Tag: Air Knives

Super Air Knife is Most Efficent in Compressed Air Usage

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 Of the 3 styles of Air Knife offered by EXAIR, the Super, Standard and Full-Flow, the Super Air Knife is our most efficient, in regards to compressed air usage. Using a 40:1 amplification rate of entrained ambient air to compressed air consumed, it uses only 2.9 SCFM per inch of knife length when operated at 80 PSIG, while producing a low sound level of only 69 decibels (the quietest on the market today). The Super Air Knife provides  an even laminar flow of air across the length of the knife and is available in single piece lengths from 3″ up to 108″ in aluminum, 303 stainless and 316 stainless as well as up  to 54″ in PVDF (Polyvinylidene Flouride) construction for applications where aggressive chemicals may be present. 1/4″ FNPT air inlets are available on each end as well as on the bottom of the knife.

Aluminum, Stainless Steel and PVDF Super Air Knives

For Super Air Knives 24″ and longer, you need to plumb air to multiple inlets to maintain an even airflow. Our available Plumbing Kits includes the properly sized hose or pipe and fittings, to not only save valuable time looking for these parts yourself but also eliminates the potential of using undersized lines which will reduce the performance of the Super Air Knives.

For Super Air Knives in aluminum construction, the Plumbing Kits include cut to length PVC compressed air hose and the required brass fittings.

Plumbing Kit for aluminum Super Air Knives

The Plumbing Kits for our stainless steel and PVDF Super Air Knives, include 316ss cut to length pipe as well as 316ss fittings.

Plumbing Kit for 303ss, 316ss and PVDF Super Air Knives

The Super Air Knife is the ideal choice when looking to treat wide-area applications, like cleaning a conveyor or drying parts after a wash process. For help selecting the best product to fit your process, contact one of our application engineers for assistance.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

 

EXAIR’s Super Air Knife Eliminates Problem of Fused Packages

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment
The EXAIR Super Air Knife – high force with precision flow

An Argentine food manufacturer recently reached out to our distributor in Buenos Aires (AYRFUL) to discuss a potential application for EXAIR products.  The need became clear when a packaging line for soon-to-be-frozen food began experiencing problems with excessive water on the surface of the packages.  In this process, the packages are rinsed to remove any unwanted debris, and then sent into a large freezer before distribution to local groceries.

The excessive water on the packages would become ice, which would fuse the packages together when stacked in boxes for transporting to retail centers.  This fusing caused rips in the packaging when they were separated, thereby creating unsellable goods, ultimately leading to returns for this manufacturer.  And, the residual water also increased the total weight of the packed packages, enough to increase the actual weight when bulk packed.  This increase in actual weight led to an increase in freight costs from their courier.  So, this manufacturer needed a way to remove the residual water, reduce defects and returns, and simultaneously lessen the freight cost.

Model 110048 Super Air Knife (inside red box) blowing off residual water after rinsing and before freezing. See note on plumbing below.

The solution they found was a 48” EXAIR Super Air Knife, model 110048, mounted using (2) Universal Air Knife Mounting Kits.  The Super Air Knife in this application provided a precision airflow to blow off the water from the top of the packages, after rinsing and before freezing.  Removing the water at this stage, as shown above, eliminated the problem of fused packages, rejected products, returns, and increased freight.  And, the Super Air Knife was able to do this at a low operating pressure, fed from a single compressed air inlet.

(Note – EXAIR recommends plumbing multiple compressed air inlets for Air Knives longer than 18”.  For this model, 110048, we recommend compressed air be supplied to (3) compressed air inlets.  Plumbing less inlets will reduce the compressed air flow into the knife, which reduces possible operating pressure.  In this case, the lower operating pressure was acceptable, however, we still recommend to plumb (3) compressed air inlets on a 48” Super Air Knife.)

Plumbing specifics aside, this solution still brought tremendous value for the customer.  They were able to solve the root cause of a multi-faceted problem with an engineered solution.  If you have an application in need of an engineered solution, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com

How Versatile Are EXAIR Compressed Air Products?

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I wish I could quantify that, but we keep finding more and more applications for them:

Vortex Tubes are used all the time for cooling applications, down to MINUS 40 degrees (Fahrenheit OR Celsius…that’s the point where they’re both the same; no math required.) They also produce a HOT air flow, which we usually call “exhaust,” but some users actually use IT for heating, and call the COLD flow the “exhaust.”

The EXAIR Vortex Tube. Cold air from one end; hot air from the other. Fully adjustable. You can use either...it's fine with us; whatever you need.
The EXAIR Vortex Tube. Cold air from one end; hot air from the other.  You can use either…it’s fine with us; whatever you need.

Our E-Vac Vacuum Generators are popular for “pick-and-place” jobs…hook one up to a Vacuum Cup and you can move parts around all day long. One time, though, I helped a

customer who needed to “pick-and-place” individual small pieces of woven fabric, a lot like a coffee filter. Even our smallest E-Vac, supplied from a Pressure Regulator cranked all the way down, was too much…it would still pick up most of the stack. We found they could use a Model 120020 3/4″ Super Air Amplifier just fine…the Pressure Regulator was still cranked all the way down, and it picked them up one at a time.

No matter what you need to pick-and-place, we've got you covered.
No matter what you need to pick-and-place, we’ve got you covered.

Our Super Air Knives are perfect for blow off, drying, and cooling applications…whether you’re trying to rid your product of dirt/debris, water, or heat, a laminar curtain of adjustable air flow is a “textbook” solution. But I recently had the pleasure of helping a customer who needed to KEEP SOMETHING IN PLACE and called to ask about an Air Knife. They had small cups running single-file down a conveyor belt, with an overhead brush roller pushing down on them at one point so they could be treated on one side. Without something holding them in place, the tooling would simply push them off the side of the conveyor. It required frequent adjustment because they run different sized cups…and they almost always lost some cups when they switched to a different size, while “dialing in” the brush tension. By installing a Model 110036 36″ Aluminum Super Air Knife in place of the brush, they can hold any size cup in place with the downward air flow “curtain.” No more lost product when they don’t get the brush adjustment just right!

Continuous, even, fully adjustable curtain of air...EXAIR Super Air Knives come in lengths from 3 inches to 9 feet.
Continuous, even, fully adjustable curtain of air…EXAIR Super Air Knives come in lengths from 3 inches to 9 feet, in stock.

If you have a compressed air application you’d like to discuss, give me a call.  Perhaps we’ll find the next level of versatility!

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Coast to Coast and Beyond

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Recently, I was working with  a customer looking for a Premium Reversible Drum Vac and wanted it shipped to the Northwest Territories of Canada –  which we could do!  It got me to thinking, what are the farthest US state and territory locations EXAIR has shipped to in the North, South, West and East directions.  I ‘scoured’ the records and came up with these.

Furthest North- We have shipped to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.  Most recently, believe it or not, we shipped a NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler to an Oil and Natural Gas Exploration Company.  Goes to show that even the coldest environments still have the need to provide cool, clean, dry air to cool and protect electronics in electrical enclosures.

Furthest South – We have shipped to the US Territory of Puerto Rico, city of Santa Isabel.  An Aerospace company needed a strong, laminar blast of air and utilized a 6″ Stainless Steel Air Knife.  An Air Knife offers a quiet, efficient way to clean, dry or cool parts, webs, or conveyors.

Furthest West- We have shipped to the US Territory of Guam.  The local University ordered a model 1111-4 Super Air Nozzle Cluster, for a good strong blast of air flow for a cleaning operation.  The model 1111-4 delivers 3.2 lbs of force, at just 82 dBA of sound. A safe and efficient nozzle for blowoff operations.

Furthest East- We have shipped to Eastport, Maine.  The customer in Eastport ordered a Line Vac and a section of Conveyance Hose.  The Line Vac is a great tool for conveying large volumes of material over long distances, through a standard hose or tube.  The compact design features large throat diameters for maximum throughput capability.

 

It was interesting to look back and see all the places that EXAIR has shipped.  We have customers from all over the globe. If you are outside the of 50 US States and Canada, we have a dedicated team of International Application Engineers that will work with you to select the best EXAIR product for your process and application, and direct you to your local International Distributor.

If you would like to talk about any of the EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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