Author: Jordan T Shouse

March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month

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One of the many great things about working at EXAIR is they allow us to be us, and typically once a year or so I get to do a blog about something this is important to me as a person away from work! Now I’m not saying using an intelligently designed engineered compressed air product isn’t important to me… to steal a line from my coworker Russ, “I could talk about our compressed air products and how they can help you all day! And most days I do!!”

But National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month is very important to me as my two-year-old Lincoln is affected by Quadriplegia Spastic Cerebral Palsy;

  • The majority of individuals with CP have the spastic form (approximately 85 percent). In spastic CP the individual has abnormal muscle tone and the muscles are stiff, making movement difficult. The graphic below illustrates common areas where an individual’s body may be affected by spasticity-also known as topography.
  • In people with diplegia mostly the lower half of the body is affected.
  • In people with hemiplegia mostly one side of the body is affected.
  • And in people with quadriplegia, all four limbs are affected and the muscles of the trunk, face and mouth may also be affected.
  • Increasingly more researchers and clinicians have begun using the terms bilateral CP (affecting both sides of the body) and unilateral CP (affecting one side of the body) to replace diplegia, hemiplegia and quadriplegia. The terms you hear will depend on the preferences of the professionals.

Every day as a Dad I see things that my son does and will have difficulty doing, but boy that doesn’t slow him down! And since 2021 I’ve made it a mission to share information on CP with as many people as possible. Because before Lincoln came into my life I knew very little about it myself. He is different, but that doesn’t make him bad! It makes him shine brighter than everyone else!

Be kind and love one another!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Compressor internals image courtesy of The Cerebral Palsy Research Network

Single Acting Reciprocating Air Compressor

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With all the options when it comes to air compressors, I wanted to take a deeper diver into Single acting Reciprocating compressors and see why they are so popular across all industry.

First, What is a Single acting Reciprocating air compressor, and how does it work? A single-acting compressor is a type of air compressor that uses only one end of the piston for the suction and compression. So the first stroke of the piston sucks the air inside the compressor while the air compression occurs in the second stroke.

To explore the internals a bit closer, a mechanical linkage, or connecting rod, is attached to a piston and a crankshaft.  For every rotation of a motor, the piston will move up and down.  Air is being drawn into the cylinder and then compressed.  The volume of the cylinders, the number of cylinders, and the rotations per minute will determine the amount of compressed air that can be produced.  The advantages with reciprocating compressors are that they can produce high pressure, compress different types of gases, and have a cheap and rugged design.  The disadvantages would be high vibration and noise levels as well as being oversize as compared to capacity.  (See the photo below)

Piston goes down: air draws in. Piston goes up: air is pushed out.

Let’s expand on the advantages and disadvantages a bit to see if that explains the heavy use of this style air compressor!

Advantages

  • Cost! Single acting Reciprocating air compressors just cost less than other styles of air compressors!
  • They are typically easy to maintain.
  • They work great for medium duty applications
  • They require less traveling of the compressed air.

Disadvantages

  • The piston only works in one direction at a time
  • The piston spring takes up space limiting the cylinders working stroke.
  • They are less efficient than centrifugal type compressors

No matter the type of air compressor that you use, they are very expensive to use.  Air compressors are considered to be the fourth utility within a manufacturing plant.  To help use it efficiently and safely, EXAIR offers a range of products to clean, cool, blow, clean, conserve, and convey.  This would include our Super Air Knives, Super Air Nozzles, Safety Air Guns, Cabinet Coolers, and much more.  If you want to save energy, increase safety, and cut overhead costs, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We will be happy to help. 

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

Compressor internals image courtesy of h080, Creative Commons License.

Application Assistance & Application Database

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EXAIR Products are used in countless applications across all facets of industry, we have been working to compile some in an easy to read Application Database on EXAIR.com!

Why do we have this database? Well that is simple, we are talking to people every day about applications and how our products can be the solution! Why not log those successful applications in an easy-to-access location for all to see! Also, to make it even more convenient we catalog them by industry and application goal!

Here is how you can find this library.  First, you will have to sign in to EXAIR.  Click here: Log In.  Once you fill in the proper information, you can then retrieve a great amount of resources about EXAIR products that we manufacture.   The Application database is under the Resources tab also known as the Knowledge base.  (Reference photo below).

At the Application Search Library, we have over one thousand applications that we reference.  In the left selection pane, we organized then in alphabetical order under two categories, Application and Industry.

Scroll down in the selection pane until you come to the sub-category: Industry.  Under this Sub-category, you will find three selections that are related to this blog: Automation, Automobile Recycling, and Automotive.  We have other applications as well that may relate to your specific processes if you scroll up and down the list like; Part Ejection and Machining.  You will find many product applications that have already improved processes and solved problems.

If you can’t find an application in this library that matches yours reach out via our Application assistance form! This will be sent directly to the Application Engineering team, we strive to then reach out ASAP to get more information or recommend product! (Reference photos below).

How to find the Application Assistance Form
Application Assistance Form

In today’s market, companies are always looking for ways to cut cost, increase productivity, and improve safety.  EXAIR can offer engineered products to do exactly that.  With the “been there and done that” solutions already described in the Application Database; you can have confidence in finding a way in solving pneumatic issues.  If you do not sign up at www.EXAIR.com and take advantage of these offerings, you will be missing out on a great tool to optimize your compressed air system.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
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Video Blog: EXAIR’s Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle

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The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle has been used in clean room applications. These have been used most commonly to keep contaminants away from packaging and labeling areas. The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle has a clean room classification: ISO 14644-1 Class 5, operational.

Please enjoy the Video below where I introduce and demonstrate EXAIRS newest addition to the Static Eliminator product line!

If you have any questions on the Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle or have a static problem you’d like to discuss, give us a call or shoot us an email

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS