Tag: Atto

VariBlast Safety Air Guns For The Ultimate In Operator Control

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR’s mission to be “easy to do business with” is downright invasive to our work culture here. Our Order Entry department answer the phone, so whether you’re calling to place an order or just check price and availability, a live person picks up on the call and can begin helping you right away. If you have questions about your application and/or product selection, they’ll transfer you to an Application Engineer like me, who has ALL the answers. OK, sometimes those answers reside in the spaces of our Engineering, Production, Shipping, or Quality departments, but I can reach ANY of those areas in 45 seconds or less (yes, I just timed myself on that). We ship stock product same day with orders received by 2pm Eastern Standard/Daylight Time, and our 30-Day Unconditional Guarantee makes trying something out risk-free to you.

One of the most underrated ways that EXAIR is easy to do business with is this: all of our products are as EXTREMELY user-friendly with regard to installation, operation, and maintenance. You don’t need to contract with millwrights, pipe fitters, engineering firms, or mechanical (or electrical) contractors to install ANY of our engineered compressed air products. In most cases, you just need basic hand tools.

The part about “ease of operation” is especially true about our VariBlast Precision, and Compact Safety Air Guns. They can be adequately supplied with a standard 1/4″ or 3/8″ ID (depending on the hose length, and the Nozzle installed) compressed air hose. Rebuild Kits are on the shelf, which can restore worn trigger assemblies to ‘as new’ operation in minutes. And, the variable flow trigger means the operator has full control of the flow & force, over the entirety of the range of operation.

The VariBlast Precision Safety Air Guns are durable & lightweight. They can be fitted with any of our three smallest Super Air Nozzles: the Atto, the Pico, and the Nano, depending on the amount of flow & force, and the size of the airflow pattern you need:

Atto, Pico, and Nano Super Air Nozzles are available in corrosion resistant 316SS, or non-marring PEEK thermoplastic.

The gooseneck extension is available in 6″, 12″, and 20″ lengths. They can all be fitted with Chip Shields as well, for full compliance with OSHA Standard 1910.242(b).

VariBlast® Precision Safety Air Guns 2022 Professional Tool & Equipment News PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER

Like the VariBlast Precision Safety Air Guns, the VariBlast Compact Safety Air Guns feature a variable flow trigger, giving the operator precise control over the air flow & force. Also like the Precisions, the Compacts are available with the Atto, Pico, and Nano Super Air Nozzles, and any of our other 1/8 NPT engineered Air Nozzles:

All of these can be fitted with rigid extensions from 6″ to 72″ in length, and Chip Shields.

The VariBlast Compact Safety Air Guns can also be fitted with EXAIR’s Model 1004SS Back Blow Air Nozzle, which is ideal for cleaning out small diameter tubes, pipes, channels and holes, from 1/4″ to 1″ inside diameter. These all come with Chip Shields and your choice of a 6″, 12″, 24″, or 36″ rigid extension.

Atto Back Blow Nozzles can blow out recesses or holes as small as 1/4″ in diameter.

Compressed air isn’t cheap, and if you use cheap, non-engineered blow offs, you’re going to pay WAY more to operate them than you have to. If you want to find out how the VariBlast Precision or Compact Safety Air Guns – or any EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products – can help you get the most out of your compressed air system, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Small, Precise Blowoff at Your Fingertips

Published on by Leave a comment

For many blowoff applications, stronger isn’t necessarily better.  For applications and processes where a light, but effective blast of air is needed for cleaning and drying, the VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun with the Atto, Pico, or Nano nozzle fits the bill. The smallest of the EXAIR engineered Super Air Nozzle family, the Atto, Pico, and Nano have been designed to provide the smallest, most precise blowoff possible. The focused airflow pattern allows for very accurate control and placement of the air stream.  The nozzles are available in both Type 316 Stainless Steel and PEEK plastic (useful for harsh environments, and is non-marring)

img_7480.jpg
The Atto, Pico, and Nano Super Air Nozzles (Scale is in Inches)

The new VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun is a great choice for putting the power and performance of the nozzle into a small and lightweight air gun. Designed with a variable flow trigger, the airflow can be throttled from a whisper to full force, simply by varying the trigger pull distance.

1698SS
VariBlast Model 1698SS, with Stainless Steel Nano Super Air Nozzle

The Atto, Pico, and Nano nozzles use very little compressed air and are extremely quiet, easily meeting OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a) for Noise Exposure.  The design incorporates engineered solutions for safety and can be supplied with higher pressure compressed air and meet OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.242(b), relating to dead end pressure requirements.

The table below provides performance data, including the compressed air consumption, force, and sound level for the various configurations.

VariBlast With Small Nozzles

Note that the VariBlast air guns can be had with extensions from 6″ to 72″ and chip shields to meet the performance and safety needs of any application.

The Atto, Pico and Nano Nozzles can also be configured to work with the Soft Grip style of Safety Air Gun.  Consult an Application Engineer for assistance in choosing.

If you have any questions about the Atto, Pico, or Nano nozzles, the VariBlast Compact Safety Air Gun, or any EXAIR compressed air product, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

Send me an email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_BB

PEEK Super Air Nozzles Resist Corrosion; Won’t Scratch Sensitive Surfaces

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Because they might be needed in some pretty aggressive environments, EXAIR offers many of our Intelligent Compressed Air Products in a variety of materials. One particular material of construction, however, has two distinct benefits. PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone, for those of us who ruined the grading curve in CHEM102) plastic offers not only superior chemical corrosion resistance; it’s also non-marring. Since EXAIR introduced the first PEEK Super Air Nozzle in 2005, they’ve been specified all over the world; sometimes for their corrosion resistance; other times so they won’t mar or scratch sensitive surfaces…and every once in a while, for both.

I recently had the pleasure of discussing blow off applications with the production manager of a large anodizing & plating company. The chemicals used in these processes are extremely corrosive, and the equipment used in those areas has to be made of something that’ll handle it. PEEK plastic is just such a material. Also, once they’ve treated their customers’ parts, they need to handle them with care…they’re getting paid a premium to provide nice, shiny parts with a perfect finish. When they’re blowing them off, they need to use something that won’t scratch up the surface if the operator makes incidental contact with the blow off tip. Again, PEEK plastic is just such a material.  Since their existing blow offs were fitted to 1/8 NPT connections, they chose the Model 1102-PEEK Mini Super Air Nozzle.

EXAIR’s PEEK Super Air Nozzles can be mounted in place or on a Safety Air Gun, depending on your needs.

Corrosion resistant and non-marring…EXAIR offers our PEEK Super Air Nozzles in six sizes, from the Atto (M4x0.5 threads; 2.5 SCFM; 2 oz force applied) to our High Force Model 1104-PEEK (3/8 NPT threads; 35 SCFM; 1.9 lbs force applied) for an incredibly diverse range of applications.

If you’d like to discuss what material(s) of construction your application(s) require, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
Find us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Go OSHA Safe & Save Money in the Process

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Another customer has contacted EXAIR and taken advantage of our FREE Efficiency Lab.  This customer has approximately 150 homemade magnetic blow offs throughout their facility.  They are being used to help move and push paper down the lines.

This unit was taken into the lab and put through the paces. The first being flow; The drilled hole in the pipe plug measured out to be a .061″ diameter hole.  The customers operating pressure for these units is 50 PSIG, so all testing was performed at 50 PSI at the unit.  The unit was flowing 3.46 SCFM per nozzle.   We then tested the sound level, at a distance of 3′ the unit measured 77.5 dBA, then force measured  3.2 oz at 12″ away from the homemade blow off.

Because the homemade blow off was a 1/8″ MNPT pipe plug it’s extremely easy to replace the unit with one of our Atto Super Air Nozzles.  The Atto Super Air Nozzle is a good fit for this application, even with a slightly lower force value, since we have determined the application can be successful at lower force values. The Atto Super Air Nozzle will also produce OSHA compliance for this blow off process. For this application the Atto Super Air Nozzle was tested at 50 PSIG inlet pressure and consumed 1.89 SCFM, created a 63.5 dBA noise level, along with gave 1.6 oz. of force 12″ away.

This calculates to saving 1.57 SCFM per nozzle, reducing the ambient noise level by 14 dBA, and still being able to get the job done.  When you calculate the savings for all 150 nozzles being operated at once the customer will save $3.53 per hour of operation.  Considering these nozzles run whenever  product is present that means the customer will save $28.26 per 8 hour day.

On top of the cost savings the customer gains the safety of the Atto Super Air Nozzle.  Their original blowoff device does not meet or exceed the OSHA standard for 30 PSI dead-end pressure.  Because the piece has a single hole the risk of an air embolism is there.  With the EXAIR Pico Super Air Nozzle we meet or exceed the OSHA standard for dead-end pressure to help keep the operators safe and in a quieter environment.

If you would like to take advantage of the EXAIR Efficiency Lab feel free to fill out the form and then send in your sample.  We’ll get it tested and give you a full report on how we can help.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF