Tag: Compressed Air Savings

What Makes EXAIR’s Super Air Knife so Efficient

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment

EXAIR Super Air Knives have been designed to improve upon performance characteristics of our original Standard Air Knife design, which was already a very good performer itself. The Super Air Knife design improves air consumption and noise exposure levels. Since they use less air, they cost less to operate. Because they operate quieter, they can contribute to a quieter environment and increase safety for your personnel. 

Compressed air is such a common utility in manufacturing environments (and more) that many of us take it for granted and may not be the best stewards of its use.  EXAIR Super Air Knives are the most efficient compressed air knife on the market today and help us all to use our compressed air more wisely.

If you have homemade air knives, pipe with drilled holes or manifolds with multiple nozzles, you are in a position to play the hero and save your company compressed air and money. 

Implementing a design which uses the free air surrounding us all, is a significant feature making the Super Air Knife efficient. This is done by utilizing entrainment to move the surrounding ambient air and amplify the blast of compressed air.

Diagram showing how the Super Air Knife works

Air Entrainment is the phenomenon that occurs when air/gas under pressure is released from a device in such a way that a low pressure is generated in the immediate area of the gas discharge.  Gas from the surrounding environment is then pulled into the discharged air stream, increasing its volumetric flow rate. Using this principle, a Super Air Knife increases the air flow without increasing the amount of compressed air used.

This phenomenon is prevalent in many of EXAIR’s products but shines the brightest with EXAIR’s Super Air Knife. The Super Air Knife Sports the highest entrainment ratio out of all of the products with a whopping 40:1 ratio, this makes for a very efficient use of compressed air. With an air consumption of only 2.9 SCFM per inch of air curtain at 80 psig then the air knife would be moving 116 SCFM per inch of air curtain. That’s a lot of air!

Also the fact that entraining ambient air is just moving the ambient air with the energy within compressed air makes process is extremely quiet. This is because the outer layers of the total developed flow are lower in velocity, and serve as a sound-attenuating boundary layer.  The sound level of a Super Air Knife at any length is only 69dBA.  That’s about as loud as someone talking at normal speech 3’ away from you.

Entrainment demonstration using a Super Air Knife

If you have any questions about compressed air systems or want more information on any of EXAIR’s products, give us a call, we have a team of Application Engineers ready to answer your questions and recommend a solution for your applications.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Video Blog: Meet Eric Kuhnash, Application Engineer at EXAIR

Published on by EricKuhnash@EXAIR.comLeave a comment

Hello, allow me to introduce myself to the EXAIR Team. I hope to hear from you and help with your next project.

Thank you for taking time to learn a little about who I am and how I can help you. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

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

Know How Much Money You Can Save with EXAIR’s Efficiency Lab

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment
Free testing. Verifiable data. EXAIR Efficiency Lab.

When it comes to buying new gear for any kind of outdoor hobby the research almost becomes a full-time job to decided what to get. When I’m hanging 200 ft. in the air off of a single rope, I want to make sure that my harness, rope, and all my other gear is top notch and not going to fail me as my literal life is hanging on the line. Sometimes it would be nice to have a professional climber standing there telling you all of the pros and cons, what they like and dislike about it, and weather it’s worth the buy. Outdoor gear is expensive and climbing equipment is no exception, in an ever-changing world of innovation new things are coming out every week and is just to hard for one person to keep up with.

Similarly, EXAIR has multiple product lines, many new products, and countless applications for our products. That is where our Application Engineers come in; as experts on our products and their applications we can provide in-depth knowledge on the various uses and expected outcomes. 

EXAIR’s Products in action

EXAIR has been making compressed air products since 1983, and have since created a culture of making high quality, safe, and efficient compressed air products. With this in mind we started the Efficiency Lab program for people to take advantage to test your current pneumatic blow-off device and compare it to an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air product. We will generate a detailed report on our findings and send it to you for your review. This free service provided to U.S. and Canadian companies allows people to test and look into possible upgrades and cost savings.

During my time as a project and process engineer at Valeo and Tyson I wish I had known about this service.  The Efficiency Lab allows you to look at what your current process is, whether it is an open-ended pipe or some other nozzle and have EXAIR compare it to an EXAIR product for free. Its like getting a free inspection of all your gear and having an expert help you find the best replacement if needed.

You may be wondering why we offer this service; it’s simple, compressed air can be expensive and we want to save you money. Not only are open ended pipes unsafe and can violate OSHA Standards on both dead-end pressure and noise level, but they also use a lot of compressed air. To operate an 1/8” open pipe you are looking at over $2000 a year for just one pipe; there isn’t a single plant that is just going to use one pipe. That is a lot of money that can add up over time, which could easily be saved by changing out what you are using.

The Efficiency Lab is quite simple to use. The simplest way is to contact us (my info below) and we can exchange the information needed to get your product into EXAIR. Once received, we will proceed. We will then calibrate the equipment and standardized procedures to test for noise level, air consumption, and force generated. Based off of this information we will recommend a similar product. Don’t be afraid, let us take care of the hard part of choosing which product is best for your application. If you cannot send any product in, use our  Product Efficiency Survey to provide as many details as possible. 

If you have any questions about compressed air systems or want more information on any of EXAIR’s products, give us a call, we have a team of Application Engineers ready to answer your questions and recommend a solution for your applications.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Engineered Air Nozzles Keep Your Operations Safe

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

If you are looking for a way to save money and make your blow off applications safer, look no further than EXAIR’s Engineered Air Nozzles & Jets. By upgrading your blowoff, cooling, and drying operations to use one of our Super Air Nozzles or Jets you can save as much as 80% of your compressed air usage when compared with an inefficient solution. Plus you can remove open ended pipes and other unsafe blow offs that OSHA will fine you for.

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An open copper pipe or tube, even if “flattened” as we commonly see, wastes an excessive amount of compressed air. This wasted compressed air can create problems in the facility due to unnecessarily high energy costs, maintaining system pressure that can affect other processes and excessive noise exposure for personnel. An open pipe or tube will often produce sound levels in excess of 100 dBA. At these sound levels, according to OSHA, permanent hearing damage will occur in just 2 hours of exposure.

osha

By simply replacing the open tubes and pipe with an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle, you can quickly reduce air consumption AND reduce the sound level. Sound level isn’t the only thing an OSHA inspector is going to be concerned about regarding an open pipe blowoff, in addition OSHA 1910.242(b) states that a compressed air nozzle used for blowoff or cleaning purposes cannot be dead-ended when using with pressures in excess of 30 psig. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to use an air gun with 30 psig fed to it, but the effectiveness of it is dramatically reduced. This is why there needs to be a device installed that’ll prevent it from being dead-ended so that you can operate at a higher pressure.

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EXAIR’s Super Air Nozzles are designed for maximum performance and safety. The engineered features keep EXAIR nozzles running quietly, and cannot be dead-ended. Using an OSHA compliant compressed air nozzle for all points where a blowoff operation is being performed should be a priority. Each individual OSHA infraction will result in a fine if you’re surprised with an OSHA inspection. Inspections are typically unannounced, so it’s important to take a look around your shop and make sure you’re using approved products.

You’ll find all of the tools you need in the EXAIR catalog. Click here if you’d like a hard copy sent directly to you! Or, get in touch with us today to find out how you can get saving with an Intelligent Compressed Air Product.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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