Category: Super Air Nozzle

How EXAIR is Helping Restore a Vintage Mustang

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Last year, I took on a new project – restoring a 1973 Mustang Mach 1.  Ain’t she beautiful? Well, she will be some day anyway…

My Mach 1

It’s been a busy year (arent’ they all?!?), so when I got a few free hours to work on it the other night, I jumped at the chance.  As anyone who’s ever worked on an old car knows, getting all the dirt, rust, grime, opossum residue, etc. off the car so you can see what you’re working on is one of the first things you do.  Imagine my surprise when I grabbed my trusty Model 1210 Soft Grip Super Air Gun to start blowing off some of the aforementioned debris, only to discover a paltry breeze was all it had to offer.  A quick check of my compressed air system (including making sure it was turned on – I speak from experience…) revealed I should have close to 90 PSIG at the gun. I decided to take the Model 1210 in to work the next day for evaluation (We can do this for YOU too, our Efficiency Lab service will test  your product for air consumption, noise and force to determine what engineered solution EXAIR can provide to help you save air, increase safety and lower noise levels).

Making sure I had 80 psig at the inlet, I checked the flow and force.  As I suspected, something was seriously wrong.  I was still only getting a week breeze from the gun, as bourne out by the fact the blowing force was down to 1.3 oz, or 1/10th of the 13 oz it should have had.  Flow was similarly low – 3.6 SCFM as opposed to the 14 SCFM we stand behind as the published figure.  Something was amiss in the gun itself.  Fortunately, it didn’t take long to figure out.  I took off the nozzle to discover this:

IMG_4064

On the left was the Model 1100 Super Air Nozzle that was installed in the gun.  On the right is a new Model 1100 off the shelf.  Dirty air much?

Using my favorite nozzle cleaning tool, I was able to quickly remove the dirt, rust and miscellaneous garbage that had been clogging up the nozzle.

IMG_4066

Back to the flowbench for a quick check and it was good as new!  Even the engineers here at EXAIR are not immune to the effects of dirty air.  Now, back home to check my air lines and replace the filter element on my compressed air system!

As engineers, we often find ourselves asking why something doesn’t work the way it used to.  The first question I’ve learned to ask over the years is simple – ‘What changed?’  In this case, it was a dirty compressed air supply.  If you have one of our products that doesn’t work the way you think it should, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE to call me or any of our Application Engineers to talk about it.  We can discuss your symptoms and get them resolved so your system is operating efficiently. A good cleaning, replacing a filter element, installing properly sized air supply lines or fittings could be the key to getting top performance from your EXAIR product.

Dan Preston
Engineering Manager
EXAIR Corporation

The Thing About 100 MPH Fastballs

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

A few weeks ago, I wrote about an awesome Sunday afternoon at the ballpark. Today, dear reader, I want to write about something completely different: An awesome Tuesday evening at the ballpark. My youngest son and I went with his Knothole Baseball team with tickets purchased through The Kid Glove Way, a charitabler organization that has partnered with the Cincinnati Reds since 1949 to ensure that local youth have equipment to play baseball & softball, regardless of their financial situation.

redlegs

The weather was perfect, and my Reds got off to a great start: Leadoff batter Billy Hamilton hit one into the left field corner for a triple. Now, this would have been a double for most any other player – proven out by Reds’ sluggers Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips, who both hit balls in almost the exact same location as the night progressed, and both ended up on second base. But not Hamilton…he’s FAST – the fastest runner in Major League Baseball by most accounts. If you have the opportunity to see this guy run in person (he IS coming right along as a hitter, so the odds are increasing), I highly recommend it…television doesn’t do his speed justice.

The rest of the game dragged on in a pitcher’s duel…not the most exciting spectacle in the wide world of sports…but the crowd took notice when Reds’ closer Aroldis Chapman started warming up in the bullpen. “The Cuban Missile” caught a line drive in the eye during Spring Training, which fractured his skull…thing about a 100 mph fastball; it goes the other way just as hard if the batter turns on it well. It was cool to be there for his second game back after recovering from that serious of an injury.

So there we were, top of the ninth inning, score tied 1-1, and Chapman strikes out the first two batters. The Padres’ Chase Headley came to the plate, took a ball, fouled one off, and drove the next pitch over the left field fence. Thing about 100 mph fastballs…

The Reds’ offense came up short in the bottom of the ninth, and they lost. It was still an awesome night at the ballpark with my son, though.

The thing about 100 mph fastballs reminded me of the thing about open ended compressed air blow offs: there’s no way to generate an air flow with a higher force, but that’s not always a good thing. They’re loud, unsafe, inefficient, and wasteful of your compressed air. Conversely, EXAIR’s Intelligent Compressed Air Products, such as our Super Air Nozzles, Super Air Knives and Super Air Amplifiers, are all specifically designed to use MUCH less compressed air, meet OSHA standards for dead end pressure and permissible noise exposure  and still produce a highly effective air flow for blow off, cooling, drying, etc. Sure; the air flow from these products doesn’t have the force of what you get from an open pipe, but the fact that these engineered products entrain so much “free” air from the surrounding environment into a laminar (as opposed to the open pipes’ turbulence), high velocity flow, make them an ideal choice for most any air blowing application. Not to mention, they’re also much quieter, and ensure compliance with OSHA directives concerning the use of compressed air for cleaning purposes.

The Reds will be in and out-of-town for the rest of the season, trying to solve the different equations for beating different opponents. We’re here every day, looking to help you solve your unique compressed air applications. Batter up!

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
(513)671-3322 local
(800)923-9247 toll free
(513)671-3363 fax
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: twitter.com/exair_rb
Facebook: www.facebook.com/exair

How Much Compressed Air Can EXAIR Nozzles Save You?

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

What do you do when you realize the existing blow off in an application is wasteful and not OSHA compliant? You call EXAIR!

Vibratory Feed Bowl

Vibratory Feed Bowl Plumbing

In the process shown above, threaded fasteners are fed into a vibratory feed bowl, assisted by open copper pipe blow offs. Looking for opportunities to lower compressed air use, save operational costs, and lower noise levels, the end user contacted the Application Engineering department at EXAIR.
Initially our conversation focused on the required force of the blow off, current air consumption, and current noise levels. The required force was unknown, current compressed air consumption was unknown, and the noise level was given the often heard description – “LOUD! “

So, to determine the nozzle required, without knowing the force required, the end user cited the weight of each fastener. With a range of 0.017 -0.049 pounds per piece, I recommended the 1108SS Atto Super Air Nozzle. Sensing that a bit more force was desired to produce a comfortable margin of force, we moved to the 1109SS Pico Super Air Nozzle and the 1110SS Nano Super Air Nozzle nozzles for testing, with the most suitable nozzle becoming the choice solution.

After discussing force, it was time to discuss flow. Without an idea of the current compressed air use, it would be difficult to quantify the compressed air savings by installing EXAIR Air Nozzles. And, even though the compressed air use was unknown, we determined approximate flow based on orifice size and operating pressure. With an orifice of 0.109″ operating at 80 PSIG, the compressed air consumption per copper tube of approximately 18 SCFM (Based on chart value below.). The feed bowl has at least 5 open tube blow offs, resulting in a total compressed air use of 90+ SCFM. By converting to our 1110SS nozzles, the compressed air use can be reduced to 41.5 SCFM, a savings of over 50%! By installing EXAIR engineered nozzles, approximately 12HP of compressor load was removed from the system. Considering that the facility has upwards of (15) feed bowls, the savings in implementing the EXAIR solution become very large, very fast.

Flow Of Air Through An Orifice In SCFM

Lastly, we discussed noise. Open pipes can be the source of incredibly loud noise levels. The end user estimated 90 dBA or higher. The EXAIR 1110SS Nano Super Air Nozzles has a sound level rating of 75 dBA, reducing the sound level exponentially. The icing on the cake for the end user, above and beyond the compressed air savings and noise level reduction, was the safety added by the EXAIR nozzles. All EXAIR products operate below OSHA dead ended pressure requirements (OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910-242(b)).

Applications like this are what EXAIR is all about. Meeting or exceeding existing performance levels while lowering compressed air use and noise levels, and adding safety to the work environment. If you have a similar application or need advice regarding EXAIR products, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

 

21st Century Solutions to 21st Century Applications

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The other day, I had the pleasure of helping a caller with a question about a particular EXAIR product…he referenced a certain page in our catalog, but when I turned to that page in the current catalog that I keep on my desk, I quickly realized that we weren’t looking at the same book.  I asked him which edition he had, and it was (gasp) our “Catalog 97.”  From 1997.  That’s right…the 20th Century.

Now, I’m old enough to remember when saying “20th Century” meant that something was new, modern, and technologically advanced.  That meant, among other things, color TV, cruise control, push-button phones, and dial-up modems.  Of course, let’s remember that, at the beginning of the 20th Century:

*The concept of powered flight was commonly ridiculed as a physical impossibility until two brothers from Dayton, Ohio lifted off from a North Carolina beach one day in 1903.

*An injury that broke the skin was potentially life-threatening: penicillin wasn’t developed until 1935.

*Pluto wasn’t a planet.  OK; it isn’t now either, but back then it was because it hadn’t been discovered yet.

Back to my story about the caller, though:  I grabbed our copy of “Old #97” so we’d be on the same page (literally), and was able to help him with his questions.  I also made sure that we mailed him a copy of our current Catalog 26, of course.  If you don’t have one, click here.

A collection of EXAIR Catalogs, with "Old # 97" right there in the middle (we don't really call it that)
A collection of EXAIR Catalogs, with “Old # 97” right there in the middle
(we don’t really call it that)

Inside, you’ll find details on all of our current products…some of which EXAIR has been making since 1983.  Others have been introduced during my 3-year (so far) stint here, such as our:

*USB Data Logger for the Digital Flowmeter

*A BUNCH of Super Air Nozzles: Atto, Pico, 1” Flat, and 3/8”NPT PEEK (we just put out the Press Release on that one today)

*External Mix and Siphon Fed Atomizing Spray Nozzles, AND a No-Drip option for this product line

*Chip Shields for Safety Air Guns

*3-foot and 6-foot Extensions for Super Blast Safety Air Guns

*Heavy Duty HEPA Vac

*High Temperature 316SS Dual Cabinet Cooler Systems

If you want to know what’s new at EXAIR, you have to look quick…and often.  We intend to keep providing current solutions to current applications – what’s yours?  I bet we can help.  Try us.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
(513)671-3322 local
(800)923-9247 toll free
(513)671-3363 fax
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: twitter.com/exair_rb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair