Category: Vortex Tubes

Refrigerated Air From Compressed Air

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EXAIR was contacted by a novelty candy making company. These folks mold chocolates in shapes and forms to celebrate special occasions such as weddings, retirements, special achievements, etc.

It is mostly a handwork operation, slow and time-consuming. Production can be increased by producing multiple molds but these are a one time use item relevant to a specific customer. The cost of the molds could easily exceed the cost of the candy material.

To speed up production they tried various methods of cooling so the product could be released from the molds sooner. Nothing seemed to work as well as they would have liked until they came across EXAIR’s website  and saw the vortex tubes. Working with one of our application engineers, the appropriate product was picked out and installed as pictured.

The near freezing air from the vortex tubes cooled the product almost as fast as they could fill the individual molds. Being able to effectively and inexpensively cool the molds eliminated the need for additional expensive molds by speeding up production of the finished candies.

If you need technical assistance give us a call 1-800-903-9247 and ask to speak to an application engineer. We have experience with all kinds of applications; some routine and some exotic. With that we can certainly come up with something for your application. Rest assured if we cannot, we will tell you as well as try to direct you to a possible source.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer

Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax   (513) 671-3363
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair

Why Small Businesses Outperform Their Big Brothers

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For decades small businesses have been disadvantaged  by the symbiotic, parasitic relationship between politicians, big business and big banks. Money talks and can buy the favor politicians. Swimming upstream against a constant deluge of disadvantages, small businesses have had to think outside of the box, constantly reinvent themselves, and maximize on their limited resources.

Labor, materials, distribution, regulation and taxes are the cost components of doing business. There is not much that can be done about regulations and taxes because small businesses don’t have the clout. The mis-named Small Business Administration is of no help. When the SBA was created in 1953 the big business lobby got their political friends to define small business as any business with under 500 employees, which is 99.94% of all businesses in America (only 17,000 of 28 million are larger than 500 employees). So even with the SBA, true small businesses are on the outside looking in.

Material costs are predicated on volume and small businesses do not have the buying power of their big brothers. Using third-party procurement companies, or buying into a franchise are of some relief but not for all businesses.

Distribution and labor are the two components that small businesses have an edge. For large businesses, getting the product out to market can be 50% or more of the cost of the product. The birth of the internet has given small businesses the ability to go to market at minimal costs. Today there is somewhat less need for store fronts, outside salesmen, or commodity brokers. A good website and a qualified staff is mostly all that is required. And there in lies the secret as to why small businesses outperform their big brothers…a qualified engaged staff.

Brick and mortar companies have been slow in engaging internet commerce. Understandably because they are staffed with specialists and a lot of them. If someone in the organization comes up with a cutting edge idea, unless it is within their area of discipline, there is little chance for it to get to and accepted by  the proper channels. A small business on the other hand with less than 50 employees, the lines of demarcation are not so defined. With a smaller group, there is a stronger interdependence and communications to incubate innovation.

EXAIR is a small business with an engaged staff. Whether you are in machining or marketing, everyone is well aware of the tempo of the business. We fully embrace the internet with a comprehensive website with online buying and online chat with one of our engineers. You can find us on Facebook as well as Twitter. Those in search of a compressed air solution can easily find us and get an immediate answer.

Need help? Call and ask for one of our engineers 1-800-903-9247

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer

Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax   (513) 671-3363
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair

So You Think You Have an Unsual Application

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I love it when I get a call prefaced with the statement “I’ve got an unusual application that your products probably were not designed for”. It’s not like I hadn’t heard that before and in the end it was just a matter of thinking outside the box.

This one customer, who builds ink jet printers, needed to control the viscosity of his ink.Variations in ambient temperatures was changing the viscosity of the ink requiring a line shutdown and recalibration of the marking system. He came across our website and was interested in our Vortex Tubes . His idea was to blow cold air on to the spraying tips.

I liked his idea but not his method of application. As the viscosity changed he would have to change the amount of cooling, putting him back to square one of having to recalibrate with changing conditions. I asked him what was the ideal temperature for the ink. He said 60F. I suggested that he store the ink pots in a controlled environment for however long it takes for the entire pot to normalize. Then when a fresh pot of ink was needed, it could be taken out to the line and put into a chamber cooled by one our Vortex Cabinet coolers. The cooler would maintain a consistent temperature inside the box and thus a constant viscosity.

It was more work than he had anticipated but he was willing to try a test. It worked flawlessly. He is retrofitting his machines in the field and adding our coolers to all new machines being built.

If you have an application that you would like a different perspective feel welcomed to call one of our application engineers 1-800-903-9247.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer

Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax   (513) 671-3363
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair

Who Did It?

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You come in the morning and find a piece of equipment broken. The quintessential response you get is “I dunno, second shift must have done it”.  We have all been there and I as well.

I took a service call from a customer complaining that the product of ours he just purchased did not work. I was talking to a third-party materials manager. Someone dropped it off on his desk and said it was junk and did not work. I wanted to diagnose the problem but he was totally oblivious to what the part was. My only option was to have him send it in to me and I would evaluate it for warranty.

As it turned out some of the internal pieces were missing and…it was not one of our products.

I called the gentleman back and told him that someone had taken it apart and lost some pieces. He was quick to let me know that is the way they received it. Dedicated to stellar customer service that we are here at EXAIR, I hung in with him and advised him of what pieces were missing and that it was not our product.

I later got a call from the shop manager who said the procurement company had gotten it all wrong. He wanted to order replacement parts. I told him that his cold gun was of another manufacturer and that our parts are not interchangeable. He was taken back by my taking the time to identify the missing parts even though it was not our product. It was a level of service that he was not used to.

As it ended, he instructed me to scrap the unit they had sent in and ordered a new unit from us.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer

Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax (513) 671-3363
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair