Tag: Air Knife

Replacing a Drilled Pipe for a Rubber Sheet Manufacturer

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

We received a call about an application to remove water from the surface of rubber sheets.  The reason for the call was because they were using a drilled pipe. It was loud and not removing an adequate amount of water.  (Reference the photo below).  EXAIR comes across this quite a bit.  A drilled pipe has turbulent flow which causes loud noises, ineffective blowing, and wastes compressed air.  With our Super Air Knives, we can create a stronger force as the airstream is laminar.  With the laminar flow, they are also quiet.  For example, our Super Air Knives have a noise level of only 71 dBA at 80 PSIG.  Also, since all of the air volume is traveling in the same direction, the liquid water will flow away from the airstream. 

The rubber sheet was 1200 mm wide, and I recommended a model 110248 48” (1,219 mm) Aluminum Super Air Knife Kit.  The kit includes the Super Air Knife, a filter, a regulator, and a shim set.  The filter removes the debris and water from the compressed air line to optimize the performance of the air knife as well as keep your product clean.  The regulator is used to make the “fine” adjustment to the blowing force while the shim set is used as the “coarse” adjustment.  Now they could reduce the inlet pressure to not overuse the compressed air and to get the proper removal of water from the sheet.  And with the 40:1 amplification ratio, the Super Air Knife will bring in 40 parts of ambient air to every part of compressed air, saving them a lot of money. 

After installation, the customer contacted me again and mentioned that they thought the performance would be better.  They sent me a photo of the setup.  (Reference below).  I noticed that they mounted the Super Air Knife as they did with the drilled pipe.  They had the Super Air Knife blowing perpendicular to the surface, which is not optimal.  I sent them the following setup points to help. 

Contact time is effectively the space in which the target is located within the airstream.  The longer the contact time, the more effective the Air Knife is at removing contamination (water in this case).   When customers install EXAIR Super Air Knives, they can have a tendency to install them incorrectly, reducing their performance capability.  In the photo above, you can see that the Super Air Knife is at 90 degrees to the surface of target travel, reducing contact time to a minimal value.  The following suggestions are how we would advise customers to mount our equipment to get the most effectiveness within their operation.

  1. Angle – EXAIR machines a chamfer on the cap of the Super Air Knife as a starting point.  You want to have the chamfer parallel with the target line.  This will create an air flow angle at about 45 degrees.  This angle will increase the contact area and contact time, which is very beneficial for removing debris and/or heat. (Note: this would indicate that the cap is mounted nearest to the surface being treated. 
  2. Distance — For optimum performance, the Air Knife should be between 3” (76mm) to 12” (305mm) from the target.  If the Super Air Knife is too close, the amplification ratio cannot propagate and the force is reduced.  If you are too far from the target surface, the air pattern will start to change, causing the velocity and force to decrease, resulting in less effective blowing action. 
  3. Counter-Flow — The direction of the air flow should be blowing against the target surface movement, in what we term a counter-flow direction.  Example: if the target parts are moving from left to right on a conveyor, you want the Air Knife to blow from right to left.  This will allow the contamination to be blown back away from the cleaned surfaces into the direction it came from, and it will increase the impact force to remove contamination, i.e. a head-on collision vs. a rear-end collision.

With these few simple steps, this customer was able to maximize the performance of their EXAIR Super Air Knife.  The sheets were dried through improved technology, efficiency, and correct positioning.  If you are still using antiquated products for blow-off, and you wish to improve your process with quiet, safe, and efficient products, an Application Engineer at EXAIR can assist you. 

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Founder’s Day 2026

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Today, we paused our operations and took a moment to celebrate a legacy that goes beyond the products we build. February 22nd (or the nearest business day) marks Founder’s Day at EXAIR—a day dedicated to the memory of our founder, Roy Sweeney, on what would have been his 92nd birthday.

Roy founded EXAIR in 1983, leading us with a steady hand and an innovative spirit for 33 years. While he has been gone for nearly ten years, his presence is still felt in our hallways. For those of us who had the privilege of working side-by-side with him, he wasn’t just a leader; he was a mentor who redefined success. To Roy, achievement wasn’t measured by growth charts, but by the depth of one’s service to others.

In honor of Roy and his wife, Jackie, we treat this day as a renewal of our commitment to the world beyond our walls. The Sweeneys were pillars of the Cincinnati community, tirelessly supporting social causes and teaching us that a company’s greatest output should be kindness.

Living the Legacy of Service

We believe that to truly honor the past, we must be active participants in a better future. To turn Roy’s altruistic values into action, we are proud to highlight our Employee Volunteer Program. This initiative empowers every full-time employee to volunteer with an organization of their choice during the work week—with full pay from EXAIR.

Whether it is feeding the hungry, mentoring youth, or supporting local shelters, we want our team to follow their hearts. By providing the time and resources to research these opportunities, we aim to be a catalyst for change in the lives of those who need it most.

A Celebration of Community

Our Founder’s Day tradition includes:

  • Reflecting on our Roots: A company-wide meeting to recognize Roy’s generosity and the spark that started it all.
  • Honoring a Veteran: As a veteran himself, Roy held a deep respect for those who serve. We continue to honor that bond by providing lunch from Mission BBQ, who supports our military and first responders.
  • Investing in Others: We are proud to direct donations to local organizations that provide vital lifelines to our neighbors.

This year we have selected these organizations, who help our local communities, to receive donations as part of our Founder’s Day celebration:

DAV
Supporting disabled American veterans and their families.

Freestore Foodbank
Supplies 33 million meals per year to those in need and living in greater Cincinnati.

Lighthouse Youth and Family Services
Supporting their Safe and Supported program for LGBTQ youth.

Cincinnati Works
Partners with all willing and capable people living in poverty to assist them in advancing to economic self-sufficiency through employment.

Wave Pool
Wave Pool is a contemporary art fulfillment center where experimental art connects the community and creates change.

Bethany House
Helps homeless and at-risk families with solutions to achieve housing stability and long-term self-sufficiency.

Roy, happy birthday and thanks for the influence you continue to have in our lives. We remember everything you and Jackie have done for this company and for countless others. Today, we pledge to keep looking outside ourselves, reaching out our hands, and working collectively to improve the world around us.

Happy Founder’s Day 2026 from the entire EXAIR family.

Kirk Edwards, President
EXAIR LLC

Laminar vs. Turbulent Flow

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment
If the object you’re blowing off is flat, the laminar air flow from a Super Air Knife is ideal. They come in lengths from 3 inches to 9 feet long.

EXAIR often differentiates between laminar and turbulent flow in relation to our blow-off products. To clarify, laminar airflow is notably more efficient in blow-off applications, as it reduces pressure drops, enhances product displacement, and minimizes noise levels when compared to turbulent airflow. Understanding these distinctions is essential for optimizing performance in various applications.

Laminar flow describes a type of airflow where the velocity and direction remain uniform throughout a designated volume of air. This phenomenon results in air movement that occurs in straight lines, aligning parallel to any solid surfaces present in the area.

Laminar airflow is effective in reducing turbulence. However, the introduction of devices or materials on surfaces can unintentionally create swirls within the workspace. This chaotic turbulent flow can disrupt tasks that require a dust-free environment, leading to potential contamination. Furthermore, obstructions such as items left inside enclosures can exacerbate this issue.

The Super Air Knife by EXAIR serves as a prime example of a product that delivers laminar airflow. This cutting-edge tool offers an efficient solution for tasks such as cleaning, drying, or cooling various components, webs, or conveyors. It produces a steady sheet of laminar airflow that applies a consistent force along its entire length, ensuring optimal performance for a wide range of applications.

Turbulent airflow is characterized by its unpredictable and chaotic fluid dynamics, standing in stark contrast to laminar flow, where fluids move in smooth, parallel layers. In turbulent conditions, the fluid’s speed and direction are in constant flux, leading to the development of eddies and swirls within the flow.

If you have questions about laminar or turbulent airflow, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Jason Kirby
Application Engineer
Email: jasonkirby@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jk

From Field to Market: How EXAIR Helps Streamline Vegetable Processing

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

Homonyms are words that are pronounced and spelled the same but have different meanings.  In this blog, I will cover the word lettuce.  One meaning is the leafy vegetable and the other is money.  And I like to save both.  I have an agriculture application that I would like to share where EXAIR was able to supply different products to help save lettuce. 

PowerStream Liquid Nozzle

When vegetables come from the field, they need to be cleaned and packaged for delivery to grocery stores.  The first thing that they need to do is to wash the leaves to remove dirt, compost, and bugs.  They had drilled pipes to spray water onto the leaves, using a lot of water. They were looking to do it more economically. The vegetable packing house purchased the EXAIR PowerStream Liquid Nozzles, model DL8075SS, to do the washing.  These stainless steel nozzles were mounted on a manifold to spray water onto the lettuce leaves.  With the PowerStream nozzles, we can break the water into smaller droplet sizes to increase coverage and reduce water requirements.  Thus, saving money.

The next step would be to dry the lettuce.  They were using a blower-powered air knife, but they could not remove all the insects as it was not powerful enough.  Also, by blowing hotter air which was created by the blower, lettuce would start to brown much quicker.  To improve, they purchased a model 110036SS Stainless Steel Super Air Knife.  The Super Air Knife is an efficient, powerful way to blow compressed air.  With a 40:1 amplification ratio, it will draw in 40-parts of ambient air to 1-part compressed air.  From our Super Air Knife, we blow ambient temperature air, add mass to give a much higher force to remove the water and the insects, and save on compressed air consumption. 

To reduce spoilage, you must have the proper equipment.  For this company, they were able to improve their process to increase production.  And by utilizing less water and less compressed air, they were able to increase profit.  If you would like to improve your processes in packing houses, EXAIR has a variety of products that can help you.  You can contact an Application Engineer to discuss.  For the company above, more lettuce out the door meant more lettuce in their pockets. 

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photo of Vegetables by akadarcee.  Pixabay content license.