Have you ever been in the middle of a new design and found yourself in need of accurate 3D models of your vendor’s part so you can sort out how to interface their design with yours? What is your first instinct? Do you ask the vendor if they have the models readily available? Or do you just draw up your own model?
With EXAIR products, there is no need to go it alone and have to produce your own model. We have 3D models of just about every product we manufacture. For those models we do not have available through our web site, a simple request through our Application Engineering department at techelp@exair.com is all that is needed to begin the process of getting what you need.
CAD Options on EXAIR.com
Our 3D models and CAD drawings are available in over sixty native formats for each product. Registered users can simply log in and go to the EXAIR CAD Library to navigate to the right model.
When I was in 6th grade, our art teacher, Mrs. C, taught us to draw fruit one day. I was academically gifted (I’d had straight A’s since 1st grade) but I was AWFUL at drawing. I was doing OK with my orange, apple, and even my banana. When it came time to draw a pear, I realized I had 35 cents in my pocket (that’s what milk for snack time cost) so I pulled out that quarter & dime, used them to trace a quarter-sized circle with a dime-size circle slightly intersecting it, erased the middle parts, and “free-handed” little arcs to complete the pear shape. Mrs. C told me I wasn’t allowed to do that and gave me my first bad grade – ever. Now, I LOVE going to art museums and taking in the wonders of those who are far more skilled than I with pen and brush, but I STILL have no aptitude or desire for drawing anything myself….with a pen or brush, that is.
My first job out of the Navy involved some very basic CAD use…mainly making simple changes or additions (and usually just title block text) of existing drawings. As I more familiar with CAD, I realized the method for drawing a pear shape in CAD was, in fact, my own personal grade school method: intersect two circles, trim, and fillet. So there, Mrs. C!
My next job took my CAD utilization a bit further…making assembly drawings of systems, using existing CAD files for the individual components that made up the system. The key word there was “existing” – the First Law of CAD is, “Don’t ever draw anything twice.” So, I’d get CAD files from the manufacturers, insert them into my template, put them where I wanted them to be in relation to the other pieces of my little puzzle, send the drawing(s) to the end user for piping and foundation prep, and as long as the folks in the shop followed my drawings (which is was hard not to), everything worked out great.
Now, this was way back in the 1990’s, so I got most of my CAD files via email, and, occasionally, on 3.5″ floppy disks or CD’s. EXAIR Corporation has offered drawing files for our products in our CAD Library for many years now. You can always find four fundamental file extensions:
PDF – these can be opened with Adobe Acrobat…they’re “just for looking at”. They don’t denote any particular scale, and won’t directly import to a CAD file. They’re useful for quick & easy answers about overall dimensions, bolt hole sizes, thread pitches, etc.
DWG – this is AutoCAD’s “native language.” These files will open seamlessly in AutoCAD, if that’s what you’re using, along with many other programs. But, if it doesn’t.
STP – we’re well in to the 21st Century, and many designers have moved on from the above mentioned 2D files to solid models. Most solid modeling programs are compatible with these files.
SAT – these are, to STP, what DXF is to DWG…a “more friendly” file for certain solid model programs.
With the launch of our new website, we now offer 64 native extensions so you (hopefully) do not have to modify, import, or convert any drawing that would take additional modification – just download the file you need right from our Resources, 3D Models and CAD drawings link. And dare I say, if you can’t find the extension you need, you are using some fairly obscure software – perhaps an SAT or STP file will suit you.
At EXAIR, we want to ensure our customers have access to as much technical data and information as possible. This helps to assist in identifying solutions to common industrial problems and provide you with the resources necessary to make an informed purchase. A big part of that effort is displayed here on the EXAIR Blog. But, did you know that our website is home to a wealth of information ranging from Case Studies, Videos, Webinars, Installation Guides, Catalog Sections, CAD Models and much, much more?
Once you’ve registered for an account on the website, you’re able to access the content housed in our Knowledge Base. Have a question on a particular product? Check out the FAQ section, created by our Application Engineers, the FAQ section contains a variety of commonly asked questions from customers.
Misplaced your installation sheet? No problem! All installation and maintenance guides, in addition to product catalog sections, can be found in .pdf format for download under “PDF Library”.
With 15 different product lines, EXAIR has products capable of addressing a wide range of industrial process issues. Not sure where in your facility you may have an opportunity to improve? EXAIR’s Application Search Library allows you to narrow down your search. Categorized both by specific process or by industry, we’ve highlighted a variety of different specific applications that our products can serve.
EXAIR hosts a yearly Free Webinar covering a variety of topics related to industry and compressed air. After the webinar has been sent out to all registrants, we include a recorded video of the webinar as well:
It doesn’t just stop there. The Knowledge Base also contains calculators and general compressed air related data in addition to PowerPoint presentations for each product line. Click here to register for the website and begin accessing all of this valuable content!
Late last week I was contacted by an OEM regarding our Air Knives. They make equipment used in an automated process and had a need for more of our product.
One of the engineers contacted me because she had only so much information about our Air Knives. She knew they worked well, she knew they needed more, but she was unsure of the part number. When ordering, her purchasing department uses as coded item number, which was nothing like ours. She was kind enough to send me a few files showing the process and the EXAIR Air Knives. Fortunately one of the drawings was a stand-alone exhibit of our knife.
Taking a few dimensions from the file I was able to determine the knife in question was a 6” Standard Air Knife. I then supplied model number (2006) and pricing, shortly before receiving a purchase order request.
We have CAD and PDF files available for our products through the CAD Library. If you need any dimensions for EXAIR products they can be found in the CAD Library. If additional information is needed, contact an Application Engineer.
