Custom Air Amplifiers: Customization to Fit Your Needs

EXAIR’s line of Air amplifiers can be found in thousands of applications across the world from everything as simple as blowing parts off to exhausting fumes. The Air Amplifier comes in two different styles either the Super Air Amplifier or the Adjustable Air Amplifier. Super Air Amplifiers come in a stock Aluminum Body with a diameter that ranges from ¾” to 8”. This differs from the Adjustable Air Amplifier which comes in either type 303 Stainless Steel or Aluminum and are Sized from ¾” to 4”.

Super Air Amplifiers are supplied with a .003″ (0.08mm) slotted air gap which is ideal for most applications. Flow and force can be increased by replacing the shim with a thicker .006″ (0.15mm) or .009″ (0.23mm) shim. Model 120028 is supplied with a .009″ (0.23mm) air gap. A .015″ (0.39mm) shim is available for Model 120028.

Even though there is a wide variety of sizes and materials for the Stock Air Amplifiers they don’t always match a customer’s specific need or application. Over the years EXAIR has produced a slew of different custom Air Amplifiers for a customer’s specific need and the following are just a few of what we have done.

  • Depending on the environment certain specific materials may be required like the food industry which requires specific Stainless Steel for various applications. One customer had a special PTFE plug made for the Adjustable Air Amplifier to help pull a sticky material through the process. The PTFE helped prevent the material from depositing on the inside diameter of the Amplifier.
  • For applications where mounting may be an issue, special attachments have been made to assist. For instances where an Amplifier may need to be mounted to a pipe, we manufactured a custom Stainless-Steel Adjustable Air Amplifier with class a 150 raised face flange.
  • Applications that are in a hot environment may require a special high temperature version which has be developed to operate in areas up to 700°F. The High Temperature Air Amplifier was so widely sought after that we turned it into a stock item.

No matter what your application is EXAIR is capable to work with you to create custom solutions for your application. Whether you need a different material, size or shim thickness, EXAIR is able to meet your requirements. These Air Amplifiers represent only one of our many product lines that can be custom made to your specifications. 

For more information on EXAIR’s Air Amplifiers or help with customizing any of EXAIR‘s Intelligent Compressed Air® Product lines, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or any of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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People of Interest: Daniel Bernoulli (2/8/1700-3/17/1782)

Daniel BernoulliDaniel Bernoulli was born in the Netherlands in February of 1700. Mathematics was in his bloodline as the son of renowned Swiss mathematician, Johann Bernoulli. He and Johann’s brother, Jakob, both took jobs as professors at a university in Basel, Switzerland. Fittingly, Johann taught Daniel mathematics at a very young age. Daniel Bernoulli spent some time studying a variety of topics including philosophy, logic, and medicine. Daniel obtained his Bachelor’s Degree at the age of just 15, earning his Master’s Degree just one year later.

Daniel was well-known and was highly regarded among scholars throughout Europe. After spending some time teaching Botany, he switched to physiology topics in 1743. This continued for several years when in 1750 he was appointed to the chair of physics where he taught at Basel for 26 years. During this time, he also received a total of 10 grand prizes from the Paris Academy of Sciences for work he completed in astronomy, a variety of nautical topics, and magnetism.

Daniel is most commonly known for his work in developing what is now called Bernoulli’s Principle, which discusses the relationship between fluid speed and pressure. An increase in the speed of a fluid will occur simultaneously with a decrease in the fluid’s pressure or potential energy.

Entrainment
EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products such as (left to right) the Air Wipe, Super Air Knife, Super Air Nozzle, and Air Amplifier are engineered to entrain enormous amounts of air from the surrounding environment.

The air entrainment properties of some of EXAIR’s Intelligent Compressed Air Products can be explained through Bernoulli’s Principle. As high-velocity air exits the nozzle of a Super Air Knife, for example, a low-pressure area is created that speeds up and draws in ambient air at an astonishing rate of 40:1. The same also occurs with the Super Air AmplifiersAdjustable Air Amplifiers, and Air Nozzles. To find out how you can utilize this advantage to save compressed air in your processes, give us a call. An Application Engineer will be happy to help assist you in determining the most suitable products for your application.

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

 

Custom Air Amplifiers for Special Applications from EXAIR

The EXAIR Super Air Amplifiers and Adjustable Air Amplifiers are used in 100’s if not 1000’s of applications and locations across the world.  For cooling, drying, and cleaning of parts as well as venting and exhausting of smokes and fumes, or dust collection – the Air Amplifiers are sure to get the job done.

The Super Air Amplifiers are made of aluminum and are sized from 3/4″ to 8″ to cover a wide range of applications. Compact and lightweight, no electricity, no moving parts, and instant on/off are just a few of the features.

The Adjustable Air Amplifiers are made of aluminum or type 303 stainless steel and are sized from 3/4″ to 4″, and with adjustable output, provide a wide spectrum of performance.  They have the same great features of the Super Air Amplifier with the added benefit of varying force and flow.

2″ Super Air Amplifier and 2″ Stainless Steel Adjustable Air Amplifier

Even with the wide variety of types, sizes, and materials of construction, a customer may have a special need and there are numerous ways that EXAIR can customize the Air Amplifiers.  I’ll touch on several from the basics to the most complex.

  • The Super Air Amplifiers come with a stock shim that sets the performance seen in the catalog. There are other shim thicknesses available if more or less flow is preferred, and they can be installed at the factory if desired.
  • The Adjustable Air Amplifiers are designed for varying output by turning the plug further in to or out of the body. If there is a performance setting that is preferred, we can test, adjust and set it to meet that performance, allowing to be installed and ready for optimum results.
  • If the use of a special material will increase the benefit of the Air Amplifier, we can explore several options with you. One customer needed an Adjustable Air Amplifier with a PTFE plug to help draw a sticky material through a process and prevent the material from adhering to the surface of the Air Amplifier.
  • For those applications where the Air Amplifier is to be installed into a piping system, custom design with flanged ends can be done. Recent designs include stainless steel Adjustable Air Amplifiers with class 150 raised face flanges, and another with sanitary Tri-Clamp style.

Adjustable Air Amplifier with PTFE Plug, Class 150 Raised Face and Sanitary Tri-Clamp Flanges

  • A special High Temperature version was developed for moving hot air to surfaces requiring uniform heating while in a furnace or oven. This special design is rated for environments up to 700°F and its surface is protected from heat stress by a mil-spec coating process.  This special High Temperature Air Air Amplifier was so popular, it became a standard offering and is in stock!

high temp air amplifier1-1/4″ High Temperature Air Amplifier

For over 35 years, EXAIR has been designing and manufacturing the best performing and highest quality products in the marketplace. If you have a special requirement and in need of a custom solution, we’ve got the experience and history to solve most problems.

If you have questions about Air Amplifiers, custom Air Amplifiers, or any of the 15 different EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product lines, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or any of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer
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Super Air Amplifier Overview – Vent, Exhaust, Cool, Dry, Clean

Vent, exhaust, cool, dry, clean -with no moving parts!  That tag line from the catalog section pretty much says it all about the EXAIR Air Amplifiers, both the Super Air Amplifier and the Adjustable Air Amplifiers. I want to share some more information about the Super Air Amplifiers.

In general, the air amplifiers employ the Coanda effect – a basic principle of fluid flow – to create air motion in their surrounding.  Through intelligent design, this surrounding fluid flow can be manipulated and exploited, creating an amplification of a small amount of compressed air.

AirAmplifiers
Super Air Amplifier

How do they work? In the figure below – a small amount of compressed air flows into the unit (1) to an annular chamber (2). The air is then throttled through a small ring nozzle (3) at high velocity. This primary air stream adheres to the Coanda profile (4), which directs it towards the outlet. A low pressure area is created at the center (5), inducing a high volume flow of the surrounding air into the primary stream. At the exit, you have the combination of flows, resulting in a high volume, high velocity flow.

salworks
How Air Amplifiers Work

Super Air Amplifier Coanda Profile
Close Up of the Coanda Profile

The amplification ratio – the outlet airflow compared to the compressed air flow is dependent upon the cross sectional area of the inlet, and the 3/4″ Super Air Amplifiers have 12:1 amplification ratios all the way up to the 4″ and 8″ Super Air Amplifiers with 25:1 amplification ratios! That is a lot of ‘free air’ to use for cooling, drying and cleaning.  And a lot of air or smoke that can be drawn at the inlet and vented away from the area. For more on the amplification ratios, see this -blog-

Each Super Air Amplifier has a patented shim (patent#5402938) that precisely sets the compressed air flow, and shim sets are available to install to increase the force and flow as needed.

Super Air Amplifier Shims
Patented Shims for the Super Air Amplifier

The balanced outflow of air minimizes wind shear to produce a very quiet, powerful flow at sound levels up to three (3) times quieter than other air movers.  A 4″ Super Air Amplifier operated at 80 PSIG will have a Sound Level of just 73 dBA.

The video below shows the power of the Super Air Amplifier in inducing a high volume flow of surrounding air (for venting) into the primary air stream (for cooling/drying/cleaning)

Typical applications include venting weld smoke, cooling hot parts, drying wet parts, cleaning machined parts, distributing heat in mold & ovens, dust collection, and exhausting vent fumes.

If you have questions about the Super Air Amplifier or any of the 16 different EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product lines, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or any of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer
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