Tag: cold air

Applications for Vortex Tube Spot Cooling

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

The EXAIR Mini Cooler family is one of the many vortex tube based Spot Cooler products that EXAIR offers.  This is the smallest of the group coming in at 550 BTU/hr of cooling capacity.  The Mini Cooler Systems  are available in two options.

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EXAIR’s Mini Cooler is available with a single point hose kit or a dual point hose kit.
  • The Single Point Outlet option will give you ten inches of flexible cold outlet to easily position the cold air stream near the target point.
  • The Dual Point Outlet option gives ten inches of 1/4″ flexible outlet that then splits to two separate four inch lengths of 1/4″ flexible cold outlet hoses.
  • Both include point or flat fan tips for the cold air outlets
  • Both include a manual drain filter separator
  • both include the swivel magnetic base with 100 lb. pull magnet.
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The Single Point Mini Cooler with a Flat Fan Tip installed on a milling application where liquid coolant cannot be used due to material constraints.

The single point hose kit is ideal for small diameter milling or drilling applications where the cold air can cover the contact area of the cutter.  It can also be used on soldering, industrial sewing, ultrasonic welding, or even small punching applications to list just a few.

EXAIR’s Mini Cooler System w/ Dual Point Hose Kit keeping UHMW cool while being machined

The dual point hose kit is ideal for two separate small diameter cutters, one larger diameter cutter, rotary style knives where there material is being slit, or larger diameter multi-point ultrasonic welders/punches.

When using the Mini Cooler the adjustable cold outlet stays in place and can easily bend around fixtures, spindles, welding horns, or dye aligning pins.  The swivel magnetic base gives additional adjustment at the base of the cooler to aid in the versatility of this product.   To further the adjustability of the cooler the operating pressure can easily be adjusted to lower or raise the cooling capacity of the Mini Cooler to meet the demands of the precise application.

If you believe you have an application that would benefit from the use of a Mini Cooler, or you are unsure which product would be ideal for your application please contact an Application Engineer.  we are all here, willing to help however possible to get your application improved in both safety and efficiency.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

 

 

Cold Guns for Spot Cooling or Replacing Mist Systems

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

By using only a source of compressed air, the Cold Gun and High Power Cold Gun produces a stream of clean, cold air 50°F (28°C) below your compressed air supply temperature. The Cold Gun is very quiet at only 70 dBA and has no moving parts to wear out. Just supply it with clean compressed air and it’s maintenance free.

How does it work, and what are the benefits?

  • The Cold Gun uses compressed air to produce a stream of clean, cold air at 50°F (28°C) below supply air temperature. Generally this will be 20°F-30°F outlet temperature.
  • They use Vortex Tube technology…no moving parts to wear out.

How A Vortex Tube WorksInstant cold air flow with no moving parts!

  • Cold flow and temperature are preset to optimize cooling capability, and are non-adjustable to prevent freeze-up during use.
  • Eliminates the expense of both the purchase & disposal of cutting fluids when replacing expensive mist systems.
  • Removes the potential for health problems associated with breathing mist & vapors, and the safety issue of slipping on a wet floor.

Cold Gun Aircoolant System selection is easy & straightforward…we offer a standard, and a High Power version to meet your specific needs.

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Four systems to choose from, to meet most any need.

We also offer Single & Dual Point Hose Kits, to further meet the needs of your application.

One of the best applications I have seen with our cold gun came from a customer in Peru. They are a gold mining operation and they were having trouble with the liquid they were using to cool a saw. Read all about it here!

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If you have an application that you believe would be better served by the use of an EXAIR Cold Gun, give us a call.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
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Georges J. Ranque and the Vortex Tube

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

The Vortex Tube was invented by accident in 1928, by George Ranque, a French physics student. He was performing experiments on a vortex-type pump that he had developed for vacuuming iron filings and noticed that warm air exhausted from one end and cold air from the other when he inserted a cone at one end of the tube! Ranque quickly stopped work on the pump, and started a company to take advantage of the commercial possibilities for this odd little device that produced both hot and cold air, using only compressed air, with no moving parts. The company was not successful, and the vortex tube was forgotten until 1945 when Rudolph Hilsch, a German physicist, published a widely read paper on the device.

How A Vortex Tube Works

A vortex tube uses compressed air as a power source, has no moving parts, and produces hot air from one end and cold air from the other. The volume and temperature of the two air streams is adjustable with a valve built into the hot air exhaust.  Temperatures as low as -50°F (-46°C) and as high as 260°F (127°C) are possible.

During the second world war Georges J. Ranque started developing steels that would be used in military aviation efforts. After the war he took a job at  Aubert et Duval steelworks as director of metallurgical laboratory where he continued developing alloys for use in the aviation industry.

In 1972 he published a book on the search for the Philosophers stone, a legendary chemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold. And in 1973 he passed away in his home just outside of Paris.

If you have any questions of want more information on how we use our vortex tubes to better processes all over industry. Give us a call, we have a team of application engineers  ready to answer your questions and recommend a solution for your applications.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
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The Case for the Cold Gun

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Heat is an unavoidable by-product of any cutting or machining operation. Think about it: you’re creating friction on a piece of material with a fast-moving piece of harder material in order to forcibly separate pieces of the original material from its existing shape & size. No matter what, something’s going to get hot: the work piece, the tooling, or (almost always) both. If you don’t do something about it, your parts can become damaged, your tooling can become dull and brittle, and productivity will suffer.

There are ways to alleviate the problem…you can slow the speed of your tooling, but that’s hardly practical, and only marginally effective.  You can use liquid cooling…in fact, you may have to if the particulars of the operation require the lubrication you can only get from a cutting oil or liquid coolant.  But those can be messy, expensive, and the time you spend maintaining the coolant could certainly be spent better elsewhere…like, on machining your products!

The EXAIR Cold Gun Aircoolant System is a novel solution to these problems…heat related and otherwise:

  • The Cold Gun uses compressed air to produce a stream of clean, cold air at 50°F (28°C) below supply air temperature.
  • They use Vortex Tube technology…no moving parts to wear out.
Instant cold air flow with no moving parts!
  • Cold flow and temperature are preset to optimize cooling capability, and are non-adjustable to prevent freeze-up during use.
  • Eliminates the expense of both the purchase & disposal of cutting fluids.
  • Removes the potential for health problems associated with breathing mist & vapors, and the safety issue of slipping on a wet floor.

Cold Gun Aircoolant System selection is easy & straightforward…we offer a standard, and a High Power version to meet your specific needs.

Four systems to choose from, to meet most any need.

We also offer Single & Dual Point Hose Kits, to further meet the needs of your application.  Right now, you don’t have to decide up front…order a Cold Gun Aircoolant System with a Single Point Hose Kit before December 31, 2018, and we’ll throw in the Dual Point Hose Kit for free.

If you’d like to find out more about how Cold Gun Aircoolant Systems can improve your machining or cutting operations, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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