Tag: adjustable

The Case For Adjustable Air Amplifiers

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR Air Amplifiers come in two designs:

  • Super Air Amplifiers come in sizes from 3/4″ to 8″ output flow, and have:
    • A 2-bolt mounting flange that is integral to the body (except the 8″ which has a cast-in handle and feet instead).
    • Replaceable shims to set the compressed air flow and hence, consistent performance.
    • Rugged, aluminum construction.
  • Adjustable Air Amplifiers come in sizes from 3/4″ to 4″ output flow and have:
    • Aluminum or 303SS construction.
    • Quick adjustment by turning the exhaust end into or out of the body to infinitely set compressed air flow and hence, performance.
Super Air Amplifiers (left) can be easily installed using the 2-bolt mounting flange. Adjustable Air Amplifiers are compact & light enough to be supported by supply piping, even using a Swivel Fitting if you like.

Strictly considering air flow performance, there aren’t really any applications where one design will work, and the other won’t. Once the right size is determined, selection comes down to material of construction, how it’ll be installed, where it’ll be installed, and whether it’ll need to be quickly adjusted for flow & force on the device, instead of by regulating the compressed air supply.

I had the pleasure of talking to a caller just this morning about a “textbook” application for an Air Amplifier: welding smoke ventilation.

Maybe instead of a “textbook”, I should call it a “catalog” application because it’s literally the first image you see when you get to the Air Amplifiers section of the EXAIR Catalog.

The caller had an existing 4″ ID hose to place at the point of suction and connect to the Air Amplifier. This narrowed the choices down to the two Air Amplifier products with a 4″ outside diameter on the inlet: Model 120024 4″ Super Air Amplifier, and Model 6043 (or 6033) 3″ Aluminum (or Stainless Steel) Adjustable Air Amplifier. It was to be used in a typical shop environment, so the higher temperature rating (400F or 204C) or superior corrosion resistance of the Stainless Steel construction wasn’t needed. They intended to support it with the suction hose, hose-clamped onto the Air Amplifier itself, so the Super Air Amplifier’s 2-bolt mounting flange wasn’t necessary…in fact, they thought it might even get in the way. So, the Model 6043 3″ Aluminum Adjustable Air Amplifier made it to the top of the list pretty quickly.

Another important consideration for the caller was maximizing the exhaust flow. Looking at the performance data for the 4″ Super Air Amplifier and the 3″ Adjustable Air Amplifier, the latter generates just a little higher total air volume at the outlet, which, when you subtract the compressed air consumption from it, gives you the total flow rate of entrained air (and welding smoke, in this case):

The 730 SCFM Air Volume at Outlet, minus the air consumption of 29.2 SCFM, means that it’s drawing in ~700 SCFM.
Which is not bad.
The 774 SCFM Air Volume at Outlet, minus the air consumption of 29.2 SCFM, means that it’s drawing in ~740 SCFM.
Which is even better.

In addition to ventilation/exhaust applications, Air Amplifiers can be used – just like our engineered Air Knives and Air Nozzles – in 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.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Adjustable Spot Cooler from EXAIR

Published on by Jordan T Shouse2 Comments

The Adjustable Spot Cooler is a low cost, reliable, maintenance free way to provide spot cooling to a myriad of industrial applications. Simply turn the knob, and the temperature can be changed to suit the needs of the process. The Adjustable Spot Cooler delivers precise temperature settings from -30 °F (-34 °C) to room temperature.

Adjustable Spot Cooler
Adjustable Spot Cooler

The Adjustable Spot Cooler utilizes the Vortex Tube technology that converts compressed air into a cold air stream. To learn more about EXAIR vortex tubes, click here.

  • It can produce temperatures form -30 °F to +70 °F (-34 °C tp +21 °C)
  • Parts included for flow rates of 15, 25 and 30 SCFM (425, 708, 850 SLPM.) The unit comes from the factory set at 25 SCFM (708 SLPM)
  • It can produce refrigeration up to 2,000 BTU/hr (504 Kcal/hr.)

A swivel magnetic base allows for easy mounting and portability, you can move it from machine to machine as needed. The flexible cold air outlet tubing holds its position and is easy to aim. Most importantly, there are no moving parts or CFC’s, ensuring maintenance free operation.

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The Adjustable Spot Cooler maintains critical tolerances on machined plastic parts
How the Adjustable Spot Cooler Works

The Adjustable Spot Cooler incorporates a vortex tube to convert a supply of compressed air (1) into two low pressure streams, one hot and one cold. With the turn of a knob, the temperature control valve (2) allows some hot air to flow through a muffling sleeve and out the hot air exhaust (3). The opposite end provides a cold air stream (4) that is muffled and discharged through the flexible hose, which directs it to the point of use. The swivel magnetic base (5) provides easy mounting and portability.

The Adjustable Spot Cooler can produce a wide range of air flows and temperatures as determined by the temperature control valve knob setting and the generator installed. The generator controls the total SCFM (SLPM) of compressed air consumption, and is easy to change. From the factory, the 25 SCFM (708 SLPM) generator is installed, producing up to 1,700 BTU/hr (429 Kcal/hr) of cooling. For less cooling, the 15 SCFM (425 SLPM) generator can be installed, providing up to 1,000 BTU/hr (252 Kcal/hr) of cooling. And for more cooling, the 30 SCFM (850 SLPM) generator can be installed, providing up to 2,000 BTU/hr (504 Kcal/hr) of cooling.

Adjustable Spot Cooler Specifications

Two (2) Systems are available as shown below, and include the 15 and 30 SCFM (425 and 850 SLPM) generators, a filter separator, and either a single or dual point hose kit.

3825_3925 adj spot cooler

If you have any questions on how our Adjustable Spot Cooler can help save you money give us a call! One of our application engineers will be happy to assist!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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More Benefits Than Being Adjustable

Published on by Brian Farno2 Comments

Years ago I was working with a pet food manufacturer who was having issues with their bag opening machine. The problem they had with their existing setup was the dust from manufacturing processes would get sucked into the venturi and start to decrease their performance. Hence, they needed a better solution that wouldn’t need to be replaced and could be cleaned.

Adjustable E-Vac

The bags were empty, and this vacuum generator was positioned to pull the bag open. The bags were made of a non-porous material as they had a coating on them and thus the actual action of opening the bag was not difficult. Enter dust through the throat of a small venturi, and it caused several downtimes that were not scheduled. When looking at the performance characteristics of their existing system I crossed that over to an EXAIR model 840008M – Adjustable E-Vac w/ Straight Through Muffler. This unit was able to open the bag and hold it open for their machine needs. The throat passage of the unit was also larger than their existing generator and the biggest benefit, the Adjustable E-Vac could easily be taken apart and cleaned. To see how easy they are adjusted, which is the same method used to take them apart, check out this previous video blog linked in the image below.

The process changed from changing an existing vacuum generator out, scrapping the old one, and putting in a new one to keeping two on hand. One (EXAIR Adjustable E-vac) that is in operation and functioning, then after a designated amount of time (predictive maintenance), they change it out for the spare (EXAIR Adjustable E-vac) vacuum generator. The second part of the process involves breaking the used one down (without the need for any specialized tools), to clean each of the three pieces on the unit. The refurbished unit is then reassembled, benchmarked for performance, and put on the shelf for the next maintenance cycle.

While this system uses the same volume of compressed air as their previous solution, we still save money in the amount of unusable replacements they were ordering with repairable units, allowing them to keep a working spare on hand. So it saves the customer money on the life of the product. A further benefit is the customer can also get the EXAIR Adjustable E-Vacs quickly as they are standard stock item for us at EXAIR and can ship the same day on orders received by 2 PM ET.

If you want to discuss how an Adjustable E Vac makes sense for you and your team, contact an Application Engineer today!

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Benefits and Options for Safety Air Guns

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

EXAIR Safety Air Guns are available, from stock, with Chip Shields.

Throughout industrial environments, there are often manual cleaning or blow-off applications that are performed with compressed air. These operations vary in frequency, intensity, and how critical to the operation they may be.

When it comes to OSHA standards and comfort of operators, many of the solutions found in manufacturing do not meet the standards and are dangerous to operators.

This is where EXAIR steps in and focuses on the end application while coupling a high performing engineered solution with an ergonomic and safe handheld safety air gun. In other words, EXAIR safety air guns are safe, easy to use, and typically reduce compressed air consumption. Currently, we offer four types of handheld safety air guns.

The VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun:

This is my personal favorite in our current lineup of safety air guns.  The compact size fits comfortably in the hands of operators. The multi-finger trigger with patented VariBlast function is easily controlled for extended periods of time. The VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun also has two compressed air inlets. This gives the ability to plumb compressed air into the bottom 1/4″ FNPT port or the top 1/4″ FNPT which a safe way to run air hoses for virtually any work station. The 1/8″ NPT outlet permits enough airflow to operate up to our High Power 1″ Flat Super Air Nozzle all the way down to our Atto Super Air Nozzle.  The patented design also delivers variable flow from any of the nozzles attached to operate anywhere from a gentle breeze up to a forceful blast.

The VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun can also be coupled with an extension up to 72″ lengths as well as the Chip Shield to meet or exceed OSHA standards for compressed air cleaning.

The Soft Grip Safety Air Gun:

This safety air gun is the next step up in size and options as far as force and flow of compressed air go. The four-finger trigger and integrated hook design make this safety air gun ideal for industrial environments where a little more force is needed from the air to blowoff products.  The Soft Grip Safety Air Gun offers a 1/4″ NPT female thread inlet on the bottom and is available with up to an 1106 1/2″ Large Super Air Nozzle on the discharge.  This will deliver up to 60 SCFM of compressed air and provide 3.3 lbs of force from 12″ away.  The Soft Grip Safety Air Guns are also available with up to a 72″ extension and a chip shield.

Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns

Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun with extension.
eg. 1350-72

The Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun is even more robust than the Soft Grip Safety Air Gun and showcases a 3/8″ NPT female inlet to provide enough airflow to operate up to our model 1106 Large Super Air Nozzle as well to provide 60 SCFM  of airflow and provide 3.3 lbs of force.  Extensions are available in lengths up to 72″ with the addition of the chip shield.

 

Super Blast Safety Air Guns

Super Blast Safety Air Gun makes short work of large area cleanup.

The final Safety Air Gun offered is the Super Blast Safety Air Guns which are offered in four different NPT sizes. Ranging from 3/8″ NPT up to 1-1/4″ NPT and flows and forces from 56 SCFM providing 3.2 lbs of force up to 400 SCFM giving off 23 lbs of force.  These are available with an optional 3′ or 6′ extension to provide a robust blast for the heaviest cleaning or blowoff operation.

No matter the application, or amount of debris, EXAIR Safety Air Guns have an option that will fit the need while providing a safe and efficient solution. If you would like to discuss these further, please contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF