximizing efficiency at a surprisingly low decibel level.
While every application is different, there are a few essential standards and practices to consider when mounting. The primary airflow is provided by the compressed air, but the air amplification of 40:1 is provided by the designed ambient air entrainment. This means that the Super Air Knife will pull in the ambient air to increase the volume of your output airflow. For this to take place, you will need to allow spacing on both the top and bottom of the Super Air Knife. While there is not a minimum requirement, I would suggest not mounting your knife any closer than one half inch from any obstruction. This will allow the ambient air to be pulled through both the top and bottom of the knife to ensure proper air entrainment.
Another consideration you need to take into account when mounting the Super Air Knife is the compressed air inlet locations. The Super Air Knife has compressed air inlets at the opposite ends of the knife. Knives between 48″-59″ use 2 inlets at the opposite ends, plus 1 near the middle of the bottom of the knife. Knives 60″-83″ use 2 inlets at the opposite ends, plus 2 inlets equally spaced on the bottom of the knife. Knives 84″ and longer use 2 inlets at the opposite ends, plus 3 inlets equally spaced on the bottom of the knife. When mounting, be aware of the inlet requirements in order to allow enough space for your compressed air supply hoses.
Orientation of the Super Air Knife will depend on your application. Orientation of the knife will not affect performance, as long as proper spacing is allowed for compressed air supply and ambient air entrainment. While some applications will require a 90 degree placement of the knife to the target, most will benefit from increased contact time of the laminar airflow to the target. For example, when using the Super Air Knife for drying on a conveyor system, you will want to place the knife at as low an angle as possible, opposite to the oncoming material. This allows more contact time between the laminar airflow and the material, increasing the drying potential. This applies to blow-off and cooling applications as well.
If you are unsure of where to mount your Super Air Knife for optimal performance, you may want to consider using EXAIR’s Universal Air Knife Mounting System. This mounting system is used to provide a secure, precise position for any of the EXAIR Air Knives. The Universal Air Knife Mounting System can quickly and easily be adjusted to move a connected Super Air Knife to be within close proximity of the part to improve blowing effectiveness. The Universal Mounting Mystem can also be used when testing different locations before permanently mounting your knife.
If you would like to discuss Super Air Knife mounting and positioning, please do not hesitate to contact an Application Engineer. We are always happy to help!
Jason Kirby
Application Engineer
Email: jasonkirby@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jk