Tag: custom air knife

A Unique Application For An Air Knife? – Our Custom Solutions Have You Covered

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The EXAIR Super Air Knife is the best compressed air operated blow off product ever made. That’s a bold statement, but we can stand behind it:

*They’re the quietest and most efficient on the market. We’ve tested them rigorously, and have verified data from actual users who have replaced competitors’ product with them.
*They come in (16) sizes, from 3 inches to 9 feet in length.  And they can be coupled together for even greater lengths.
*We make them in different materials:

  • Durable, lightweight aluminum for a variety of general purpose applications
  • Type 303 Stainless Steel for environments subject to chemically corrosive elements; also good for temperatures to 800F (427C)
  • Type 316 Stainless Steel for even higher corrosion resistance and strength. Ideal for food, pharmaceutical and surgical product applications.
  • PVDF (with PTFE shims & Hastelloy hardware) for the most aggressive environments: electroplating, solar cell manufacturing, lithium ion batters, caustics, brines, etc.

*We have them in inventory, ready to ship quickly. All of them.

As the title intimates, calls regarding “unique applications” are fairly common, and the Super Air Knife provides a great solution to many of them.  Consider these situations:

*A machine builder had to fit an air knife in a 43″ channel.  We had it covered: we made them a custom (non-stock) 43″ 303SS Super Air Knife and shipped it in three days.
*A user needed 15″ (and only 15″) of air flow.  A Model 110018 18″ Aluminum Super Air Knife, off the shelf, would provide an “overflow” which would disturb product in the vicinity of the blow off.  We had it covered…a custom shim can be made to provide 15″ (and only 15″) of air flow out of an 18″ Super Air Knife.  It only takes a couple of days to get the special shim. We can make shims to center the airflow, keep it all on one side of the knife, have it come out two separate areas etc.

We’ve also made a variety of special Air Knives, when more than just length is a consideration.  So, even if your application is “Unique” (with a capital “U”,) it’s very likely that we still have you Covered (with a capital “C”.)  If you don’t believe me, give us a call.  We’ve got you covered.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Shared Details Equal Better Solutions

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

Fortunately for us, and our customers, we manufacture custom parts to meet their application if our cataloged products do not meet their requirements. Just look at these blogs. Customers often come to us to know if our products can be used in a corrosive environment, or if they are suitable within a high temperature, or within a small envelope.  Shortly after I started working in the Application Engineering department, I have found that the answers to these questions are generally “Yes, but why?”

Our marketing department does a great job of displaying our capabilities.  Just look at the special pages: Air Knives, Line Vacs, Air Amplifiers, or Cabinet Coolers. We can make a great variety of products and materials, but we always will ask the next question. Why?

Some customers are surprised at how emphatic we can be about knowing why you need a special part or process. We are only asking to best serve you. For instance, I had a customer come to me today after seeing our Special Air Knife page and seeing our flat Super Air Knife that is only 11/16″ thick.  This is a great product for its application, but when compared to our stock Super Air Knife, it is more expensive and carries and cannot be shipped until 2-3 weeks after it is ordered since we would build it from scratch.  Customers first look at the Super Air Knife and see that the overall height of the product is 1.44″, which is too large to fit in their machine.  When they see that the Super Air Knife is too big they assume they need something special.  This is generally, when I get a call like this.

“I need your Flat Super Air Knife. What is the part number and price?”

Flat Super

“We don’t have a standing part number for that unit. It was a special part that we created for a specific customer. Why do you need that model?” I reply.

“It is thinner than the Super Air Knife.” – customer

“Have you looked at the Full Flow Air Knife?” – my reply

“No, What is that?” – customer

This is where the reasoning behind the request is so important. Purchasing one piece of a custom made thin Super Air Knife pictured above is significantly more expensive than the production run and in stock Full Flow Air Knife.  The Special thin Super Air Knife is 0.688″ thick. The Full Flow Super Air Knife is 1.03″ thick. And in this case case, the Full Flow Air Knife worked for this customer.  This is just one example of finding out why a customer needs a special product is so important.  If the machine envelope is 1.25″ the Full Flow Air Knife will fit just fine. If the machining envelope is 0.75″, a Special thin Super Air Knife will be the solution. When we share the details together, it is easier to produce the best solution for our customers.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
DaveWoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW