Author: Lee Evans

Super Air Knives Clean Slide Ways, Rails and Tracks of Machinery

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Until a few days ago I was relatively unfamiliar with flying cold saws, their operation, and purpose.  I knew they were used in manufacturing, particularly with regards to piping, but had no real idea as to how or why.

So, when prompted with a need to examine an application for a flying cold saw, I thought to find a schematic or video online.  Thankfully, I found the video above of the exact machine being used in the application, and it helped me to fully understand the application needs.

What was needed, was a method to keep the rails of the flying saw clean and clear of debris created during the cutting process.  There is a waste material removal system incorporated into the saw, but it cannot prevent stray scrap material from deflecting during cutting and landing on the rails used to position the saw.

We’ve found success in similar applications using Super Air Knives to clear debris off slide ways on large CNC machines and from the tracks for rail cars, so I felt confident we could find a solution here.  In selecting the proper air knife for this application we considered size (width) of the rails, ambient temperature, and required force from the knife.  This application uses 6″ rails in a typical factory setting (with ambient temperatures up to 110F max), with small stainless steel debris on the rails – a “perfect” fit for the aluminum 6″ Super Air Knife, model 110006.

This customer chose to use (4) 110006 Super Air Knives, two on each side of the knife used on the leading edge and on the trailing edge.  Limit switches of the saw will trigger the air knives positioned on the leading edge to turn on, clearing debris from the rails as the saw travels back and forth.

This was a great application for use with Super Air Knives, and we were happy to help solve the customer’s problem.  If you have a similar application, give us a call, send us an email, or use our online chat feature to contact an Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Super Ion Air Knives Remove Dust from Plastic Panels

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Conveyor line with static dust problem

One of our distributors reached out to me this week about a static elimination application in Russia.  The end user has the setup shown above, and they are in need of a means to remove dust from the plastic panels on the conveyor.  These panels have a static charge causing ambient dust to adhere to their surfaces.

The main questions for this application were whether we could provide a solution capable of creating a static eliminating blow off for the entire width of the conveyor (approx. 54”), and whether the dust particles can be removed from the working area after removal from the plastic panels.

In order to answer the first question we first had to select a solution, and the Super Ion Air Knife is a near-perfect fit.  We can provide Super Ion Air Knives in any length up to 108”, with a stock length 54” unit available on the shelf.  This was a straightforward recommendation to remove the static from these plastic sheets – install one 111054 54” Super Ion Air Knife on the top and bottom sides of this conveyor to remove the static and blow off the dust.  But, the second question will require a more specialized solution.

When static causes dust to adhere to a surface, removal of the static charge allows the dust to fall off or be blown away, so we were confident that we can remove the static and dust.  But, we then need to vacuum these dust particles away – something we could achieve with a series of Super Air Amplifiers or Line Vacs – which will require some sort of specialized hood.  Fortunately for us, this application already has a vacuum control system with a hood (you can see this in the right side of the photo with a large plastic air duct running to the top and bottom hoods on this conveyor line).

So, problem solved!  We recommended the two Super Ion Air Knives are installed with the airflow aimed at a 45° angle of attack, opposite the direction of travel, and with the airflow aimed into these vacuum hoods.

If you have a similar application or static problem in your facility, give us a call, we’ll be happy to help.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Super Air Knives Are Perfect Solution For Electroplating Application

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The products on this rack need to be blown off before heat treating

One of our blog readers was searching through our posts, looking for a suitable solution for a problem in their application.  The application needed a system for blowing water from different components on racks (shown above) used during electroplating.  After blow off, these components go through a heat drying process, and it is critical to have as much of the water removed as possible.

Given the width of the rack and the need for even blow off across the full width, the most suitable solution is a pair of Super Air Knives.  The video above shows the dipping process of the rack and components, and this is where the end user wants to install their blow off.

Our recommendation was to mount one Super Air Knife on either side of the rack, across the width. The airflow aimed downward toward the dip tank at a 45 degree angle was also our recommendation.  This will create a complete blow off for the rack and the parts on it, while redirecting the water back into the tank below.  And, these racks have a right to left measurement of 60″, making our stock length 60″ Super Air Knife an ideal candidate for this application.

The consistency and repeatability of the Super Air  Knife provide a unique solution opportunity for this application.  If you have a similar application or application need, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer, we’ll be happy to help.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

 

Removing Static From Beer Cans

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Years ago when Professor Penurious roamed the halls of EXAIR, he used to brew his own beer at home.  I remember asking him about it and having him give me way more information than anyone except a real beer manufacturer would have wanted.  Thankfully for me, a real beer manufacturer contacted me recently about an application need.

When I saw the domain extension of the e-mail inquiry I flashed back to everything Professor Penurious had mentioned, only to find it was more information than I still needed.  The application at hand needed no help with brewing the beer, but they did need help removing static from their beer cans before filling.  The end user hoped to rinse the cans in static eliminating ions to release dust and particles from the cans prior to filling.

Rinsing items in a “bath” of ions can be very effective to remove a static charge, especially if the static eliminator is positioned in the right location.  For the application shown above, and most others, the best location is at the last possible point before the static is causing a disturbance to the process.  Reason being, we want to eliminate the static, but don’t want to leave the door open to building more static before we’ve completed our critical process.

In this application, the installation location is just before the cans are filled (not shown in this image) because the root cause of their problem was dust and small particulate collecting on the cans before filling.  Using a series of Super Ion Air Knives we can create an ionizing rinse and blow off to clear the debris from the cans prior to being filled.

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Visual representation of the ion flow from a Super Ion Air Knife

To create the ionizing rinse, Super Ion Air Knives are positioned on each side of the product, and on the top of the product so that even coverage is guaranteed.  Positive and negative ions generated from the Ion Bars of the Super Ion Air Knives are directed toward the surfaces with static charge, balancing the charge to near zero.  The even and laminar airflow from the Super Ion Air Knives then blows away any debris previously adhered to the product due to static.

If you have a similar application and think an EXAIR product can help, give us a call/email/chat request.  We’ll be happy to help.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE