Tag: conservation

Earth Day 2021

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

Happy Earth Day from EXAIR!

April 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of Earth Day and it will be observed both virtually and even in person in some locations throughout the world. For EXAIR, this year marks our 38th year helping compressed air users save compressed air energy and the electrical resources associated with generating compressed air. And the 37th year for improving our own efficiencies and processes in order to reduce waste. It is nice to begin to see a few events that have people gathering (safely, of course) to engage together for a positive cause. Over at Earthday.org you can find virtual and in person events to celebrate Earth in 2021. They present a global map for us to become aware of local clean up events, educational opportunities, conservation events and more. Check it out!

EXAIR remains committed to a minimal footprint and continues to focus on manufacturing our products with little impact and doing our part to help protect our environment. We are proud to manufacture efficient products and implement processes and programs throughout our facility to help use our resources wisely. We also recycle everything we possibly can – cardboard, paper, metal, wastewater, plastic. EXAIR also pays us to take some volunteer hours, some of us choose “green” events.

We manufacture and sell Intelligent Compressed Air Products that are specifically designed to reduce the use of compressed air throughout facilities.  On top of that, when you purchase an EXAIR product it will arrive in fully recyclable packaging and, in most cases, is made from a material that will be recyclable should it reach a point it is no longer useful.

Over the past years we continually look for improvement opportunities within our systems and processes. Recently we have…

  • Over the past year, EXAIR recycled 416 cubic yards of paper and cardboard.
  • Recycled 100% of our cardboard and mixed paper products. Of the waste we place into our trash dumpsters – 80% is recycled and 20% is sent to the landfill.
  • We recycle 100% of the metal scrap from our machining processes. The materials we recycle are aluminum, Type 303 and Type 316 stainless steel.  
  • Used our very own Chip Trapper Systems in our manufacturing areas to extend the water-soluble coolant life from 6 weeks per changeover to 6 months per changeover. Keeping our coolant clean allows us to minimize the total amount of wastewater we recycle each year.
  • Minimized our own compressed air use by 1 million cubic feet per year.
  • EXAIR continues to make improvements to the efficiency of our computers and computer servers which require fewer Kilowatt hours (KWH) per day.

EXAIR asks every customer if they accept digital invoices rather than requiring them to be printed and mailed.  We have been able to eliminate over 90% of all printed and mailed invoices. This helps to reduce our resources used as well as the amount of materials that are possibly turned into solid wastes at customer facilities. This also aids to reduces the gas and vehicles necessary to deliver all of these invoices by mail.

Adding to the efforts above, we continue to maintain RoHS compliance on all electronic products, as well as actively track our supply chains to ensure no Conflict Minerals are being sourced and used in our products.

If you have any questions on how we can help your facility reduce their volume of compressed air, contact us.

Thanks for reading the blog and enjoy your Earth Day!

EXAIR
Ph. 1-800-903-9247 Intl Ph. 513-671-3322
www.EXAIR.com

Image courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

50 Years of Earth Day – Happy Earth Day!

Published on by Kirk EdwardsLeave a comment

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and it will be observed in over 190 countries. For EXAIR, this year marks our 37th year helping compressed air users save compressed air energy and electrical resources. And the 37th year for improving our own efficiencies and processes in order to reduce waste. Because your volunteer opportunities may not be available this year, Earthday.org has gone digital for 2020 and is providing ways to participate via your computer.

EXAIR remains committed to a minimal footprint and continues to focus on manufacturing our products with little impact and doing our part to help protect our planet. We are proud to manufacture efficient products, implement processes and programs throughout our facility to help use our resources wisely and recycle everything we possibly can.

We manufacture and sell Intelligent Compressed Air Products that are specifically designed to reduce the use of compressed air throughout facilities.  On top of that, when you purchase an EXAIR product it will arrive in fully recyclable packaging and, in most cases, is made from a material that will be recyclable should it reach a point it is no longer useful.

Over the past years we continually look for improvement opportunities within our systems and processes. Recently we have…

  • Over the past year, EXAIR recycled 1300 yards of paper and cardboard.
  • Recycled 100% of our cardboard and mixed paper products. Of the waste we place into our trash dumpsters – 80% is recycled and 20% is sent to the landfill.
  • Recycled 100% of the metal scrap from our machining processes. Improvements in these processes has reduced scrap rates, which equates to 5.5 tons of recycled metal.
  • Used our very own Chip Trapper Systems in our manufacturing areas to extend the water-soluble coolant life from 6 weeks per changeover to 6 months per changeover. Keeping our coolant clean allows us to minimize the total amount of wastewater we recycle each year.
  • Further reduced our wastewater for reclamation by another 25% compared to last year.
  • Minimized our own compressed air use by 1 million cubic feet per year
  • Made improvements to the efficiency of our computers and computer servers which require fewer Kilowatt hours (KWH) per day

Another waste reducing factor that has proven to work out well for EXAIR is asking every customer if they accept digital invoices rather than requiring them to be printed and mailed.  We have been able to eliminate over 91% of all printed and mailed invoices. This helps to reduce our resources used as well as the amount of materials that are possibly turned into solid wastes at customer facilities. This also prevents the gas and vehicles necessary to deliver all of these invoices by mail.

Adding to the efforts above, we continue to maintain RoHS compliance on all electronic products, as well as actively track our supply chains to ensure no Conflict Minerals are being sourced and used in our products.

If you have any questions on how we can help your facility reduce their volume of compressed air or why we continue to reduce our wastes and increase our recycling efforts, contact us.

Happy Earth Day from EXAIR!

 

 

Image Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

Protect Finishes and Save Liquid with EXAIR No Drip Atomizing Nozzles

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

A typical “liquid-only” nozzle is capable of producing droplet sizes of 300-4,000 microns. Atomizing Nozzles’ droplet sizes are consistently under 100 microns, and can be as small as 20 microns!

In today’s market, the cost of consumable products are on the rise; especially with paints, oils, and yes, even the cost of water.  You can help ease some of that cost by being more effective in spraying.  The EXAIR Atomizing Nozzles can achieve this objective.  By using compressed air, the liquid can be sheared into small micron-sized droplets.  As a reference, if the diameter of a particle is reduced by one-half, this will multiply the number of droplets by eight.  So, smaller diameter droplets will increase the coverage area and reduce liquid requirement in your application.

EXAIR manufactures three families of Atomizing Nozzles; Internal Mix, External Mix, and Siphon Fed.  We offer a variety of spray patterns and sizes; so, you can accurately target and use the proper amount of liquid in your system.  In this blog, I will narrow my discussion to the No Drip External Mix Atomizing Nozzles.

The No Drip option is offered with all of our Atomizing Nozzles.  This patented design is used to keep the expensive liquid from dripping out of the Atomizing Nozzles during off cycles.  When the compressed air is turned off to the nozzle, a valve inside the body will create a seal on the liquid side.  This No Drip function enhances the External Mix Atomizing Nozzle for intermittent processes as the liquid remains inside the body for quick spraying. With delicate applications, the unwanted drips will not occur to ruin the finish of your product.  Unlike some manufacturers, there is no need to run a separate compressed air line to operate the no drip function.  The External Mix Atomizing Nozzles with the No Drip options can give you the best performance in efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility without any drips.

No Drip External Mix

To expand on the External Mix Atomizing Nozzle, it atomizes the liquid outside the nozzle.  The air and liquid supply are pressurized and can be controlled independently.  This type of Atomizing Nozzle will allow for higher viscous fluids to be sprayed up to 800 CPS, similar to SAE 40W oil.  Also, with the external mixing, it helps to diminish the drying effects of solutions which will reduce shutdowns for cleaning.  EXAIR manufactures these nozzles with stainless-steel construction making them compatible with many different kinds of liquids.  They are used in many applications like washing, coating, cooling, quenching, and dust control.

Spray nozzles in action.

EXAIR stocks three different body sizes in 1/8” NPT, ¼” NPT, and ½” NPT ports; so, you can create a light mist or a monsoon.  The combination of an air cap and a liquid cap controls the spray patterns and liquid flow rates.  These caps are easily interchangeable for each body size to change the spray patterns, control the amount of fluid, and reduce any downtime for cleaning.  The amount of liquid to be applied is easily adjusted by the inlet air pressure and liquid pressure.  So, you can dial in the exact amount of fluid required for your process to stop any waste or excess.

They have a compact design to mount inside tight areas, and we also have mounting brackets for easy attachment and positioning.   If your application needs versatility, fluid savings, and precise coverage; the No Drip External Mix Atomizing Nozzles could be the nozzle for you.  If you have any questions about our Atomizing Nozzles or spraying applications, an Application Engineer at EXAIR will be happy to help you.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

 

Benefits of an Ultrasonic Leak Detector

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

Ultrasonic Leak Detector

As margins get tighter and cost of manufacturing climbs, industries are looking into different areas to be more efficient.  A big focus nowadays is in their compressed air system.  Why is this?  Manufacturers are starting to realize that it takes an abundant amount of electricity to make compressed air.  That is why EXAIR manufactures compressed air products for optimization to get the best efficiency.  But what many manufacturers don’t realize is that quiet little hissing sound from there compressed air lines is costing them much money.   That is why EXAIR has the Ultrasonic Leak Detector.

Finding leaks will save you money

Energy Star, a federal voluntary program ran by the Environmental Protection Agency, offers energy-efficient solutions.  EXAIR has partnered with Energy Star because it underscores our commitment to improve energy savings.  They even wrote an excerpt about compressed air leaks here: Energy Tips: Minimize Compressed Air Leaks.  With compressed air leaks, it can be as much as 30% of your compressed air usage.

When a leak occurs, it emits an ultrasonic noise.  The EXAIR Ultrasonic Leak Detector can pick this up.  It has a frequency range from 20 KHz to 100 KHz, above human hearing, so it can make the inaudible leaks, audible.  With three sensitivity ranges and LED display, you can find very minute leaks.  It comes with headphones and two attachments; the parabola attachment to find leaks up to 20 feet (6 meters) away, and the tube attachment for local proximity to define the exact location of the leak.

In the Energy Tips from Energy Star, they reference estimated leak rates and costs associated with these leaks.  They also recommend a leak prevention program with reference materials to help improve energy savings.  As part of that program, an Ultrasonic Leak Detector is the best way to begin.

Checking pipe fittings

To tell a common success story about the Ultrasonic Leak Detector, an EXAIR customer had a 50-horsepower air compressor.  It started to overwork, overheat, and occasionally shut down.  He thought that he would need to buy a larger air compressor to keep his plant running.  In discussing his problems and requirements, he decided to purchase an Ultrasonic Leak Detector from EXAIR to check for leaks as a possible cause.  He checked every fitting and connection in his facility.  When he finished checking the compressed air system, he found 91 leaks.  (You will be surprised with your system if it is not well maintained).

If we look at a very small 1/16” (1.6mm) diameter hole at 80 PSIG (5.5 bar), it will cost you $360 a year per leak (based on 6000 working hours per year).  Thus, 91 leaks at $360/year will equal $32,760 per year.  After the fittings were reworked with piping compound, the compressor was back operating in a normal range.  There was no need to buy a larger air compressor with capital funds, and he was able to save $32,760 a year by finding and fixing the leaks.

As a little secret with the Ultrasonic Leak Detector, it can do more than find compressed air leaks.  Any issue that creates an ultrasonic noise, the Ultrasonic Leak Detector can find it.  This will include air damper seals, circuit breakers, cracked rubber belts, gas burner leaks, refrigerant leaks, worn bearings, and air brake systems on trucks.  It is a handy tool to find potential issues or problems in other areas other than compressed air systems.

For optimization of your compressed air system, it is very important to find and correct leaks in your piping system.  The Ultrasonic Leak Detector can help you do that.  It is an inexpensive way to solve an expensive problem, compressed air leaks.  If you would like to discuss the features and benefits in more detail, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We will be glad to help you.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb