Category: Adjustable Spot Cooler

Adjustable Spot Coolers

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

What is a Spot Cooler? Well to fully understand that let’s take a dive into what a Vortex Tube is, since at its core an Adjustable spot cooler is a Vortex tube with some bells and whistles that make them easier to use!

The operation of an Vortex Tube is one of the more curious phenomena in fluidics, and a particularly unique method of producing cold air. Since they don’t perform “heat transfer” in the classical sense (see below), there’s no RATE of heat transfer…they’re generating cold air, at rated flow and temperature, instantly.

Compressed air enters the Vortex Tube (blue arrow) where the Generator imparts a spinning motion to the flow, which continues towards the “hot end” (red ribbon). The flow is forced to change directions and continue spinning, flowing in the opposite direction (blue ribbon). It’s at this point that the flow gives up energy in the form of heat, which is exhausted through the Hot Valve (red arrows) while the cold flow makes its way to the opposite end, where it exits at temperatures up to 129F colder than the compressed air supply.

EXAIR Corporation’s Vortex Tubes come in a range of sizes & cooling capacities, and are integrated into a number of Spot Cooler Products which add convenience and flexibility to their operation.

EXAIR’s Adjustable Spot Cooler incorporates this Vortex Tube technology to produce temperatures ranging from -30°F – +70°F. At a sound level of just 73 dBA when operated at 100 psig and stock generator installed, this compact cooler will keep your operation cool, clean and dry without causing unnecessarily high noise levels.

3725
Tolerances are maintained on plastic parts using the Adjustable Spot Cooler

Through a simple turn of the control knob, you can easily adjust the temperature of the unit. Additionally, the kits come with (2) extra generators (15-H and 30-H) that can be swapped out for the stock generator for more/less cooling power and air consumption. The 15-H generator will deliver up to 1,000 Btu/hr of cooling capacity and the 30-H will provide up to 2,000 Btu/hr of cooling capacity. We have (2) different kits available, Model 3825 Single Point and the Model 3925 Dual Point Kit. The 3825 is recommended for use in applications where you’re cooling a small surface such as solder joints, hot melts, or drilled plastics.

The 3925 system is better served when heat is generated over a larger surface area such as saw blade cooling. The kits use flexible Loc-Line hose to allow you to precisely position the cold airflow onto your target. The Adjustable Spot Cooler provides easy mounting with a swivel magnetic base, allowing you to mount the cooler directly at the most critical point that heat is being generated.

3825_3925 adj spot cooler

If you’re tired of cleaning up your coolant or have an application that requires dry machining, or you just need to cool something hot! Get one of the Adjustable Spot Cooler systems on order today. They’re in stock ready to ship!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Georges-Joseph Ranque and the Vortex Tube

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

Georges-Joseph Ranque was born on February 7th, 1898 in Ambérieu-en-Bugey, France. The son of a railroad engineer, Léon-Joseph Ranque, it was not much of a surprise that he developed a strong interest in physics. An attendee of the prestigious and highly selective post-secondary school, Lycée Saint-Louis, Georges continued to develop his knowledge in the world of physics. From there he was admitted to École Polytechnique where he continued his studies. For years, Georges was interested in the Pantone carburetor. While developing an industrial pump, he noticed the phenomenon now known as the Ranque effect. The Ranque effect is the known working principle for industrial Vortex Tubes. When a compressed gas is injected into the tube tangentially at high velocity, two streams are created: one hot and one cold.

This cold airflow is then utilized throughout a variety of industrial spot cooling and enclosure cooling processes due to its simplicity and reliability. All that’s needed is a supply of compressed air. In 1931, Georges filed for a patent on his vortex tube. His idea didn’t go too far from there, until the topic was later picked back up by another physicist by the name of Rudolf Hilsch. Rudolf made some improvements to the design he called the “Wirbelrohr”, or “whirl pipe” for those not fluent in German. You’ll commonly hear the term “Ranque-Hilsch tube” used synonymously with the term Vortex Tube for this reason.

So how exactly does this thing work? The truth is no one knows for certain, but there is one commonly accepted theory that explains the phenomenon:

Compressed air is supplied into the tube where it passes through a set of nozzles that are tangent to the internal counter bore. The design of the nozzles forces the air to spin in a vortex motion at speeds up to 1,000,000 RPM. The spinning air turns 90° where a valve at one end allows some of the warmed air to escape. What does not escape, heads back down the tube in the inner stream where it loses heat and exhausts through the other end as cold air.

Both streams rotate in the same direction and at the same angular velocity. Due to the principle of conservation of angular momentum, the rotational speed of the inner vortex should increase. The best way to illustrate this is in Olympic Figure Skating. As the skater is wider, the spinning motion is much slower. As she decreases her overall radius, the velocity picks up dramatically and she spins much quicker. In a Vortex Tube, the speed of the inner vortex remains the same as it has lost angular momentum. The energy that is lost in this process is given off in the form of heat that has exhausted from the hot side of the tube. This loss of heat allows the inner vortex to be cooled, where it can be ducted and applied for a variety of industrial applications.

This Vortex Tube theory is utilized in basic Vortex Tubes, along with a variety of other products that have additional features specific for your application. EXAIR’s line of Cabinet Coolers, Cold Guns, Adjustable Spot Coolers, Mini Coolers, and Vortex Tubes all operate off of this same principle.

If you’re fascinated by this product and want to give it a try, EXAIR offers an unconditional 30-day guarantee. We have them all in stock and ready to ship as well, same day with an order received by 2:00 ET. Feel free to get in contact with us if you’d like to discuss how a vortex-based product could help you in your processes.

Tyler Daniel

Application Engineer

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

EXAIR Products “Built to Last”

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

When I hear “Built to Last” ads come to mind such as Ford Trucks and Craftsman tools. Advertising promoting product integrity will always get my attention. Although I have not owned a Ford truck, I have many friends that have and swear by them, so I’m thinking my next truck might be a Ford. I have owned a lot of Craftsman tools and put them through rigorous use and I never had to use the “Lifetime Warranty“. They were designed and built to last and this is how EXAIR designs and manufactures their Intelligent Compressed Air Tooling.

EXAIR Design and Engineering team designs our items with performance and repeat manufacture ability in mind. EXAIR products have no moving parts so very little maintenance is required. As long as a source of clean dry compressed air is supplied to the product and following our recommended Installation instructions not much can go wrong,

EXAIR NEMA 4X 316SS Cabinet Cooler System with Electronic Temperature Control installed on control panel in a pharmaceutical plant.

EXAIR has a “5 Year Built to Last” Warranty against defects in workmanship and materials on all compressed air products. This warranty applies under conditions of normal use, but does not apply to defects that result from intentional damage, negligence, unreasonable use, wear or exposure. An example of a non warranty situation would be using an abrasive material such as sand with our Aluminum Line Vacs. The abrasive nature of the sand will wear the aluminum Line Vac out well before the 5 years. Our application engineers will discuss your application and recommend products that fit your project and our 5 Year Built to Last Warranty.

EXAIR also has a 30-Day Guarantee that allows you to make a purchase and run trials to see the effectiveness of our product and how they meet your expectations. If the item provides desired results then great we are both happy but if you do not see the desired results then you have 30 Days from purchase to return the product. An Application Engineer can discuss your findings and issue a “Return Authorization” if needed. You will receive a full credit without any restocking fees.

EXAIR has confidence in our products to last and perform standing behind our products. Our confidence is why we offer both 5 Year Built to Last Warranty and the 30-Day Unconditional Guarantee. If you have any questions as to what EXAIR product will provide the best result for your application, please contact one of our qualified Application Engineers, so we can review this with you and make the best recommendation for your project(s).

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

EXAIR has Intelligent Compressed Air® Tooling

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

I used to work for a plastic injection molding facility that also had several different types of secondary added value processes. We used compressed air in our paint rooms, assembly areas, molding room and other various processes. I don’t recall what our compressed air usage was as we had 7 total manufacturing facilities in 5 different states. I tracked our electric bills, phone bills, water bills and all of our vending billing but, I never took the time to realize the importance and cost of compressed air.

I was successful in cost reduction activity in all those ares and so proud of the accomplishments but not once did I take the time to realize what I could save with our compressed air systems and the tooling we used with compressed air. The illustration below shows what can be saved when looking at just one air nozzle:

Compressed Air Savings

This is just one air nozzle. We used about 100 Air Nozzles, 20 paint nozzles, 50 Line Vacs and other various compressed air products. If I was able to calculate savings for all the products we used and focused on fixing air leaks in the system I would have been a real hero. Well guess what? EXAIR can help you calculate and determine the best products to help you generate these savings. We can even help you calculate your savings.

The other benefits included with EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® products will be the noticeable noise reduction and compliance with OSHA Standards 29 CFR-1910.95(a) Maximum Allowable Noise Exposure and 29 CFR-1910.242(b) Harmful Dead End Pressure. EXAIR meets or exceeds these OSHA Standards providing you with a peace of mind for conformance.

EXAIR has a great catalog showing our products, capabilities and performance information. Our website www.EXAIR.com offers catalog information, prices, performance, drawings, videos, blogs, air savings calculator and much more information. If you are unable to find what you need you can conveniently call one of our Application Engineers for assistance.

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