If you have a standard Digital Flowmeter from EXAIR, you can convert it to a Wireless Digital Flowmeter. Making this conversion allows you to transmit you r compressed air data over a ZigBee mesh network. This data can be passed from meter to meter, which extends the distance the data can be transmitted. Each meter has a wireless range of 100′ (30meters). Once converted, a wireless to ethernet gateway transmits the data to EXAIR’s free graphing software. By Here is an informal video demonstrating this.
As mentioned in the video, you can set up your Wireless Digital Flowmeter and Gateway here: Video Blog: EXAIR’s New Wireless Digital Flowmeter Installation. If you have any questions, you can contact an EXAIR Application Engineer. We will be happy to help.
John Ball Application Engineer Email: johnball@exair.com Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
When an atom gains or loses an electron from its outer shell, it becomes electrically imbalanced. A material’s propensity to either gain or lose an electron is “ranked” on a list known as the Triboelectric Series.
The buildup of static electricity is a common issue for many converting applications. This type of static generation is known as detachment static build up. Detachment static build up occurs when a material is in contact with another and these two surfaces separate from one another. During the separation, not all of the electrons are able to get back to their original molecule. This results in an instantaneous static charge as the electrons are transferred from one object to another in accordance with the Triboelectric Series. Due to the large surface area in most detachment static buildup scenarios, the amount of static generated is typically far greater than contact static buildup. Detachment static buildup occurs on many converting applications as material separates from a bulk roll.
This typically occurs at a high rate of speed and the large surface area across the width of the roll presents an ideal situation for static buildup. This charge can cause the material to stick to itself and not come off the roll properly, creating issues down the line. It can also result in painful shocks to operators, which not only presents a safety hazard but also negatively impacts productivity and morale.
I recently worked with a customer that was experiencing some issues with their converting process for a line of candy packaging. The high static charge was discharging to their operators along while periodically causing the machine to jam up and need to be stopped, cut, and re-fed. Using the Model 7905 Static Meter, they were measuring charges of over 31 kV on the material.
The solution was to install a Model 112024 Super Ion Air Knife above and below the web to saturate the material with positive and negative ions. The knife carries the ions to the surface of the material and ensures the charge is neutralized immediately upon contact. After implementing a knife above and below the material, the charge was neutralized and also stopped the nuisance shocks experienced by operators nearby.
Each time the machine jammed it would take approximately 30 minutes to fix. This issue was occurring anywhere from 3-4x per day and the machine ran 24/7. By simply implementing the Super Ion Air Knives they gained up to 2hrs more run time by eliminating the presence of static in the process.
Don’t let static continue to create headaches for your personnel. Get yourself a permanent solution from EXAIR and ensure your processes run smoothly.
In a recent video, I showcased our newest Industrial Housekeeping product, the EasySwitch Wet-Dry Vac. Throughout my years in metalworking as well as homeownership, I have honestly never used a wet-dry vacuum that is this easy to change operating modes from wet to dry or vice versa. So just how easy is it?
EasySwitch Wet-Dry Vac Mode Change Instructions
When writing out instructions on how to do this it takes a total of five steps for either direction. These five steps can easily be completed in less than 15 seconds and best of all, it is tool-free.
When changing over other wet/dry vacuums, whether it is a traditional electric vacuum like you may have at home or another pneumatic industrial vacuum on the market, the switchover process is cumbersome. There are typically fasteners or retainers that are necessary to hold the filters in place, filters can be poor quality and get damaged easily. Small parts needed to hold filters in place like springs or retainer nuts can easily be lost, hard to manipulate and take additional time changing from liquid to dry modes or vice-versa. With the EasySwitch, the only fastener is a rubber latch that is attached to the filter hatch cover. This means operators can’t lose parts because they are all attached to the EasySwitch Lid. To convert from a dry vacuum to a wet vacuum the steps are simple.
Turn off the compressed air and unlatch the rubber handle. This makes it possible to complete step two.
Lift the filter hatch lid and let it rest on the hinge stop. This is all designed to be robust enough to easily support the weight of the EasySwitch unit as well as the air hose attached to it.
Lift the filter, whether it is the HEPA rated filter or the standard filter, up and out of the lid.
Close the filter hatch lid onto the edge gasket that stays firmly in place.
Latch the rubber handle/latch back into place and start processing liquid as needed.
That’s it, it takes less than 15 seconds in the video below (see it at 1:15) and I am pretty sure a speedcuber or cup stacker could do it even faster. Don’t believe me, want to test it out for yourself, we honor a 30-day guarantee on stock products. Get the EasySwitch Wet-Dry Vac in your facility and put it through your own rigorous testing. If it doesn’t perform to your liking, let us know and we will arrange for sending it back. Converting the vacuum from dry to wet isn’t the only thing that is fast, we also ship same day on orders for stock products (hint: all EasySwitch vacuums are stock product) received by 3 PM ET that are shipping within the US. (2 PM ET for orders billing and shipping to Canada.)
During a recent trip to South America while visiting our Distributor in Lima, Peru I had the opportunity to look at a few applications at an abrasives manufacturing plant. The company manufactures a wide range of abrasive products as well as adhesive tape.
Before we dive in to the application, let’s discuss static generation. There’s three ways that static can be generated. The simplest method of static generation occurs when two non-conductive objects come into contact with one another and separate. Electrons are transferred from one object to another according to the Tribolectric Series. The second method of static generation occurs as a result of friction. When two materials rub together, especially if increasing force presses the objects together, electrons can also transfer from one material to another increasing the static charge. The final method, and the one occurring in this particular application, is detachment static buildup. Due to the large contact surface area, significantly greater static charges can be generated.
Triboelectric series showing the propensity of a material to gain/lose an electron
They had several converting applications that were causing static issues in the plant. The primary concern was the operators that were constantly getting shocked whenever they had to change out the rolls. A side concern was that there was occasionally a buildup of static that resulted in the product jamming, causing production to be stopped while they fix the jam and re-feed the material.
The application that I’d like to highlight was on a slitting and rewinding machine. A roll of plastic film was fed through rollers where it is slit into three different sizes and then re-rolled. As the film separates from the roll, a high static charge is generated. After each operation, an operator had to go in and remove all (3) rolls from the machine. Each time he was zapped as he touched the roll. This not only affects productivity as they’re hesitant to remove them quickly, but was also a major concern for their safety department.
The proposed solution was to install (2) Model 112006Super Ion Air Knives, one above and one below the plastic film just after it was slit. All EXAIRStatic Eliminators produce an equal quantity of both positive and negative electrons. So, regardless of if the charge is positive or negative there’s sufficient ions to neutralize it. After installation, the static charge was immediately removed. The operator, although hesitant at first, was able to remove the finished rolls from the machine without getting a nice jolt! As an added bonus, they also no longer had an issue with the material periodically jamming in the machine.
Don’t let static problems cause problems in your process or potential harm to your operators. With a wide range of different Static Eliminators available from stock, EXAIR has a solution available that will quickly take care of it for you. Reach out to an Application Engineer today, you’ll be shocked (no pun intended) at how quickly you’ll notice an improvement.
