Tag: blow off guns

The Human Side of Safety: Why EXAIR’s Certifications Are Your True Safety Net

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

On a busy production floor, it’s easy to look at an agency certification—like OSHA, UL, or
CE—as just another piece of administrative paperwork. But at EXAIR, we see them differently. We see them as a promise made to the people who power your business every day.

For your operators, these certifications aren’t just labels; they represent certainty. Here is how our commitment to these standards changes the daily lives of your team.

Preserving the Sound of Life

Constant, high-pitched air noise isn’t just an annoyance; it’s a health hazard. Excessive noise leads to permanent hearing loss, chronic stress, and fatigue that can cause workplace accidents. By engineering our products to meet OSHA 1910.95(a) standards, we ensure your team can communicate clearly and go home without ringing in their ears. It’s about protecting their long-term health, not just hitting a decibel target.

Removing the Risk of “Dead-Ending”

The risk of an air embolism—where high-pressure air enters the bloodstream—is a terrifying reality in industrial environments. Our compliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.242(b) means we’ve engineered that danger out of the equation. Our nozzles feature safety relief paths that can never be blocked by a person’s skin while still operating the nozzles at a pressure level that can still deliver forceful blowing results. We believe that a simple cleaning task should never lead to a medical emergency.

Peace of Mind Through Global Compliance

Whether it’s ensuring our electrical products are UL Listed to protect your equipment or maintaining CE and RoHS compliance for our global partners, we handle the technical heavy lifting. This allows you to focus on your production goals, knowing your tools are ethically sourced, environmentally safe, and meet the highest global quality benchmarks.

Success Story Spotlight: Silencing the Shop Floor

One of our favorite examples of these standards in action involves a customer who was struggling with deafening noise levels.

The Human Challenge:
The facility was using open-ended blow-off guns that produced a staggering 104 dBA. For the operators, this meant constant discomfort, heavy ear protection, and high stress. Though the guns were “functional,” the environment they created was unsustainable.

The EXAIR Solution:
The facility replaced their old equipment with 355 EXAIR Soft Grip Safety Air Guns

The Transformation:

  • The Sound of Silence: Noise levels dropped to 82 dB – a perceived reduction of over 150% for the human ear.
  • Full Compliance: The shop floor immediately met OSHA allowable noise exposure standards, creating a vastly more comfortable environment.
  • A Financial Win: Along with the safety boost, the facility saved over $28,500 annually in compressed air costs.

The Outcome:
The operators finally had a workspace where they could focus and stay safe. It’s a perfect example of how choosing the right certified tool doesn’t just improve the bottom line – it improves the work lives of the people who matter most. And that’s what we are all about, solving technical problems with a set of solutions that keep operator safety, health and operational efficiency at the forefront of the process.

Neal Raker, Application Engineering Manager

Why You Need a Vac-u-Gun in Your Facility

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment

In industrial environments, the challenge of maintaining a clean, efficient, and safe workspace is ever-present. Tasks such as debris removal, material transfer, and surface cleaning require tools that are not only reliable and cost-effective but also versatile. The EXAIR Vac-u-Gun addresses these needs as a compressed air-powered, multifunctional device specifically engineered to handle a range of industrial housekeeping duties.

The Vac-u-Gun, crafted from robust die-cast aluminum, features a design devoid of moving parts, which significantly reduces maintenance needs and extends its lifespan. Transitioning between vacuum and blow-off modes is straightforward; simply unscrew the threaded cap, adjust the internal generator’s orientation, and reassemble. This adaptability, along with its user-friendly trigger operation, renders it an essential tool in industrial settings.

The Vac-U-Gun is offered both as a standalone product and as part of three distinct kits. The model 6192 Collection System includes the Vac-U-Gun along with a reusable bag, a crevice tool, a brush tool, a skimmer tool, and two extension wands. The model 6292 Transfer System builds on this by adding a 10-foot (3 meter) vacuum hose to the components of the 6192. Finally, the model 6392 All Purpose System encompasses all items from both previous systems, providing a comprehensive solution for various needs.

The extension wands measure 19 inches (48 cm) in length, making them ideal for accessing the floor and hard-to-reach areas. Constructed from plastic, these tools and extensions ensure safe cleaning of electrical panels. The vacuum hose is designed to extend to refuse containers, facilitating the collection of recyclable materials. Additionally, the Vac-u-Gun serves as an efficient blow-off tool, utilizing minimal compressed air while delivering an output that is twelve times greater than the air consumed, allowing for rapid and effective cleaning.

For those seeking a multifunctional tool to enhance productivity across various tasks in their facility, the Vac-U-Gun is an excellent choice. EXAIR provides a 30-day unconditional guarantee on all cataloged products, allowing you to experience the effectiveness of the Vac-U-Gun systems firsthand.

