Here’s the latest in our “how to” video series: Today, we’ll demonstrate how to rebuild our 9067 Pressure Regulator. EXAIR’s Pressure Regulators enable easy selection of an operating pressure that allows the air product to operate properly without using excessive amounts of compressed air. Reducing the air pressure from 100 PSIG to 80 PSIG reduces air consumption by almost 20% and reduces required input power by 10%. Learn how to refurbish yours in this short video.
That’s a direct quote that everyone at EXAIR hears at our regularly scheduled safety training meetings. While our machine tool operators & assembly technicians spend a lot more time “up close and personal” with devices that can hurt you if not used properly, we all work in the same building with them. That’s why EVERYONE is required to attend those meetings. I like the people I work with, so I REALLY like the level of confidence we all have that the company is looking out for us like that.
The confidence in safety that we have in working at EXAIR is built into our engineered Compressed Air Products as well. Compressed air is downright dangerous, so it’s imperative that you use it safely.
I spent 6 years & 23 days in the United States Navy, so I know full well that you can’t make anything “sailor proof” (no offense to you veterans of other branches, but I once got a letter of commendation from my Commanding Officer for fixing something that I’d broken myself) but I cannot figure out, for the life of me, how to violate OSHA’s Standard on using compressed air for cleaning, with an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle:
OSHA Standard 1910.242(b) says that if you use a compressed air device for cleaning, the static air pressure at the nozzle or opening must not exceed 30 PSI when dead-ended (blocked). Since the air from a Super Air Nozzle comes out of those holes recessed between those fins, there’s a (dare I say it?) sailor proof relief path to make sure that can’t happen.
In fact, all of our blowoff products comply with that standard:
Another danger associated with the use of compressed air is the noise level associated with introducing a high pressure gas to atmospheric pressure. If you use airguns or other blow offs without engineered nozzles, you likely know this already. EXAIR engineered Compressed Air Products solve this safety issue as well. Each of the products in the photos above has a very specific feature that causes the primary flow of compressed airflow to entrain a secondary airflow, which results in a much higher total developed airflow. That makes them EXTREMELY efficient — but it also forms a low velocity boundary layer around the hard-hitting air stream in the center, which attenuates the sound level.
In each of these EXAIR engineered compressed air products, the primary air stream following the curved surface causes entrainment. And efficiency. And sound attenuation.
The effectiveness of that low velocity boundary layer is so good that all of our Super Air Nozzles except the very largest ones are compliant with OSHA Standard 1910.95(a) for maximum allowable noise exposure (that limit is 90dBA, so you know.)
In closing, let me reiterate: compressed air is dangerous, so use it safely, and that starts with using safe compressed air products. Like EXAIR’s…we’re all about safety. If you’d like to find out more, I can talk about it all day, and sometimes I do…give me a call.
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer Visit us on the Web Follow me on Twitter Like us on Facebook
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 22 million workers are exposed to potentially dangerous levels of noise at work every year. That’s “only” about 15% of the total number of people who are employed in the United States, but if you’re one of them, you should absolutely know the risks, and how to protect yourself. Obviously, high noise levels can cause hearing loss, but do you know what else it causes?
Cardiovascular disease. Constant noise exposure causes stress, and stress triggers the release of hormones that increase your blood pressure, which can lead to ischemic heart disease, strokes, and arrhythmia.
Sleep disruption. Studies show chronic noise exposure during the day can cause difficulty falling asleep, shortened sleep cycles, and frequent wake-ups during the night. All this leads to chronic fatigue and a host of long-term health issues.
Immune system suppression. While the exact nature of the relationship is unclear, recent studies have indicated that noise can cause changes in our immune systems.
Cognitive impairment: Continued noise exposure causes memory impairment, attention deficits, and reduced concentration.
Mental health issues. Not only does continued noise exposure release hormones like cortisol & adrenaline (causing the chronic stress that’ll literally break your heart; see above), it directly influences anxiety, depression, and irritability.
Don’t let this happen to you.
So, how do we protect ourselves? If you said “ear plugs,” you’re not wrong…but did you know that hearing protection in the form of personnel protective equipment (PPE) is considered the LEAST effective method of mitigating noise exposure? The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, a sister agency of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA) developed a hierarchy of controls…a “good, better, best” framework, if you will, of methods to address workplace hazards:
Even though hearing protection (the PPE in this case) is least effective, the intent of the hierarchy graphic is not to dismiss it, but to categorize it as a last resort. If all else fails (or, more often, comes up short,) ear plugs are your – and your hearing’s – best friend.
If the source of the noise cannot be eliminated (and let’s face it, an awful lot of industrial processes are necessarily loud), the next best thing to do is to substitute a quieter method or device. That’s where EXAIR comes in: the design of our engineered Air Knives, Air Nozzles, and Air Amplifiers exploits certain principles of fluidics to mitigate the noise levels associated with the rapid depressurization of compressed air when it’s blown for cleaning, drying, cooling, etc. The key to this is entrainment:
EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products such as (left to right) the Air Wipe, Super Air Knife, Super Air Nozzle, and Air Amplifier are engineered to entrain enormous amounts of air from the surrounding environment.
While this entrainment makes EXAIR products EXTREMELY efficient (the compressed air consumption ends up being a fraction of the total developed flow), it also creates a low velocity boundary layer around the primary high velocity & forceful airflow. This layer attenuates the sound level of that high velocity flow.
Compressed air use can be loud, wasteful, and dangerous, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re looking for a quiet, safe, and efficient solution for your use of compressed air, give me a call.
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer Visit us on the Web Follow me on Twitter Like us on Facebook
I am the poster child for misplaced items. A couple of years back, I lost the key to my truck. I looked for it for WEEKS (it’s not my daily driver) — and finally admitted defeat. A local locksmith offered mobile service, which was kind of expensive but not as bad as I thought, and made me a new key in about a half hour. He actually made two (my wife insisted) and having my truck back just in time for that spring’s mulch was well worth it. Knowing the location of the spare key is nice & comforting too.
Just last fall, I lost my glasses one fine Friday afternoon. I’m only moderately nearsighted, so it was just a mild-to-moderate inconvenience. After a quick trip to the eye doctor and a local business that makes glasses on the same day, I had two new pairs of glasses (my wife, again, insisted on the 2nd pair.) When I got home, my “lost” glasses were on the counter…she’d found them between the arm of the couch and the end table. Ironically, if I’d had a pair of glasses, I’d have found them easily since that’s one of the first places I looked, but was unable to see them with my compromised vision.
EXAIR’s new Air Cradle is a simple but innovative accessory designed to keep safety air guns and similarly sized tools within easy reach at workstations and machine centers.
It’ll hold up to 10lbs, so you can even leave the air supply hose hooked up. Using the Air Cradle means you won’t have to search for your Safety Air Gun, worry about it getting damaged or dropped, and you’ll be one step closer to having a well-organized work space.
Now, I’m not saying that if I had a “truck key cradle” or an “eyeglasses cradle” I wouldn’t have lost my keys or glasses…it’s important to note that one has to actually USE handy organizational tools to be organized…but it would’ve definitely lowered the chances of losing them.
I think it’s also important to note that the Air Cradle came about as a direct result of a customer or two asking about properly stowing their Safety Air Gun. We have regularly scheduled meetings where we discuss calls like that, and the Air Cradle was the direct result of such a conversation. If you have questions about compressed air in general, or EXAIR engineered compressed air products specifically, we’d love to hear from you…whether your call leads to a new product’s development or not!
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer Visit us on the Web Follow me on Twitter Like us on Facebook
