Tag: Adjustable Air Amplifier

What Do Air Amplifiers Amplify, and Why Is It Important?

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The word “amplifier” can mean some very different things, depending on the context in which it’s used. A musician may plug an instrument into an amplifier to increase the sound power being put out by said instrument. Folks who work with electronic or electrical systems use devices to amplify voltage (at the cost of current) or current (at the cost of voltage.)

In pneumatics and fluid power, there are even two very different devices called an ‘air amplifier.’ One is made to amplify the downstream pressure by using air flow and are commonly known as pressure boosters (we don’t have those), and the other amplifies the flow, proportionally to the supply pressure (THOSE are ours).

EXAIR Air Amplifiers use a small amount of compressed air to create a tremendous amount of air flow.

So that, dear reader, handles the question of what they amplify – now let’s cover why it’s important:

  • Lower cost of operation: Like the picture above says, Air Amplifiers use a small amount of compressed air, but make a tremendous amount of total developed air flow. This is a feature of our entire line of air blowing products – they’re ALL designed to consume as little compressed air as possible, and develop as much flow as possible. The less you use, the less it costs to operate…use the calculator on our website if you want to find out how much you can save.
  • Sound reduction: The discharge of compressed air into the open creates a LOT of noise, but the air entrained by our Air Amplifiers (and Air Knives & Air Nozzles) creates a low velocity boundary layer around the primary high velocity, laminar air flow. This boundary layer serves as an insulating shield, of sorts, and it results in dramatically quieter operation.
  • High ventilation rate: Because they entrain so much air from the surrounding environment, they can be used for rapid removal of fumes, smoke, airborne dust, etc. from spaces. And they’re going to do it quicker than standard Venturi or ejector devices.
Model 120024 4″ Super Air Amplifiers are commonly used to exhaust welding smoke and fumes.

That’s it for the “what they do” and “why it’s important” – if you’d like to find out how valuable an Air Amplifier can be, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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So, You Want To Calculate Line Vac Flow… Or Do You?

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

As an EXAIR Application Engineer (and one with almost 14 years under my belt, to boot), I’m well versed in all the standard calculations regarding compressed air, including: converting ACFM or ICFM to SCFM, determining compressed air consumption rates at different inlet pressures, return on investment from using more efficient products, receiver tank sizing, and cost of compressed air generation. I know many formulas, by heart, that relate to certain applications involving our products, like how to calculate the heat load for Cabinet Cooler Systems, the amount of air flow from a Super Air Nozzle, Super Air Knife, Air Amplifier, etc., to cool an object from a starting to a desired temperature (and how long it’ll take to do it), and humidity formulas for Atomizing Spray Nozzle applications.

I’ve loved math all my life, so all that stuff above is one of my favorite parts of this job. There are, however, things we can’t do the math on…and calculating the flow through a Line Vac is one of them. Maybe two. I say “Maybe two” because there are two common questions we get regarding Line Vacs, and neither have answers that can be calculated:

  • How fast can I move [insert description of bulk material here] with a Line Vac?
  • How much air flow is generated by a Line Vac?

There are a LOT of variables that can affect conveyance rate, so the first question is difficult to put a number on, unless it’s something we’ve tested here before, or if a customer has provided reliable data from their Line Vac conveyor setup. For our latest Catalog, #35, we compiled this into a Conveyance Data table. You can access it here (registration required), request your very own print copy, or just contact me, and I’ll email it to you.

Likewise, the second question doesn’t have a mathematical formula to give us an answer either. When we get questions about a Line Vac’s total developed air flow, we’ll say that, very generally speaking, a Line Vac will entrain 2-3 times its compressed air consumption in vacuum flow. That’s based on some informal testing we’ve done in the shop on a few specific Line Vacs. And that’s ALWAYS followed up with some questions of our own:

  • Are you looking for a specific amount of air flow? And,
  • What is the nature of the application?

Oftentimes, we find out that the customer just needs to move air – as opposed to conveying bulk product – and THAT’S a job for our Air Amplifiers. We DO publish formal performance data on those, and if air movement is all that’s needed, the Air Amplifiers are going to do that WAY more efficiently than a Line Vac. They’re capable of entraining air at rates of up to 25:1.

Air Amplifiers use the Coanda Effect to generate high flow with low consumption.

If you have questions about a potential application, or about a specific product, give me a call. I’m here to make sure you get the most out of our products, and that starts right at the beginning, with finding the best one to suit your needs.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Application Spotlight! – Adjustable Air Amplifier Helps in a Messy Situation.

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Applications spotlights have become a great resource for our customers to “peak” behind the curtain. For this spotlight, let’s talk about Air Amplifiers and cellophane. Cellophane wrapping is a common mid-process way to protect products between steps in the manufacturing process. And even more often, to protect the final product.

When you unwrap the cellophane, it becomes pretty hard to dispose of, it can often be statically charged and not easily tossed in a garbage bin.

A recent customer came to us as they were removing thousands of products from their individual cellophane to bulk pack them for a big box store. This created a huge mess with mountains of trash as tall as the trash can and all over the floor.

Our suggestion was to use an Air Amplifier to carry the trash cellophane away from the unwrapping station to a trash bin with a filtered lid to trap the cellophane. We chose model 6043, 3″ Adjustable Air Amplifier. We chose this method as the Air Amplifier is designed to entrain a very large amount of air at its suction side, allowing the operator to simply get the cellophane near the suction point, and it would be pulled in with the surrounding air.

Mock up of how the station would look. The 6043 has a 3″ ID hose on the outlet that moves the blue cellophane 15 feet to a trash location. The operator in green would just have to get the plastic close and the Air Amplifier does the rest.

In addition to this application and ventilation/exhaust applications, Air Amplifiers can be used – just like our engineered Air Knives and Air Nozzles – as a useful solution for blow off, drying, cleaning, and cooling applications. If you’ve got questions about them (or any EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products), give me a call.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Cellophane wrapped Pastries courtesy of Anthony Easton via creative commons

Benefits of Entrainment in EXAIR’s Products

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

One word I don’t think I ever used before I started working at EXAIR is entrainment. It was not a concept that I had ever needed to think about or discuss. But now, having worked here for a short while, it is a topic that I discuss regularly – daily even. Many of EXAIR’s quiet and efficient compressed air products are designed to maximize air entrainment.

Entrainment is defined in the simplest of terms as: to draw in and transport (something, such as solid particles or gas) by the flow of a fluid. In the context of EXAIR’s compressed air products, the surrounding ambient air is entrained by the primary air flow created by the compressed air.

For example, when compressed air exits the precise slotted nozzle of our Super Air Knife, a low pressure area is induced, which speeds up and draws in ambient air. This air entrainment (at a ratio of 40:1) is what makes our Super Air Knives so efficient. This same effect is true for our Super Air Amplifiers, Super Air Nozzles, Super Air Wipes, as well as many other products.

This effect was first described by Daniel Bernoulli in his book Hydrodynamica, where he first explained what we know as Bernoulli’s Principle. His principle states that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure. This is derived from the conservation of energy, where an increase in kinetic energy (speed) requires a corresponding reduction in potential energy (pressure).

Daniel Bernoulli was an interesting man, who we have written several blogs about, like this one here. But in summary, the work he did in the 1700s is fundamental to our products. If you would like to discuss your application, and how the Bernoulli Principle may be beneficial, feel free to give us a call!

Al Wooffitt

Application Engineer

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