If you have questions about the Vac-u-Gun, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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

Revolutionize Your Internal Pipe Cleaning with EXAIR Back Blow Nozzles

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

In industrial manufacturing, cleaning the inside of pipes, tubes, and blind holes has traditionally been a challenge. Standard forward-blowing nozzles often push debris deeper or create safety hazards by ejecting material out the far end. EXAIR solved this problem with their innovative Back Blow Air Nozzles, designed specifically to “wipe” internal surfaces clean by directing airflow backwards toward the operator.

How They Work

These nozzles utilize the Coanda effect to amplify compressed air, entraining surrounding ambient air to create a high-velocity 360-degree cone of air. Because the air is directed back toward the inlet, it pulls coolant, chips, and debris out of the opening rather than forcing them further in.

See the “Back Blow Magic” in Action

Watch this EXAIR video demonstration to see a Back Blow Nozzle clear debris from a plugged pipe in a single pass.

Common Applications

Manufacturers across various industries use these nozzles to improve efficiency and safety. Typical uses include:

  • Machined Part Cleaning: Removing coolant and metal chips from blind holes or internal threads.
  • Hydraulic Cylinder Repair: Cleaning honed bores ranging from 2″ to 16″ in diameter.
  • Tube & Pipe Manufacturing: Clearing debris from long lengths of pipe where forward blowing is impractical.
  • CNC Machining: Quickly cleaning out spindles between tool changes.
  • Electronics Recycling: Removing residual powder from spent toner cartridges.

Key Product Features

  • Material: Manufactured from durable Type 316 Stainless Steel for superior corrosion and wear resistance.
  • Size Range: Available in three sizes—M4, 1/4 NPT, and 1 NPT—covering internal diameters from 1/4″ to 16″.
  • Safety & Compliance: Meets OSHA standards for noise and dead-end pressure.
  • Configurations: Can be mounted on VariBlast, Soft Grip, or Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns with extensions up to 72″ and optional chip shields for operator protection.

Would you like to know which Safety Air Gun model or extension length is best suited for your specific pipe diameter? Give us a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_AW

Supporting The Next Generation of Engineers

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

A while back, I was lucky enough to spearhead a donation from EXAIR to The University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub Makerspace. For the past several years, we have been sponsoring the UC Combat Robotics club, which uses the Makerspace to build its bots and learn more about the applications of its course of study. This facility is open to all students who attend the university. The course of study does not matter; the desire to learn appropriate usage of equipment and a determination to create are all that is needed.

The space puts every student through training for safety and manufacturing processes, if needed, and then the students can operate on their own. The staff in the space are often students themselves, or they are people with years of industry experience to share with the students utilizing the space. This 12,000 square-foot makerspace and fab lab is home to a variety of equipment that can all be seen on their equipment listing here. You can go in and learn how to use anything from a sewing machine or soldering iron, all the way up to a 4-axis CNC machine. If you just have an idea and desire to learn, the staff will even train you on how to make the idea come to life and do it all safely in a semi-controlled environment.

When we saw the need for safe, efficient use of compressed air in this space, EXAIR stepped in to help. We outfitted every air drop in the facility and every machine with an EXAIR VariBlast Precision Safety Air Gun w/ Chip Shield and Nano Super Air Nozzle. This will help keep all the operators safe by eliminating the risk of exceeding 30 psig dead-end pressure and also reducing the operating noise level to below the OSHA standard of 85 dBA, all the way down to 75 dBA. By keeping the entire facility uniform, they are also able to make purchasing new units easier when they are needed.

We also helped them assemble their new EXAIR Chip Trapper System to help recycle the coolant from their CNC machines and help them extend the life of their cutting fluid by being able to remove all the debris from their sumps, reducing the surface area on which bacteria can grow.

On top of both of these, we helped them to see how easy a Cold Gun is to mount onto the side of virtually any machine in their shop, even the industrial sewing machine, and showed them just how beneficial it can be. There was actually a group of students using one of the stationary belt sanders, and we were able to connect the Cold Gun to the closest air drop, use the magnet to hold it onto the housing of the sander, and position the single-point cold outlet to the contact point to keep the sandpaper and material cooler to prevent loading up of the sandpaper.

These were just a couple of the products we were able to share with them in order to help outfit their space with safe and efficient compressed air products. I’ve condensed the entire event down into a 50-second clip if you would like to watch. I feel like we need some classic Benny Hill music in the background.

I think the best part of this experience for me was the discussion that evolved as we unpacked all the items. We had already had lots of chatter back and forth around what their system is capable of and also what they plan to do with the EXAIR products. Then, as we are unpacking and discussing the capabilities, more applications started to come up. I have a feeling this is just part of what happens in this space. Ideas are born, then brought into fruition, all within these walls.

Special thanks to Benjamin Jones and his team for letting us be part of training the future leaders in the industry.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS
National Business Development Manager

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF