Tag: air atomizing

Big Nozzle, Big Award…Again!

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The year was 2016, and it was quite a time for sports fans:

  • Team USA dominated at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Swimmer Michael Phelps won five Gold Medals, and gymnast Simone Biles won a Gold Medal on her own, and another for the team event, contributing to the 46 total Gold Medals won by United States Olympians.
  • The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians took the World Series to all seven games…and extra innings in Game Seven. That makes it hard to disparage either team, but the Cubs prevailed, winning the Fall Classic for the first time in 108 years.
  • World Series heartbreak notwithstanding, Cleveland sports fans were pretty happy a few months earlier when the Cavaliers cinched the NBA Championship in seven games, defeating the heavily favored Golden State Warriors…who beat the Cavs in both of their regular season games that year.

Another big winner (non-sports) that year was EXAIR Corporation’s Model EF5010SS External Mix Narrow Angle Flat Fan Pattern 1/2 NPT Atomizing Spray Nozzle…it won Plant Engineering’s Product of the Year Bronze Medal Award in the Fluid Handling category. Yes, there’s a Compressed Air category, and our products have won a TON of those too…as well as some other categories:

  • Material Handling (Line Vacs)
  • Maintenance Products (Super Air Nozzles)
  • Environmental Health (High Lift Reversible Drum Vac)
  • Automation & Controls (EFC Electronic Flow Control)
Just a few of our past Product of the Year award winners in categories other than “Compressed Air”.

Anyway, now it’s 2021, and the No-Drip version of that Atomizing Spray Nozzle – Model EF6010SS – has won Plant Engineering’s GOLD Medal Award in the Fluid Handling category. Model EF6010SS offers the same performance as the EF5010SS:

  • Liquid flow rates from 141 to 303 gallons per hour (tested with water)
  • Flat fan spray dimensions from 15″ wide (6″ from target) to 25″ wide (15″ from target)
  • Atomized spray at a distance of up to 35 feet away

And, of course, the No-Drip feature means you can instantly stop liquid flow by shutting off the compressed air supply, up to 180 cycles a minute, if needed. This is a great feature to have to cut down on the cost – and the MESS – associated with overspraying.

Our comprehensive line of Atomizing Spray Nozzles has options for most any liquid that can be sprayed, with a wide range of flow rates and pattern size/shapes. The 1/2 NPT External Mix Narrow Angle Flat Fan model is ideally suited for liquids with higher viscosities where a higher flow rate/thicker coating is needed, as opposed to a humidification or misting application, where a smaller Atomizing Spray Nozzle might be specified. Some current, successfully reported, applications include:

  • Snack food provider – applying flavoring to bulk snack materials.
  • Commercial bakery – spraying cooking oil onto pans used in a conveyor oven.
  • Sporting goods manufacturer – applying adhesive to the tops of skateboard decks to glue the grip tape on.

If you’d like to discuss a particular liquid spraying application, I’d love to help…give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Atomization: What is it?

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Atomization is a word that can be seen throughout the industry in rinsing, coating, painting, lubricating, and cooling applications. The act of atomization is simple, we often refer to it when looking at liquids and it means to break up the liquid stream and form fine droplets.  This is essentially a transfer of energy. There are two mainstream methods to atomize liquids for an application, both with their own advantages.

142 distinct models. 8 different patterns. Liquid flow rates from 0.1 to 303 gallons per hour. If you’ve got a spraying application, EXAIR has an Atomizing Nozzle for you!

The first is air atomizing. This action is done by combining a stream of compressed air with either a pressurized fluid or a siphon/gravity fed liquid.  The air stream can be combined with the liquid internally to the nozzle, hence Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzles. It can also combine outside of the nozzle, like the External Mix Atomizing Nozzles. We have blogged before on where to use each of these as the reason to select between Internal Mix or External Mix is its own topic.

Benefits to air atomization are, smaller droplet/particulate size is achievable.  The compressed air atomization gives the ability to break up more viscous fluids to get better coverage or thinner layers of spray.  Air atomization also gives the ability to use smaller amounts of liquid because the air takes up a portion of the total flow exiting any nozzle.

The second type of atomizing nozzles are hydraulic atomization. This uses the energy from the liquid being pressurized to break up the liquid stream.  Sometimes there are physical impacts within the nozzle that cause the atomization, other times it is just the liquid leaving an orifice that causes the atomization. This gives the ability to still spray a liquid into droplets of various shapes, dimensions, and flow rates. The lack of compressed air often results in larger droplet sizes as well as higher liquid flow rates. Because the liquid has to be pressurized to certain levels it also becomes difficult to spray higher viscosity fluids through hydraulically atomized nozzles.

Benefits to hydraulically atomized spray nozzles range from stronger spray force for rinsing, ease of installation from not needing to plumb compressed air, ability to flow slurries, or other liquids that may clog or dry due to the design of air atomized spray nozzles.

If you would like to discuss the correct nozzle for your spray application, feel free to contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

 

These Plants Don’t Need Dirt, Just an Atomizing Spray Nozzle

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Recently I was working with a company who grows plants using a method I’ve never heard of before, aeroponics. See I grew up on a farm, so I’m used to the old fashion way to grow crops! Dirt, water and sunlight, or as my grandpa would call them “The three pillars of life as we know it”.

So I had to do some research into aeroponics so I could understand if we could help him. It turns out aeroponics does not use a dirt medium, they relay on a very fine mist to provide the nutrients the plant needs to grow.  But its very important that the mist have droplet sizes of less than 50 microns, or the roots will not be able to absorb it.

At that point I knew EXAIR’s Atomizing Spray Nozzles were the right direction!

We ended up going with the AW8010SS Internal mix wide angle round pattern. And after playing with them the customer ran the nozzles at 5 PSIG air pressure and 10 PSI of  liquid pressure. running the nozzle every 10-15 mins kept the room at the perfect humidity for the plants they are growing.

 

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Tomato Plants being Grown with Aeroponics

 

They are planning to install up to 20 of the AW8010SS Internal mix wide angle round pattern in each section of their facility once they build their building!

To discuss your application and how an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product can help your process and save you money, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Images Courtesy of Paul Goings Creative Commons.

 

 

Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles from EXAIR

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

EXAIR’s Atomizing Spray Nozzles are used in a variety of applications where atomization of a fluid is necessary. They combine a liquid source and compressed air to atomize the liquid into a very fine mist. With a wide variety of spray patterns and ability to customize the maximum flowrate, there’s an Atomizing Nozzle available for just about any application.

I’d like to take a moment to highlight two particular spray patterns that EXAIR has available: Internal Mix Deflected Flat Fan and Internal Mix 360° Hollow Circular. With both of these particular spray patterns an “internal mix”, the mixing of the compressed air and the liquid will occur inside of the nozzle.

EXAIR PR Hero Images

The Model AD1010SS Internal Mix Deflected Flat Fan Pattern is a ¼ NPT Type 303 stainless steel nozzle designed for applications where mounting space is at a premium. The spray pattern deflects at a right angle to the nozzle’s orientation, allowing the spray to be placed precisely where it’s needed in close quarters. An ideal application for this particular spray pattern is coating the inside of an in enclosure or duct work.

AT5010SSpr_559x

The Internal Mix 360° Hollow Circular Pattern is available in two sizes: ¼ NPT and ½ NPT. These nozzles provide a large 360° circular pattern that works well in applications where a smooth, even coating is needed on the ID of pipe or duct work. Due to the large coverage area (up to 13’ in diameter for Model AT5010SS) they’re also ideal for applications including dust suppression, humidification, and cooling.

Both of these styles of spray patterns are available with or without the No-Drip feature. EXAIR’s patented No Drip Atomizing Nozzles work just the same way as the standard ones, but have the added benefit of positively stopping the liquid flow when compressed air supply is shut off. If your application cannot accept post spray liquid flow dripping onto the product or process, these nozzles are able to accommodate up to 180 cycles per minute with a required 30 PSIG minimum air pressure.

With all sizes and spray patterns available from stock with our Unconditional 30-Day Guarantee there’s no excuse to not give one a try!

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