Tag: 1122

EXAIR Celebrates Manufacturing Day With A Win For A Manufacturer

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

In 2012, the National Association of Manufacturers organized an effort to proclaim the first Friday in October (hey, that’s today!) as Manufacturing Day.  According to the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (a division of NIST, the National Institute of Standards & Testing,) the purpose of MFG Day is “to raise awareness among students, parents, educators and the general public about modern manufacturing and the rewarding careers available.”

Today is kind of a big deal around here.  Not only is EXAIR Corporation a manufacturer, but many of the companies that use our products are as well.  A lot of us have a rich story, woven into the cloth of the history of American manufacturing (which, in turn, is woven into the larger cloth of American history.)  Have you heard the one about the motivated inventor with an idea to make innovative products who started an operation out of his home that, with inspired direction & vision, became a worldwide leader in their industry?

Yeah; that’s us.  Today, we’re honoring Roy Sweeney’s legacy (he founded the company in October 1983,) and celebrating MFG Day, by publishing a new Case Study, proving out the benefits of the use of EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products in regard to the monetary savings associated with the reduction in compressed air use, and the noise level reduction from the implementation of our engineered products.

You can download the complete Case Study here, but while we’re on the subject, here’s a basic rundown:

  • A roll forming operation used to blow off their product with a combination of loud and inefficient devices: copper tubing and modular flexible hose which is designed primarily for machine tool coolant, but often misapplied for use with compressed air.
  • It worked just fine, but an engineering study noted it as a potential wasteful use of compressed air.  That’s when they called us.
  • By replacing those blow offs with Model 1100 Super Air Nozzles and Model 1122 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzles, their noise levels dropped from 107 dBA to 83.8 dBA.  To put that in perspective, it went from the approximate sound level of a rock concert to that of a leaf blower. (ref: Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: What Causes Hearing Loss?)
  • Compressed air consumption dropped by more than half, from 190 SCFM to 86.8 SCFM…an annual savings of over $3,200.00.  All for an investment of $654.00 (2020 pricing) for those engineered Air Nozzles, Stay Set Hoses, and Magnetic Bases.  That means they’ll have paid for themselves in just under two months.
  • In addition to that, for participation in this Case Study, we’re giving them a generous credit on their order.  Happy Manufacturing Day!
And frankly, I think the engineered products just look better too.

Last but certainly not least, this reduction in compressed air usage decreases the load on their air compressors, reducing the electrical power consumed.  Product impact, along with our own consumption of resources and waste recycling, is a key component of EXAIR Corporation’s Sustainability Plan.  We’re making the world a better place, by making products that make the world a better place, using methods that make the world a better place.  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Manufacturing Day.  If you want to get in on it, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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MFG Day logo courtesy of nist.gov

Process Improvement, ROI and Safety from One Air Nozzle

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Process improvement projects can be detailed, complex, expensive, and take a long time to prove their worth.  Today, I want to tell you about one that WAS NOT ANYTHING like that.

A metal stamping company used compressed air to blow their products from their dies.  They did what many do – they ran some copper tubing, and aimed it at the platen so it would properly eject the parts as they were stamped.  They KNEW it was loud, and they suspected it was inefficient as well.

After discussing the setup and seeing a picture of it (the one on the left, below,) I recommended installing a few engineered Super Air Nozzles to lower the noise levels considerably.  Boy, was I wrong.  About “a few” nozzles, that is…turns out, they only needed one Model 1122-9212 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle with 12″ Stay Set Hose.  The copper tubes come from a manifold that already had 1/4 NPT ports – installation took a matter of minutes.  Nothing detailed, complex, or expensive about it:

This loud & inefficient copper tubing blowoff was just a compression fitting (and a Model 1122 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle) away from being quiet and efficient.

It didn’t take much longer than that to prove its worth either: as soon as they noticed how much the noise level went down on THIS press, they ordered them for the other eighteen presses in their facility as well.

The 1/4″ copper tubes blew continuously from a pressure regulator set @60psig…the three of them theoretically consumed a total of ~80 SCFM.  The Model 1122, at 60psig supply, consumes only 17.2 SCFM.  Simple return on investment was as follows:

  • 80 SCFM was costing them $48.00 a week
    • 80 SCFM X 60 min/hr X 8 hr/day X 5 days/week X $0.25/1,000 CFM = $48.00
  • 17.2 SCFM, using the same formula, only costs $10.32 a week (I’ll let you do the math; it’s good practice.)
  • They saved $37.68 a week.  The Model 1122-9212 costs $116.00 (2020 pricing) – that means that each of them paid for themselves in just a hair over three weeks.
  • $37.68 x 50 work weeks per year = $1884.00 saved annually per nozzle
  • $1884 x 18 (the number of presses) = $33,912 saved annually 

Considering they also didn’t have to listen to those very loud open ended copper tube blowoffs, I think you’ll have to agree it made for a very good investment.  They did. The new nozzle runs at 77 decibels, a comfortable level and well below the OSHA standard [29 CFR – 1910.95(a)] for allowable noise exposure.

If you’d like to find out how EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products can save you money on compressed air – and save everyone’s hearing – give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle Produces High Force to Clean Steel Sheet

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

I recently worked with a customer at a company that manufactures steel sheets. They grind, polish, and then shot blast the steel sheets. As the material exits the shot blasting chamber, some of the media still sticks to the steel and is carrying over into additional processes. To mitigate this, they installed a 1” pipe with drilled holes at the exit of the conveyor to remove the excess media and keep it contained inside of the machine. While this worked, it was using a substantial amount of compressed air which was resulting in a pressure drop across the rest of the facility when this machine was in operation.

Although their current method was doing the job for them, they couldn’t live with the increased compressed air consumption. After searching the internet, they came across the EXAIR website and were interested in learning about other blowoff methods. Typically for an application involving a wide sheet of moving material we’d look towards one of our Super Air Knives, available from stock in lengths from 3”-108”. But, in this case there was some friction between the shot blasting media and the stainless steel sheet that required brute force. They needed something that was going to give them an increased amount of force, but still reduce their overall consumption.

IMG_20180714_152620.jpg
(10) HP1125 2″ High Power Flat Nozzles installed on 1″ pipe manifold

I recommended our HP1125 High Power 2” Flat Nozzle. With a .025” thick shim installed, the HP1125 nozzle will produce 2.2 lbs of force when operated at 80 psig. This was more than enough to remove the shot blasting media. They’re also much quieter than an open blowoff, producing a sound level of just 83 dBA. While this wasn’t a motivating factor for them, the reduction in noise was definitely welcomed. They placed some on order and replaced the 1/4″ open holes with (10) Model HP1125 2” Flat Super Air Nozzles.

For comparison, (10) 1/4″ holes will consume 690 SCFM at 80 PSIG while (10) of the HP1125 comes in at just 370 SCFM. By simply installing the HP1125 (which conveniently also has a 1/4 NPT air inlet), they reduced their compressed air consumption by a whopping 46%!! By reducing air consumption they eliminated the system pressure drop, they were also able to increase the force as the compressor was able to maintain the 80 PSIG pressure at the header pipe. This also alleviated the pressure drops experienced elsewhere in the plant.

hp1125
HP1125 2″ High Power Flat Super Air Nozzle

At EXAIR we have a wide-range of different products suited to a number of different blowoff  applications. From 4mm nozzles producing just 2 ozs of force, all the way up to our largest nozzle capable of delivering 23 lbs of force and everything in between. No matter the application, EXAIR has something capable of taking care of the job. Odds are it’ll be safer, quieter, and more efficient!

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

Video Blog: With EXAIR Products, Engineering Maximizes Efficiency

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

This video blog showcases just why engineering even the small details of a compressed air product can have a large impact on compressed air savings, safety, and efficiency.  This is why it is critical to know whether the company you are dealing with originally designed the product you purchased or if it is merely a copy.

 

 

Brian Farno
Application Engineer Manager
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com @EXAIR_BF