Tag: Air Knife

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.

Super Ion Air Knife Overview

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment
A collection of industrial electronic components including a sensor, cables, mounting brackets, a pressure gauge, and a control box.
Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife Kit

Static electricity is a prevalent issue in various manufacturing settings, manifesting in several ways, such as shocking workers, causing materials to adhere, tear, or jam, and interfering with sensitive electronic devices. If you have experienced static problems in your workplace or home, you may have observed that these issues are more pronounced in colder, drier conditions. This phenomenon occurs because lower humidity levels reduce the amount of water vapor in the air, which is essential for dissipating electrical charges. Consequently, with diminished moisture, the potential for higher electrical charges increases.

Our Gen4 Super Ion Air Knives are a central element of this promotion, engineered to effectively remove static electricity from a variety of surfaces, such as plastics, webs, and sheet materials. By employing a laminar airflow, these air knives efficiently eliminate static, dust, and other contaminants from surfaces.

EXAIR Super Ion Air Knife

This cutting-edge technology not only accelerates production rates but also enhances product quality and guarantees exceptional surface cleanliness. The integration of these air knives into your processes can lead to significant improvements in operational efficiency.

The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife effectively disperses static-eliminating ions over a distance of up to 20 feet, with adjustable airflow that ranges from a powerful blast to a gentle breeze. This device operates without shock and features no moving parts, ensuring reliability and ease of maintenance. It requires only 3.7 SCFM of compressed air per foot at a pressure of 5 PSIG, making it an efficient choice for various applications.

A Super Ion Air Knife used for static control in various applications, featuring a long, flat design with a control panel at the top and a book or printed material positioned in the front.
Available in lengths from 3″ to 108″, the Super Ion Air Knife dissipates even high static charges quickly.

In addition to its functional benefits, the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife operates at a remarkably low sound level of 50 dBA, which is suitable for most environments. This combination of performance and quiet operation makes it an ideal solution for effectively managing static electricity in diverse settings.

If you have any questions about Gen4 Super Ion Air Knives, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out. We would love to hear from you!

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

Super Air Knife Shim Sets

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment

EXAIR’s Super Air Knife stands out as a premier solution for reducing both compressed air consumption and noise levels when compared to traditional blowoff techniques. This innovative product is offered in a variety of lengths, ranging from 3 inches to 108 inches, and is constructed from materials such as Aluminum, 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, and PVDF, making it suitable for corrosive environments. Remarkably, even when operating at high pressures of 80 psig, the Super Air Knife maintains a sound level of only 69 dBA for most applications, ensuring a quieter working environment. The design of the Super Air Knife allows it to entrain air from the surrounding atmosphere at an impressive ratio of 40:1, which significantly enhances its force and airflow capabilities. Furthermore, these air knives comply with or surpass OSHA’s stringent standards for maximum dead-end pressure and noise levels, making them a safe and efficient choice for various industrial applications.

Super Air Knife with Shim Set

The Super Air Knife offers exceptional versatility in adjusting both force and airflow, allowing for precise control tailored to specific applications. When initially purchased, the Super Air Knife is equipped with a .002” thick shim, which establishes the gap between the knife’s body and cap, thereby regulating the volume of compressed air that can pass through its meticulously designed slotted orifice. To enhance its functionality, EXAIR provides a shim set as an accessory for the Super Air Knife. This set includes plastic shims of varying thicknesses—.001”, .003”, and .004”—for aluminum models, enabling users to decrease airflow and force by utilizing the .001” shim or to increase them by opting for a thicker shim. For the stainless steel and PVDF variants, the shim set comprises three .002” shims, with stainless steel shims specifically designed for the stainless models and a PTFE shim for the PVDF. Notably, these shims can be stacked to create a larger air gap, which significantly impacts performance; however, it is crucial to recognize that a larger gap results in increased air consumption. For instance, installing a .004” shim will effectively double the force, flow, and air consumption compared to the standard .002” shim, making it essential for users to carefully consider their requirements when adjusting the Super Air Knife’s settings.

To achieve precise control over the force and airflow of your Super Air Knife, in addition to the various shims available for coarse adjustments, utilizing a pressure regulator is an effective strategy. This device allows you to meticulously adjust the input pressure supplied to the Super Air Knife, which significantly influences both the force and flow characteristics. For instance, operating at a pressure of 40 psig results in a consumption of 1.7 SCFM per inch while delivering a force of 1.1 oz per inch. Conversely, increasing the pressure to 80 psig raises the consumption to 2.9 SCFM per inch and enhances the force output to 2.5 oz per inch. EXAIR provides a range of pressure regulators in different sizes, ensuring compatibility with all models of Super Air Knives, from the compact 3-inch versions to the larger 108-inch variants.

 If you have any questions about the Super Air Knife shim sets, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out. We would love to hear from you!

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