Author: Lee Evans

Chip Trappers – Perfect for CNC Sump Cleaning and… Restaurants?

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Although it may sound a bit strange, I’ve recently found an application for the 110 gallon Chip Trapper in a restaurant setting.  The application came to life when I started working with a wastewater treatment company which aims to use Chip Trappers as a means of servicing quick service restaurant’s water traps.  The need is rooted in a reliable way to claim the water from these traps, and filter any solid particulates.

The current solution uses a service truck with a large gas-powered generator and electrical pump.  In order to remove the water from the facility, a vacuum hose from the pump to the water trap has to be routed into the restaurant, proving cumbersome and prone to creating a mess.  A tank on the service truck holds the dirty water until transport to the treatment facility, where solids, oils, and greases are removed from the dirty water.

In most cases, the filtered liquid from the Chip Trapper is fed back into the original location.  This works wonderfully for CNC applications which can filter the coolant in their sumps, remove chips and debris, and then return the filtered coolant into the machine.  But in this case, the dirty water will be evacuated offsite and treated elsewhere in order to remove any oils and greases.

So, why the Chip Trapper and not simply a Reversible Drum Vac?  The Chip Trapper provides an advantage for the wastewater treatment in the ability to filter out solid particulates prior to filtering greases and oils.  By eliminating this step from the water treatment process, and by providing a mobile and easy-to-use platform to remove the water from the facilities, the Chip Trapper can make the job easier for this end user.  And, if testing goes well, there may be potential to incorporate the Chip Trapper into a new system, shared nationally with all of their facilities.

While we would love to see this solution be replicated for additional facilities, we’re happy to be able to provide a solution even for a single end user.  If you have an application and would like to discuss an EXAIR solution, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@exair.com
@EXAIR_LE

Calculating Air Flow to Cool Manufacturing Processes

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This application needed a way to cool steel plates from 150C to 70C

I’ve written before about using ambient air to cool an application, calculating the required airflow to maintain a temperature.  And, I was recently contacted by an end user in India in need of a way to cool electromagnets in a similar application.

The need was to reduce the temperature of high manganese steel plates (dimensions of 1800mm x 800mm x 500mm) from 150°C to less than 70°C, using air at 40°C.  These steel plates have a specific heat of 0.5107896 J/g°C, weigh 120kg each, and protect the coil and insulation of the electromagnets in this process.  So, just as was the case in previous applications, we started with the process shown below.

heat load calc process
Heat load calculation process

In doing so, we calculated a heat load of 279,245 BTU/hr., which will require an air volume of 1,805 CFM to cool as needed.  (Click the image below for an expanded view of the calculations)

Electromagnet calculations
Heat load calculations

The recommendation to provide this cooling was the use of (6) 120022 Super Air Amplifiers, operated at 80 PSIG and installed along the length of the plates to distribute airflow.  As we can see in the chart below, each 120022 Super Air Amplifier will move an air volume of 341 CFM at the outlet of the unit, making (6) of these units suitable for this application.  And, if we consider entrainment of additional ambient air at distances away from the outlet of the 120022 Super Air Amplifier, we can consider these units may cool the steel faster than the 1 minute cycle time used for calculation purposes.

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Super Air Amplifier performance chart

This application is a great example of how an engineered compressed air solution can remove process disturbances effectively, and efficiently solve problems.  If you have a similar application or even one that is entirely different, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Using EXAIR Cabinet Coolers to Replace Fans

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Which device is causing the overheating condition?

When an electrical device mounted inside a control panel goes offline due to an overheating condition, it can be difficult to determine which component in the panel is the root cause.  There may be an intermittent heat load from a variable frequency drive that isn’t present when troubleshooting, making things appear to be OK.  Or, the overheating condition may only happen during peak operation on days with high ambient temperatures.

Fortunately, no matter the root cause, an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler can maintain temperature within the enclosure at a desired set-point, eliminating overheating conditions and lost throughput due to downtime.

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We investigate to determine what is housed inside of our customer’s electrical control panels.

When calculating heat load, EXAIR Application Engineers consider the components within the control panel.  We inquire with our customers regarding devices such as VFD’s, which may lead to temperature spikes, or fans, which actively remove heat (albeit that they often force dirt and debris into the enclosures they’re designed to be cooling).

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To accurately calculate heat load, we require the diameter of any fans installed on the enclosure.

Fans can be particularly important, because with the installation of any EXAIR Cabinet Cooler, all external fans will need to be removed, and their openings will need to be sealed (internal fans can remain in place).  So, this means we have to account for any heat the fans may already be removing from the application, even if it isn’t enough to keep the enclosure cool.

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Measure any fans used to bring ambient air into the enclosure.

In order to determine the amount of heat a fan is removing from an application, we consider the diameter of the fan, which corresponds to a typical air flow volume in CFM (cubic feet per minute).  We then consider that 1 BTU/hr. is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit, and it is also the amount of heat needed to raise/lower the temperature of one cubic foot of air by 1 degree Fahrenheit in one minute.  This means that for every CFM the fan is moving, we are reducing the temperature of the air by 1°F .  To put it another way, we remove 1 BTU/hr. for every °F * every CFM the fan is moving.

As an example, a 3″ fan will move 22 CFM.  In an enclosure with a current temperature differential of 15 degrees Fahrenheit, this fan is removing 330 BTU/hr.

15°F * 22 CFM = 330°F*CFM

15°F

 x 22 CFM X 1 Btu/hr = 330 Btu/hr

CFM °F

The fans holes should be covered up with sheet metal using rivets, caulk/sealant, duct tape or other ingenious methods you know of. But please cover and seal the cabinet as well as you can.

Using the Cabinet Cooler Sizing Guide and the experience of the EXAIR Application Engineers, we can accurately calculate heat load of an overheating electrical control panel.  When you need help with determining which Cabinet Cooler to use, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.  We’re here to help.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

 

A Customized Line Vac Moves Dog Bedding

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One of the interesting things about working with a variety of applications on a daily basis, is realizing every answer isn’t cut-and-dry.  There are, of course, times when we can specify the exact amount of compressed air required, or the air volume needed to maintain a specific temperature, but conveying applications tend to be a bit different.

A reseller contacted me with an application in need of moving bedding material for dog beds.  The end user needed a reliable way to move the cotton fill for the beds, and wanted to find a way to limit handling by employees, while maintaining a reliability in the amount of material conveyed.

Due to the light weight and density of the cotton, we considered a Light Duty Line Vac, which has an option of sizes up to 6” in diameter – a benefit to this application because the cotton can cluster in groups up to 5” wide.  So, the end user decided to test a Light Duty Line Vac and fell in love with the concept and results.  But, the conveyance capacity of the Light Duty Line Vac was below the needs of the application, meaning we needed to consider a revision to our initial solution.

Finding a new solution meant exploring a number of different options.  We looked into the standard Line Vacs available from stock, threaded Line Vacs, and custom-made Line Vacs with cam lock fittings.  All the while we kept an eye on the throat diameter of each size, the related compressed air requirements, connection options, and lead time.

An initial concern at EXAIR was the cotton “clumping” and being delivered in a the form of a ball. The “clumping” of the cotton was of relatively little concern to the customer, their bigger indicator of success in this application was in how quickly the bedding material could be conveyed.  Having this as the decision driver led us away from the Light Duty Line Vacs we originally sought, and towards a modified version of our stock model 6087 (4″ aluminum Line Vac) with an additional compressed air inlet machined into the body of the unit.  The additional compressed air inlet was introduced by request from the customer, to provide guaranteed air delivery during higher compressed air flow conditions, brought about through higher operating pressures (not to exceed 250 PSIG).

Finding this custom solution wouldn’t have been possible without the Light Duty Line Vac, its large size availability, attractive compressed air usage, and ability to chip from stock.  We never would have explored this special solution, which the end user went on to implement in 12 locations!  If you’re considering a Line Vac for an application in your facility, consider a Light Duty Line Vac, standard Line Vac, or even a custom solution.  No matter the solution, we’ll be happy to help.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE