Tag: compressed air application

Adjustable Spot Cooler from EXAIR

Published on by Jordan T Shouse2 Comments

The Adjustable Spot Cooler is a low cost, reliable, maintenance free way to provide spot cooling to a myriad of industrial applications. Simply turn the knob, and the temperature can be changed to suit the needs of the process. The Adjustable Spot Cooler delivers precise temperature settings from -30 °F (-34 °C) to room temperature.

Adjustable Spot Cooler
Adjustable Spot Cooler

The Adjustable Spot Cooler utilizes the Vortex Tube technology that converts compressed air into a cold air stream. To learn more about EXAIR vortex tubes, click here.

  • It can produce temperatures form -30 °F to +70 °F (-34 °C tp +21 °C)
  • Parts included for flow rates of 15, 25 and 30 SCFM (425, 708, 850 SLPM.) The unit comes from the factory set at 25 SCFM (708 SLPM)
  • It can produce refrigeration up to 2,000 BTU/hr (504 Kcal/hr.)

A swivel magnetic base allows for easy mounting and portability, you can move it from machine to machine as needed. The flexible cold air outlet tubing holds its position and is easy to aim. Most importantly, there are no moving parts or CFC’s, ensuring maintenance free operation.

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The Adjustable Spot Cooler maintains critical tolerances on machined plastic parts
How the Adjustable Spot Cooler Works

The Adjustable Spot Cooler incorporates a vortex tube to convert a supply of compressed air (1) into two low pressure streams, one hot and one cold. With the turn of a knob, the temperature control valve (2) allows some hot air to flow through a muffling sleeve and out the hot air exhaust (3). The opposite end provides a cold air stream (4) that is muffled and discharged through the flexible hose, which directs it to the point of use. The swivel magnetic base (5) provides easy mounting and portability.

The Adjustable Spot Cooler can produce a wide range of air flows and temperatures as determined by the temperature control valve knob setting and the generator installed. The generator controls the total SCFM (SLPM) of compressed air consumption, and is easy to change. From the factory, the 25 SCFM (708 SLPM) generator is installed, producing up to 1,700 BTU/hr (429 Kcal/hr) of cooling. For less cooling, the 15 SCFM (425 SLPM) generator can be installed, providing up to 1,000 BTU/hr (252 Kcal/hr) of cooling. And for more cooling, the 30 SCFM (850 SLPM) generator can be installed, providing up to 2,000 BTU/hr (504 Kcal/hr) of cooling.

Adjustable Spot Cooler Specifications

Two (2) Systems are available as shown below, and include the 15 and 30 SCFM (425 and 850 SLPM) generators, a filter separator, and either a single or dual point hose kit.

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If you have any questions on how our Adjustable Spot Cooler can help save you money give us a call! One of our application engineers will be happy to assist!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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A Simple Explanation of the Venturi Effect

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

The Venturi Effect was discovered by Italian physicist Giovanni Battista Venturi who lived between 1746 and 1822. In practice, there were a number of other physicists who were involved in the Venturi Effect but Giovanni Venturi is generally accepted as the first person to discover and explain the effect. So, what is the Venturi Effect, and how does it affect practical everyday living?

“A Venturi is a system for speeding the flow of the fluid by constricting it in a cone shape tube. In the restriction, the fluid increases its velocity, which reduces its pressure and produces a partial vacuum. As the fluid leaves the constriction, its pressure increases back to the ambient or pipe level.”

Any substance that flows is considered a fluid. This includes such things as water, shampoo, sunscreen, and even honey. Although not necessarily obvious, even gases, such as air, can be classified as fluids. So why would someone at EXAIR be talking about Venturi? Our E-Vacs use the Venturi Effect to create vacuum

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For most people the Venturi Effect is difficult to understand because you might expect the pressure to increase when a fluid is pushed through a restricted area. The fact that the increase in velocity is greater than any potential increase in pressure means that there is a net increase in velocity and a net reduction in pressure. The ability to mix-and-match certain fluids and gases via this process is relatively straightforward because the reduced pressure allows other substances to be sucked in through a connecting pipe at a rate of your choice.

EXAIR uses the Venturi Effect and other principles within the development of our engineered products. If you have questions or need a solution please call 800.903.9247 or visit us on www.EXAIR.com and let us help you.

Eric Kuhnash
Application Engineer
E-mail: EricKuhnash@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_EK

 

Photo: Venturi Tube with labels by ComputerGeezer an Geof.  GNU Free Documentation License

Compressed Air Efficiency – How It Benefits Business

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

It is estimated that typically plants can waste up to 30 percent of their generated compressed air and that cost is substantial.  Considering the average cost to generate compressed air here in the Midwest is .25 cents per 1,000 Standard Cubic Feet, that translates into .075 cents for every .25 cents spent!  Compounded with the fact that energy costs have doubled in the last five years, it couldn’t be a better time to make your air compressor system more efficient.

efficiencylab

The following steps will help you save air and in turn save money.

  1. Measure the air consumption to find sources that use a lot of compressed air.

Knowing where you stand with your compressed air demand is important to be able to quantify the savings once you begin to implement a compressed air optimization program. Placing a value upon your compressed air consumption will also allow you to place a value on its costs and the savings you will reap once you start to reduce your consumption. (EXAIR’s Digital Flow Meter)

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  1. Find and fix the leaks in your compressed air system.

Not fixing your compressed air system leaks can cause your system pressure to fluctuate and affect your equipment negatively. It may cause you to run a larger compressor than necessary for your compressed air needs and raise your total costs. Or it could cause your cycle and run times to increase which leads to increased maintenance to the entire system. (EXAIR’s Ultrasonic Leak Detector)

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  1. Upgrade your blow off, cooling and drying operations using engineered compressed air products.

Your ordinary nozzle with a through hole and a cross drilled hole can be an easy choice based upon price, but if you do not consider the operating cost you do not really know how much it is costing you. An Engineered Air Nozzle will pay for itself and lower operating costs quickly. Engineered Air Nozzles are the future of compressed air efficiency and are made to replace ordinary nozzles, homemade nozzles and open line blow offs. Engineered Nozzles reduce air consumption and noise levels; ordinary nozzles cannot compete. Engineered Nozzles maintain safety features and can qualify for an energy savings rebate from a local utility; ordinary nozzles fall short. Open blow off or homemade blow off applications typically violate OSHA safety standards; Engineered Nozzles do not.  (EXAIR’s Air Nozzles)

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EXAIR Nozzles
  1. Turn off the compressed air when it is not in use.

Automated solutions add solenoid valves and run them from your machine controls. If the machine is off, or the conveyor has stopped – close the solenoid valve and save the air.  And blow off applications can benefit from any space in between parts by turning the air off during the gaps with the aid of a sensor and solenoid. (EXAIR’s automated  Electronic Flow Control)

 

  1. Use intermediate storage of compressed air near the point of use.

Also known as secondary receivers, intermediate air storage is especially effective when a system has shifting demands or large volume use in a specific area. Intermediate storage is the buffer between a large demand event and the output of your compressor. The buffer created by intermediate storage (secondary receiver) prevents pressure fluctuations which may impact other end use operations and affect your end product quality. (EXAIR’s Receiver Tanks)

  1. Control the air pressure at the point of use to minimize air consumption.

This is a very simple and easy process, all it requires is a pressure regulator. Installing a pressure regulator at all of your point of use applications will allow you to lower the pressure of these applications to the lowest pressure possible for success. Lowering the pressure of the application also lowers the air consumption. And it naturally follows that lower air consumption equals energy savings. (EXAIR’s Pressure Regulators)

By increasing your awareness of the health of your air compressor system and implementing a PM program you can significantly reduce your costs from wasted energy and avoid costly down time from an out of service air compressor.

If you would like to discuss improving your compressed air efficiency or any of EXAIR’s engineered solutions, I would enjoy hearing from you…give me a call.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

 

 

Compressed Air Use in the Aerospace Industry

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EXAIR’s products have been used for a very large selection of applications in almost every industry.  Today I want to highlight a few that pertain to the Aerospace Industry.

First – a quick lesson on how to access the Applications database– Be sure to Register and then Log In

From the main page, hover the mouse pointer over ‘KNOWLEDGE BASE‘ and the pop-up menu will appear as seen below.  Select ‘APPLICATIONS’ Website Applications.png

On the left hand side of the screen you will see a gray navigation pane that shows Application with a list underneath.  Scroll down the main page and you will see a second heading in the navigation pane labeled “Industry”.  You can select your industry from the list provided.  For today’s example we will select Aerospace.

Industry_App_Database
The Industry section of the Application Database is found on the left hand side of the screen in the navigation pane.

Once the industry is selected there will be a new list of applications that are displayed in the center of the page.   Simply select the application you would like more information on and the details will display.

Below, we showcase the application from a machine manufacturer for the Aerospace industry.   This customer manufactured the production equipment of a flexible, porous material that is continuously passed through a wash tank prior to cutting to length.  They were interested in speeding the drying process of this strand, and considered blowing hot air onto it.  It was not feasible to install an electrically powered hot air blower or gun.  They needed an air flow of approximately 15 SCFM at 200°F, and had 70 psig air supply with a large volume available.  They utilized a Vortex Tube installed over the strand after it exited the dip tank.   The Vortex Tube was oriented with the hot air exhaust blowing on to the strand to dry the strand.  The customer stated that they not only met their expectations but exceeded the original hopes and were able to dry the product quicker and safer than expected.

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Selecting any of the listed applications in the center of the screen will display the details of that particular application.

This is just one of many applications that are showcased in the Application Database for the Aerospace industry.   Those are just a small sampling of the thousands of applications that can be researched through the database.  If you would like to share your application to the database, feel free to contact an Application Engineer.

If you have questions about any of the 15 different EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product lines, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or any of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer
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