Tag: Air Knives

Super Air Knife Positioning and Mounting

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment

Super Air Knives are a versatile product for a wide variety of applications, including cleaning, drying, blow-off, and cooling. With no moving parts, the Super Air Knives provide a hard hitting curtain of air, with laminar and uniform airflow for your industrial application needs. The 40:1 air amplification is a great way to maximize the use of your compressed air supply, while maximizing efficiency at a surprisingly low decibel level.

While every application is different, there are a few essential standards and practices to consider when mounting. The primary airflow is provided by the compressed air, but the air amplification of 40:1 is provided by the designed ambient air entrainment. This means that the Super Air Knife will pull in the ambient air to increase the volume of your output airflow. For this to take place, you will need to allow spacing on both the top and bottom of the Super Air Knife. While there is not a minimum requirement, I would suggest not mounting your knife any closer than one half inch from any obstruction. This will allow the ambient air to be pulled through both the top and bottom of the knife to ensure proper air entrainment.

Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife

Another consideration you need to take into account when mounting the Super Air Knife is the compressed air inlet locations. The Super Air Knife has compressed air inlets at the opposite ends of the knife. Knives between 48″-59″ use 2 inlets at the opposite ends, plus 1 near the middle of the bottom of the knife. Knives 60″-83″ use 2 inlets at the opposite ends, plus 2 inlets equally spaced on the bottom of the knife. Knives 84″ and longer use 2 inlets at the opposite ends, plus 3 inlets equally spaced on the bottom of the knife. When mounting, be aware of the inlet requirements in order to allow enough space for your compressed air supply hoses.

Orientation of the Super Air Knife will depend on your application. Orientation of the knife will not affect performance, as long as proper spacing is allowed for compressed air supply and ambient air entrainment. While some applications will require a 90 degree placement of the knife to the target, most will benefit from increased contact time of the laminar airflow to the target. For example, when using the Super Air Knife for drying on a conveyor system, you will want to place the knife at as low an angle as possible, opposite to the oncoming material. This allows more contact time between the laminar airflow and the material, increasing the drying potential. This applies to blow-off and cooling applications as well.

Universal Mounting System

If you are unsure of where to mount your Super Air Knife for optimal performance, you may want to consider using EXAIR’s Universal Air Knife Mounting System. This mounting system is used to provide a secure, precise position for any of the EXAIR Air Knives. The Universal Air Knife Mounting System can quickly and easily be adjusted to move a connected Super Air Knife to be within close proximity of the part to improve blowing effectiveness. The Universal Mounting Mystem can also be used when testing different locations before permanently mounting your knife.

If you would like to discuss Super Air Knife mounting and positioning, please do not hesitate to contact an Application Engineer. We are always happy to help!

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

Tailor-Made Compressed Air Knives From EXAIR

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

EXAIR’s Super Air Knife utilizes a source of compressed air to create a laminar sheet of high velocity air. This supplied compressed air mixes with ambient air that is entrained into the primary airstream. The Super Air Knife entrains ambient air at a rate of 40:1, making it VERY effective in a variety of drying, cleaning, and cooling applications. Available in lengths ranging from 3”-108” and in a variety of different materials of construction, there’s a Super Air Knife available for just about any application. Any time you have product moving along a conveyor that needs to be cleaned, dried, or cooled off, a Super Air Knife is the ideal fit.

The Super Air Knife is available in aluminum, Type 303 & Type 316 stainless steel, as well as in PVDF with Hastelloy bolts for extremely corrosive applications.  While there are numerous options available off the shelf ready to ship on the same day, not all applications can be served by a stock option. Since EXAIR handles all the manufacturing of these products in our facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, we have a great deal of control over the manufacturing process. If your application cannot accept something right off the shelf, we’re constantly producing special customized knives to meet most requirements.

Our knives can be manufactured in a special length if a stock length won’t fit in your application. We’ll use the same design and size profile and can build it to the precise length you require in order to fit perfectly onto your machine. If the dimensional profile of an existing knife isn’t suitable, we can change that too! The Super Air Knife shown below utilizes a very thin design and has been completely modified to achieve the smallest overall profile possible.

All Super Air Knives come stock with ¼ NPT air inlets and ¼-20 tapped holes along the bottom that can be used for mounting. Unfortunately, that isn’t always going to work for every application, so we also manufacture specials with custom air inlets as well as additional mounting holes to fit right onto any custom bracket. The photo below shows a modified stainless steel Super Air Knife with additional mounting holes machined onto either end.

We don’t just offer them in different shapes and sizes as a special, but we’ve also manufactured stock length knives out of entirely different materials. Shown below are two knives of different materials that aren’t already on the shelf. On the left-hand side is a knife manufactured from PVDF and on the right a glass filled PEEK material with brass hardware and a PTFE shim. In this application, the customer noticed ground interference due to the aluminum knife construction. They specified this particular material, and we were able to machine a knife completely customized for this application.

Every year, a new request comes across that is something we haven’t done before. Just because you don’t see it in the catalog doesn’t mean it isn’t possible when you deal with EXAIR. We’re here to make sure you get the most out of our products, and sometimes that isn’t possible right off the shelf. Contact an Application Engineer today if you’d like to discuss your application and begin the process of identifying your next custom solution!

Tyler Daniel, CCASS

Application Engineer

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

X: @EXAIR_TD

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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EXAIR Super Air Knife Promotion

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Starting in November through the end of the month, order any EXAIR Super Air Knife and receive a free 1210 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun. This applies to all stock Super Air Knifes. The Model 1210 is a top pick for many industrial applications. With the ideal combination of forceful air flow, quite noise level, and compressed air usage there’s not many applications that aren’t suited for this style of gun. All EXAIR’s Safety Air Guns are compliant with OSHA 1910.242 (b), relating to dead-end pressure, and can keep your personnel safe. 

EXAIR has been manufacturing Intelligent Compressed Air® products since 1983.  In the beginning, the Standard Air Knives and Full Flow Air Knives were very effective at that time.  But as leaders in this industry, EXAIR did not want to stop there.  We were able to engineer a more efficient, more powerful, and much quieter air knife, the Super Air Knife.  In this blog, I will discuss the features and benefits that the Super Air Knives can offer.

Bernoulli’s principle explains how a high velocity fluid can generate a low pressure.  The EXAIR Super Air Knife creates a high velocity air stream to produce that low pressure to entrain ambient air.   What does this mean for you?  It will save you money by using less compressed air.  The mass of the ambient air is added to the compressed air stream to give it a strong blowing force.  The Super Air Knife has an amplification ratio of 40:1, which means that for every 1 part of compressed air, 40 parts of ambient air are drawn into the air stream.  Ambient air is free. Compressed air is expensive.  EXAIR was able to engineer a design to use Bernoulli’s principle to make one of the most efficient air knives in the marketplace.

What else makes EXAIR unchallenged?  We manufacture and stock the widest range of lengths and materials.  To start, EXAIR has Super Air Knives ranging from 3” to 108” (76 mm to 2,743 mm) in three different materials; aluminum, 303 stainless steel, and 316/316L stainless steel.  EXAIR also offers Super Air Knives in PVDF material with Hastelloy hardware for chemical resistant applications from 3” to 54” (76 mm to 1,372 mm).  Depending on the temperature requirement, chemical resistance, OSHA and FDA regulations, or application details, we probably will have one on the shelf for you.  If EXAIR does not have it, we can make special air knives in different lengths and materials to best fit your application.  You can read more about specials HERE. 


Air Knives are available in Super, Standard and Full-Flow styles, and all versions are able to be customized to a customer’s specific needs. For help solving any specific blowoff problems, please contact an Application Engineer. All Air Knives are CE compliant.

With today’s cost of making compressed air, it is important to use it as efficiently as possible.  The Standard and Full Flow Air Knives would be good options to use.  But the best way to conserve is with the Super Air Knife.  In the U.S. and Canada, EXAIR offers a 30-day unconditional guarantee on our cataloged items, so you can try them out.  You can see for yourself how effective these compressed air guns can be.  If you have any questions about the Super Air Knife or if you would like to discuss an application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.   We will be glad to help you.  And until December 31st, 2024, EXAIR is offering a free Soft Grip Safety Air Gun, a $115.00 value, as a complimentary gift for qualifying online Super Air Knife purchases. 

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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