In the last post of this series, we talked about finding and fixing leaks in your compressed air system. Many readers found that step especially valuable—leak detection alone can uncover major savings opportunities. Now, it’s time to move on to step three in the Six Steps to Optimizing Your Compressed Air System: implementing engineered solutions.
Engineered solutions (like EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products) are the efficient, quiet, and safe choice.
This is where our Application Engineers can really help. Whether your application calls forAir Knives, Super Air Nozzles, or another one of our engineered products, we can guide you to the right solution. If you already know the consumption rates of your existing setup, we can even help you calculate the savings you’ll see by switching.
Step three is often where customers begin to notice the biggest impact. Replacing an open pipe or a non-engineered blowoff with an engineered solution can drastically reduce compressed air usage. The difference becomes obvious when your compressor cycles less frequently—or in some cases, when you’re able to shut down a secondary compressor altogether.
In the next post of this series, we’ll cover step four: an even simpler way to extend your savings by turning air off when it isn’t needed. Until then, keep working toward a more efficient compressed air system.
EXAIR has an extensive line of Safety Air Guns that will meet a variety of applications. Our VariBlast Precision, Compact, Soft Grip, Heavy Duty and Super Blast Safety Air Guns, and TurboBlast will give you a wide range of options to choose from. These options can be expanded on even further through the addition of our Air Gun Accessories. In this blog I want to cover a few of the ways you can customize and personalize your Safety Air Gun to make sure you are getting the most out of our products.
Features & benefits of the new TurboBlast Safety Air Gun
Once you have selected your particular Air Gun, you will want to make sure that you have the right nozzle. Every Air Gun has multiple nozzle options with different force and flow specifications. If your main concern is low sound levels, then the Mini Super Air Nozzle may be the best option. If you need more force, then the 2″ High Power Flat Super Air Nozzle would be preferred. We also have Back Blow Nozzles that are great for blind holes.
In addition to this, there are several different material choices. Zinc-aluminum for general purposes, Type 303 stainless steel for corrosion resistance, Type 316 stainless steel for superior corrosion resistance and mechanical wear, and finally PEEK thermoplastic for non-marring and chemical resistance.
Model 1210 Soft Grip Safety Air is fitted with an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle. We can also supply it with a Rigid Extension and Chip Shield (right).
After you have determined the right nozzle, do you need to add a Chip Shield? If you have the potential for flying debris, and you want to protect your operator, then our Safety Air Guns can be equipped with a durable polycarbonate shield. They are also useful for preventing coolant from splashing back, helping you to avoid a mess. You can see a Chip Shield in action in the video below:
We also have various length extensions for when you need more reach for your blowoff operation. Depending on the Air Gun, we have lengths ranging from six inches to six feet. These are great when used in conjunction with our Chip Shields. If you need something more flexible than a straight extension, our Soft Grip Safety Air Gun can also be used with our Stay Set Hoses. These hose have a ‘memory’ to allow for precise positioning without creeping or bending.
Specifically with our Soft Grip Safety Air Gun, we have a special extension and scraper combination, covered in detail in this blog. The Soft Grip Super Air Scraper is highly effective at removing stubborn debris from various surfaces.
Coiled Hose
Finally, we stock a 12‘ coiled air hose. These are available with 1/8NPT, 1/4NPT and 3/8NPT male end swivel connections. This will help you avoid messy and tangled air lines.
Since air compressors use a lot of electricity to make compressed air, it is important to use the compressed air as efficiently as possible. EXAIR has six simple steps to optimize your compressed air system. Following these steps will help you to cut electrical costs, reduce overhead, and improve your bottom line. In this blog, I will cover the first step – Measure the air consumption to find sources that use a lot of compressed air.
Six Steps to Optimizing Your Compressed Air System
Information is important to diagnose wasteful and problematic areas within your compressed air system. To measure air consumption, flow meters are used to find the volume or mass of compressed air per unit of time. Flow rates are very useful data points to find problems like leaks, over-use in blow-offs, waste calculations, and comparison analysis.
There are many different types of flow meters. Many of them entail a breakdown of your current compressed air lines by cutting, welding, or dismantling for installation. This will add costs in downtime and maintenance staff. But, not with the EXAIR Digital Flowmeters. In this blog, I will share the features and benefits of the Digital Flowmeters, including options for you to start measuring and optimizing your compressed air system.
Overall, it only takes a few minutes to install and start measuring. The installation kit comes with a drill guide to properly locate the two holes in the pipe. Please de-energize the compressed air in that line to install. The Digital Flowmeter uses a clamp to mount on the pipe and to seal the area around the probes. Once it is powered, the unit is ready to measure the air flow inside the pipe with a large LED display. The display can be customized to show flow readings in three different units; SCFM, M3/hr or M3/min; and, it can display the Daily Usage and Cumulative Usage.
To get started, the EXAIR Digital Flowmeter is a thermal dispersion device that can accurately measure compressed air flows. They use two sensing probes for comparative analysis. One probe is a temperature sensing probe, and the other is a flow-sensing probe. By comparing these, the Digital Flowmeter can measure precisely the mass of air flow without needing to be recalibrated. They are a cost-effective, accurate, and simple way to measure compressed air flow.
EXAIR stocks a large volume of Digital Flowmeters to ship on the same day for U.S. customers. We also offer a 30-day unconditional guarantee to try them out. We stock meters for pipe diameters from ½” NPT to 4″ NPT Schedule 40 black pipe. EXAIR can also offer flow meters for copper pipes with diameters from 3/4″ to 4″, and aluminum pipes with diameters ranging from 40mm to 101mm. If you have another type of piping for your compressed air system, you can give us the material, O.D. or I.D., and wall thickness. We may still be able to get a Digital Flowmeter for you.
For measuring, all the units come standard with a 4 – 20mA analog output. Per your request, we can change this signal to a serial output for RS-485 or Ethernet connections. What more can we offer with the EXAIR Digital Flowmeter? Options. Options upgrade the flow meters to better suit your application. Here is a list below:
EXAIR’s Digital Flowmeter w/ USB Data Logger
USB Data Logger: This option allows for a recording of the flow information. With a software download, you can set up the USB Data Logger to record the flow from once a second (roughly 9 hours of storage) to every 12 hours. After the data points are recorded, you can then download the information into the software to review. Then the information can be uploaded to an Excel program to do further analysis.
Summing Remote: With compressed air pipes running along the ceiling and walls, reading the Digital Flowmeter may be difficult. The Summing Remote has a 50-foot (15 meter) cable to bring the LED display into viewing. The Summing Remote is powered by the Digital Flowmeter, and it can be positioned at eye level, inside managers’ rooms, or around large equipment for monitoring.
Hot Tap DFM
Hot Tap Digital Flowmeter: This option is a great way to install a Digital Flowmeter on the pipe without shutting down the compressed air line. We offer this option for 2″ and larger for steel and copper pipes. It gives a quick and easy way to attach them if you have a 24-hour operation or a critical process that needs to run continuously.
Pressure Sensing Port
Pressure Sensing Digital Flowmeter: If you would like to know the compressed air flow and the air pressure, this option will be able to do this. They are available with the Digital Flowmeters for steel and copper pipes that are 2″ and larger, and for the aluminum piping that is 50mm and larger. This option can display pressure units in either PSI or Bar right on the same LED display that shows the flow readings.
Blocking Rings
Block-Off Rings: If you want to move your Digital Flowmeter, the Block-Off Rings will be able to cover the openings in your compressed air pipe. They seal around the drilled opening when the Digital Flowmeter is removed from the pipe. They are reusable; so, they can be removed if you want to remount the Digital Flowmeter in the same spot. If you want to use one flow meter in different locations, the Block-Off Rings allow you to do this.
When you need to analyze your pneumatic components, flow is an important point in diagnosing the overall “health” of your compressed air system. The EXAIR Digital Flowmeter can give you that important data point. With optimization, you can cut your energy consumption, improve efficiency, and save yourself money. This blog is an overview of Step 1 of six steps. You may have more questions about the other steps, and that is great! You can find them in other EXAIR blogs, or you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. We will be happy to help you.
Right on schedule with the change in temperature as summer turns to fall, I woke up with a scratchy throat, runny nose, and a bit of fatigue this morning. I weighed my options for relief in the medicine cabinet: pain reliever/fever reducers, over-the-counter cold & flu medication that add cough suppressants, expectorants, and decongestants to the mix, homeopathic remedies with zinc, echinacea, all natural immune boosters, and a jar of honey for my tea or bourbon, depending on the time of day…and my mood. If my symptoms worsen, I can get tested for the flu or COVID, and may be prescribed antiviral medication. In any case, rest and hydration will likely be important factors in my recovery.
Much like my medicine cabinet, the Air Knives section of the EXAIR catalog has a selection of remedies for problems that can be addressed by a curtain of air. If the curtain of air needed is 36″ or less, we can consider any of the three styles of Air Knife we make: Super, Standard, or Full Flow. If it has to be more than that, the Full Flow Air Knives are out (36″ is their max length) but Standard Air Knives come in lengths up to 48″. Super Air Knives give us the most range here; they come in lengths up to 108″, and can actually be coupled together to provide uninterrupted curtains of flow in whatever length is needed.
Super Air Knives (left) come in lengths up to 108″, Standard Air Knives (middle) up to 48″, and Full Flow Air Knives (right) up to 36″.
Standard and Full Flow Air Knives come in aluminum or 303SS. Aluminum is lightweight and suitable for general purpose applications where high heat and corrosive elements are not a factor. Aluminum Air Knives are rated to 180°F. Type 303 Stainless Steel is suitable for mildly corrosive environments, and is rated to 800°F ambient temperatures.
Super Air Knives are available in aluminum and 303SS, as well as 316SS and PVDF. Type 316 Stainless Steel is stronger and more corrosion resistant than Type 303, and offers superior resistance to certain pitting, which makes it the best choice for food, pharmaceutical, and surgical product manufacturers. PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) Super Air Knives have Hastelloy C276 hardware and PTFE Shims. They provide superior corrosion resistance in more aggressive situations than Stainless Steel can like, like in electroplating, solar cell and lithium ion battery manufacturing, strong acid & caustic chemical handling, etc.
The first Air Knife developed by EXAIR was the Standard Air Knife (formerly known as the EXAIR Knife) and are still quiet and efficient alternatives to drilled pipes, manifolds with open-ended blowing nozzles, and blower-powered air knives. They use a Coanda profile (more on that in a minute) which causes the airflow to turn 90° from where it exits the linear nozzle formed by the shim between the cap & body. This primary air stream entrains surrounding air from the environment, resulting in a total developed airflow that’s 30 time greater than the compressed air consumption of the Air Knife. This entrainment creates a low velocity boundary layer, which reduces the sound level, but there still is some wind shear produced along the Coanda profile.
Because of the end ports in the relatively small profile of the body, there’s 1/2″ on each end where there’s no flow. Since we identify them by the length of the air curtain they generate, Standard Air Knives are physically 1″ longer than their published length (a Model 2012 12″ Aluminum Standard Air Knife has an overall length of 13″, a Model 2018SS 18″ 303SS Standard Air Knife is actually 19″ long, etc.) Full Flow Air Knives use a Coanda profile as well, but they have rear ports, so there’s full flow (as advertised) from end to end. Here’s more on how the Standard and Full Flow Air Knives work:
Compressed air flows through the inlet (1) to the Full Flow (left) or Standard (right) Air Knife, into the internal plenum. It then discharges through a thin gap (2), adhering to the Coanda profile (3) which directs it down the face of the Air Knife. The precision engineered & finished surfaces optimize entrainment of air (4) from the surrounding environment.
The latest, and greatest generation of engineered Air Knife in EXAIR’s arsenal is the Super Air Knife. As detailed above, they offer the most choices in length & materials. They’re also the most efficient, and quietest. Because the airflow exits straight from the linear nozzle formed by the shim gap between the body & cap, with no wind shear, the low velocity boundary layer produced by the entrainment of surrounding air means the sound level (with an 80psig inlet pressure) is a remarkably low 69dBA at a distance of three feet. Any style (Standard, Full Flow, or Super) Air Knife will perform just fine in just about any application that requires a curtain of airflow. If noise level, and/or operating cost, are on your mind, though, the Super Air Knife is certainly worth considering. With just a few details about the application, we can calculate the difference in operating cost for all three models of a given length, and provide you with the ROI (return on investment) for the Super Air Knife. If you’d like to find out more, give me a call.
Russ Bowman, CCASS
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