A manufacturer that produced a blend of powders for consumers contacted EXAIR for a blow-off cleaning application. The conversation started with the setup that they were using. They had two large mixers that would mix different powders. One mixer could fit a total weight between 2,200 lbs. to 4,400 lbs. (1000 kg to 2000 kg) of powder. The second one was between 220 lbs. to 2,200 lbs. (100 kg to 1000 Kg). They were looking for a method to clean after each mix without using liquid water. They did have a vacuum port at one end, but the blades still had some powder remaining. For batch consolidation and serialization, they needed to manually clean each one before the next process. They contacted EXAIR to review our Safety Air Guns.
Because of the length of time to clean out the blenders, they needed something ergonomic and safe. Since EXAIR has a wide range of Safety Air Guns, we were able to provide a safe and effective product. The safety comes from our engineered nozzles which have low noise levels and cannot be dead-ended. For this customer, I recommended the model HP1230SS-48 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun for the large mixer and model HP1230SS-12 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun for the smaller mixer. The nozzle is a model HP1125SS High Power Stainless Steel 2” Flat Super Air Nozzle to give a wide air pattern. The suffixes of “-48” and “-12” are lengths in inches of the extensions to help get to those “hard to reach” spots. EXAIR has extensions from 6” (152 mm) up to 72” (1,829 mm) in length. Now they can reach deep inside to get the entire mixing blades.
EXAIR’s Soft Grip Safety Air Gun has a durable cast aluminum body with a soft handle grip that is best suited for rugged industrial use. The ergonomic design has a larger trigger for easy operation and a convenient hanger hook for easy storage. Chip Shields for worker safety are available. EXAIR offers different Safety Air Nozzles in different materials to best suit your application.
The operation for cleaning would start once the mixed powder is dumped to go to the next process. The operator would turn on the vacuum and use the Soft Grip Safety Air Gun to reach inside to remove any excess powder. What the operator enjoyed was the low noise level and the comfortable grip. This company liked these Safety Air Guns enough to purchase eight more model HP1230-6 Soft Grip Safety Air Guns to clean around their presses for housekeeping.
Whenever you need to look at the overall process for improvement, EXAIR may have multiple solutions to offer. We have Safety Air Guns designed for small and large processes. You can speak to an Application Engineer to see how EXAIR can increase safety, improve efficiency, and save you money.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
X: @EXAIR_jb