Category: Sustainability

Porous and Non-Porous E-vac Generators

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

Having an injection molding background I saw many uses for parts pickers using many different sizes from 90 – to 3000 ton injection molding machines and a vast amount of part sizes and shapes that varied from items as small as dinner plates to as big as municipal refuse containers. I dealt mainly with non-porous applications but EXAIR offers both porous and non-porous E-vacs to accommodate wide range of part sizes and weights.

EXAIR has High Vacuum Generators for Non-Porous Applications with high vacuum units up to 27″ Hg (91 kPa) with vacuum flows up to 15.8 SCFM (447 SLPM). The plastic products I was moving were all non-porous, meaning air or liquids would not permeate into the surface of my product. Other examples of non-porous material including plastic sub-straights include glass, steel sheet, ceramics, vinyl, sealed tiles and varnished wood.

Porous applications use a low vacuum generator. Low vacuum units up to 21″Hg (71kPa) with flows up to 18.5 SCFM (524 SLPM) are typically used for porous materials such as corrugate, wood, fabrics, cinder block, etc… The relatively lower level vacuum for porous materials prevents warping, marring, dimpling or disfiguring of the surface due to excessive vacuum. This style generates more vacuum flow to overcome porosity and leakage while maintaining control over the object being handled.

Referencing the previously mentioned refuse container application, I performed the weight and movement analysis and determined that four of our model 900754 vacuum cups and two of our model 810006M Non-porous E-vacs would have been more than adequate to unload and lift my 95 gallon refuse container lids from the injection molding machine and move them to the hot stamp center. I recall the vacuum cup system we had in place back then, would frequently drop out and lose control over the product. This was not only a real process headache, but also made for a legitimate safety issue as well.

EXAIR E-vacs actually have other interesting uses. They have been used in applications for bag and package opening, label placement, vacuum forming, leak testing and many other applications.

EXAIR also has accessories to round out vacuum cup systems including vacuum cups themselves, mufflers, check valves, vacuum tubing and fittings. We would have interest to discuss your application. If you have questions regarding which E-vac style and size is proper for your project please contact any of our Application Engineers to help you with selection and design of your system.

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@exair.com
Twitter: Twitter: @EXAIR_EK

EXAIR Case Studies Share Succe$$

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

EXAIR provides many informative tools to help you decide which of our products will work best for you. We have a qualified staff of Application Engineers, a comprehensive catalog, Installation Sheets, Blogs, and a library of Case Studies, to name a few. Following is more about our Case Studies and how they can be helpful.

EXAIR keeps a library of Case Studies for your reference. The Library s is also organized by product so you can easily find the information and product you have interest. These case studies summarize how our customers have purchased, used, and benefited from our products and their purchase. These studies focus on our products and your project, we do not use our customer names and only use photos and verbiage that you approve and share with us.

The process to develop a Case Study is as easy as talking to one of our Application Engineers. We will discuss your project and work with you to decide the wording and photos that you approve for the study. Once the study has been completed and approved we can discuss a credit on your purchase or percentage discount on your next purchase. This becomes a “win, win” for both you and EXAIR.

EXAIR appreciates a good success story, and we want to encourage you to share your success from using one or more of our products. This is why EXAIR incentivizes Case Studies. We will offer a discount to any company who will provide enough information to produce a case study. If you have interest to create a Case Study (and save money) on your next project please contact one of our Application Engineers so we can discuss your application and goals.

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@exair.com
Twitter: Twitter: @EXAIR_EK

Laminar and Turbulent Air Flow

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I have a manufacturing background primarily with automotive and plastic injection molding. I used compressed air but I will admit that I did not know the difference between Laminar and Turbulent air flow. You’ll often hear EXAIR refer to laminar vs turbulent flow when discussing our blow off of products. I will briefly describe the difference between the two and hopefully we all learn something new. In any blow off process or application, laminar airflow is going to be much more effective at eliminating pressure drops, blowing product and reducing noise levels than the turbulent air flow. To read more about the math behind it, check out my colleague John Ball’s previous post here.

A good example of an EXAIR product that delivers a laminar air flow are our Super Air Knives. The super air knife offers a more efficient way to clean, dry or cool parts, webs or conveyors. They deliver a uniform sheet of “Laminar” airflow across the entire hard-hitting force. The Super Air Knives deliver a uniform sheet of air that has the same force across the entire length.

The efficiency of EXAIR’s Super Air Knife delivering the laminar air flow becomes more valuable when comparing the effectiveness to a blower operated knife or fans. A fan “slaps” the air, resulting in a turbulent airflow where the airflow particles are irregular and will interfere with each other. A laminar airflow, by contrast, will maintain smooth paths that will never interfere with one another, which allows for maximum velocity and can produce higher force levels.

EXAIR had a customer needing help applying icing on snack cakes. As baked sponge cakes moved down a conveyor, a continuous ribbon of icing was applied to the individual cakes. Trying to make a clean break in the icing was next to impossible. Mechanical blades needed constant cleaning. Compressed air through a series of holes in drilled pipe used too much air, was noisy and did not make a clean break.

The solution was using an EXAIR Stainless Steel Super Air Knife. A photo eye detected space between cakes turning the compressed air on at the precise moment to apply a uniform airflow and velocity against the ribbon of icing, creating a nice clean break. The stainless steel Air Knife was the best choice for this application. Since there was no contact with the icing, no additional cleaning was required. The Laminar flow of the Super Air Knife had uniform velocity across the entire length and broke the ribbon of icing evenly. This successful result would never have been possible with turbulent air from drilled pipe, nozzles or a blower.

The Super Air knives are just one of many of EXAIR’s Intelligent Compressed Air products. When planning your next project that requires compressed air please contact one of our many Application Engineers for assistance. EXAIR takes pride in our products and customer service.

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@exair.com
Twitter: Twitter: @EXAIR_EK

Decibel Levels in Manufacturing

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The Decibel (dB) is a unit used to measure the intensity of sound. Decibel levels are a little tricky as human ears are incredibly sensitive. Our ears can hear everything from a gnat flying by your ear to to very loud jet engines. The range of sound level is very vast. Manufacturing environments can be loud and expose employees to harmful noise levels. You can see some interesting manufacturing noise exposure data from the CDC, here.

On the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound (near total silence) is 0 dB. A sound 10 times more powerful is 10 dB. A sound 100 times more powerful than near total silence is 20 dB. A sound 1,000 times more powerful than near total silence is 30 dB. Here are some common sounds and their decibel ratings:

Experience tells us that many things distance affects the intensity of sound. Noise levels can be due to product design, proximity to the noise, frequency of processes, quantity of noise producing machines or processes. Exposure to high noise levels can be harmful. Extended length of exposure to sound levels above above 80 dB can begin hearing loss. If you feel you have to raise the level of your voice to be heard then you can assume that you are in an environment of 85 or greater dB. OSHA Standard 29 CFR-1910.95 (a) shows the Maximum Allowable Noise Exposure.

EXAIR engineers our products with safety and exposure in mind and we manufacture most every product to be under any threshold where hearing protection is required. If any product (like our largest Super Air Nozzles) is above the threshold, EXAIR is clear that hearing protection is needed. Please visit www.EXAIR.com and view how our Intelligent Compressed Air Products can help your quality of work atmosphere. If you have any questions regarding our products or for advice as to what products can improve the safety of your work environment, please contact any one of our Application Engineers.

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@exair.com
Twitter: Twitter: @EXAIR_EK