A while back, I was lucky enough to spearhead a donation from EXAIR to The University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub Makerspace. For the past several years, we have been sponsoring the UC Combat Robotics club, which uses the Makerspace to build its bots and learn more about the applications of its course of study. This facility is open to all students who attend the university. The course of study does not matter; the desire to learn appropriate usage of equipment and a determination to create are all that is needed.
The space puts every student through training for safety and manufacturing processes, if needed, and then the students can operate on their own. The staff in the space are often students themselves, or they are people with years of industry experience to share with the students utilizing the space. This 12,000 square-foot makerspace and fab lab is home to a variety of equipment that can all be seen on their equipment listing here. You can go in and learn how to use anything from a sewing machine or soldering iron, all the way up to a 4-axis CNC machine. If you just have an idea and desire to learn, the staff will even train you on how to make the idea come to life and do it all safely in a semi-controlled environment.
When we saw the need for safe, efficient use of compressed air in this space, EXAIR stepped in to help. We outfitted every air drop in the facility and every machine with an EXAIR VariBlast Precision Safety Air Gun w/ Chip Shield and Nano Super Air Nozzle. This will help keep all the operators safe by eliminating the risk of exceeding 30 psig dead-end pressure and also reducing the operating noise level to below the OSHA standard of 85 dBA, all the way down to 75 dBA. By keeping the entire facility uniform, they are also able to make purchasing new units easier when they are needed.
We also helped them assemble their new EXAIR Chip Trapper System to help recycle the coolant from their CNC machines and help them extend the life of their cutting fluid by being able to remove all the debris from their sumps, reducing the surface area on which bacteria can grow.
On top of both of these, we helped them to see how easy a Cold Gun is to mount onto the side of virtually any machine in their shop, even the industrial sewing machine, and showed them just how beneficial it can be. There was actually a group of students using one of the stationary belt sanders, and we were able to connect the Cold Gun to the closest air drop, use the magnet to hold it onto the housing of the sander, and position the single-point cold outlet to the contact point to keep the sandpaper and material cooler to prevent loading up of the sandpaper.
These were just a couple of the products we were able to share with them in order to help outfit their space with safe and efficient compressed air products. I’ve condensed the entire event down into a 50-second clip if you would like to watch. I feel like we need some classic Benny Hill music in the background.
I think the best part of this experience for me was the discussion that evolved as we unpacked all the items. We had already had lots of chatter back and forth around what their system is capable of and also what they plan to do with the EXAIR products. Then, as we are unpacking and discussing the capabilities, more applications started to come up. I have a feeling this is just part of what happens in this space. Ideas are born, then brought into fruition, all within these walls.
Special thanks to Benjamin Jones and his team for letting us be part of training the future leaders in the industry.
Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF