Tag: Dave Woerner

Beat the Heat: Cold Gun Air Coolant Systems Extend Tool Life with No Messy Coolant

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In most drilling, machining, and cutting operations a flood of coolant is used to remove heat from the work piece and the tool. This coolant is sprayed, and after it impacts the tool or part it sprays everywhere. In some case there is no way around using coolant due to required cutting speed, specific heat of the part, or the need for lubrication. In other applications coolant is prohibited from touching the work piece due to application requirement. This means that the tool and the work piece operate at a higher temperature and could damage the tool or work piece.

Cold Gun
Cold Gun, Model Number 5315, In Use

EXAIR Cold Gun Air Coolant System drop the temperature of compressed air by 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This air is then blown on a tool and work piece to take way most of the heat generated during machining. Used in combination with a tool that can handle a higher temperature like a high performance carbide the Cold Gun can deliver reliable machining without the mess of coolant.

Normally in dry machining you also loss coolant’s ability to clear chips from the work area. These chips can trap heat and further increase the temperature of the work area. The chips will also work harden with repeated cutting causing more wear on the tool and a bad surface finish on the part. With a flood of coolant the chips are washed away, but with dry machining air must be used to clear the work area. EXAIR 5315 Standard Cold Gun features (2) 1″ wide nozzle that can be used to cool and the produce enough air flow to prevent chip build up. If you are looking for more information on dry machining, Brian Boswell wrote a thesis on the topic.

Dry machining doesn’t just replicate the machining with a flood coolant it can improve the process. Extended exposure to airborne lubrication mists present potential health risks to machinists. Coolant is becoming more expensive to dispose of after it has been used this is only going to increase over time as environmental regulation become greater. Removing the coolant from your process can ease your environmental impact while still maintaining the quality machining your customers require.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
@EXAIR_DW
DaveWoerner@EXAIR.com

3 Keys for Eliminating Static

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Everyone is familiar with static electricity. It is the cause of the shocks we feel during the winter time as we shuffle our socks across a carpet. It is also the driving force behind lightning in the sky. Static electricity can be a nuisance at home, but in an industrial setting it can lead to quality issue, material faults, and hazardous sparks. Though most engineers and maintenance technicians know about static electricity not many of the them understand its intricacies, even fewer understand the best ways to mitigate static and still less understand static eliminators, known as ionizers, that can eliminate static without contacting the surface. Here are 3 keys to know about static.

First, static resides on a surface. Though a part may be charged on one surface. The opposite face of the part may be completely unaffected. Here is an example.

IMG_5038
Toner Cartridge – Static inside the plastic container attracts toner.

Even though the outside of this container is free of static the inside of the container still attracts toner to the inside surface. In order to blow out the toner from the inside of the cartridge, we needed to use a static eliminator inside the plastic container.

The second key to eliminating static is that either polarity can cause a problem. Static will cause problems if it is different between materials. Whether the charge on a surface is positive or negative doesn’t matter. It is the difference between charges that causes the attractive forces and static shock. EXAIR static eliminators utilize alternating current to create both positive and negative ions to eliminate both positive and negative ions.

The third key to properly eliminating static is that ionized air works best the closer you can be to a product. Because we eliminate both positive and negative ions, EXAIR static eliminators work best when they are blown directly on a surface that needs treated. The further the ionizer is moved from a surface the less effective it will be. EXAIR products without air assistance typically need to remain within two inches of the surface they are treating. Products with air assistance can be much farther away. It is the inlet pressure, the value of the static charge and the speed of the surface (if it is moving) which will dictate how far away an EXAIR static eliminator can be positioned.

Eliminating static is a very specialized application, it revels its self in dry conditions. It can lead to problems with webs, rollers, and idlers. If you need help with your static problem, please contact an application engineer.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
@EXAIR_DW
DaveWoerner@EXAIR.com

EXAIR’s Free Efficiency Lab – How Much Money Can It Save You?

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In many of my blogs, I talk about specific products benefits or applications, but this week I want to talk about a service that EXAIR provides to our customers: Efficiency Labs. The Efficiency Lab is comprehensive study of your current blow off. You can ship your current blow off to our facility. We can test it with our calibrated equipment and record your current product characteristics. Our most popular efficiency lab is testing home made blow offs. These are blow offs made from copper tubes, thumb guns with nozzles removed, or drilled pipe. These blow offs can get the job done, but they are noisy, wasteful and dangerous. Every compressed air expert knows that these blow offs need replaced, but sometimes it may difficult to decide which nozzle to use. By sending us your current blow off product(s) we can measure the force, flow, and noise of the blow off and provide a comprehensive report. This report, in most cases, compares your current setup against what EXAIR we would recommend to save compressed air, lower noise levels and maintain performance.

 In addition to providing a blow off suggestion, EXAIR’s efficiency lab can identify your energy cost for these blow offs. The standard industrial cost for compressed air is $0.25 per 1000 standard cubic feet. At first glance that might not seem like much, but it can add up. This week I did an efficiency lab for a customer that used 1/4 ID copper tube as their home made blow off.

open copper tube
This 1/4″ Open Blow off uses 30.8 SCFM of compressed air.

This small open tube ran continuously for 10 hours per day five days a week.

To run this tube, cost a company $1,175 per year. The tube would flow 30.8 SCFM of compressed air when fed with 80 PSIG. By installing an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle,  part number 1100, the company could save 16.8 SCFM of compressed air and $650 per year. Once again $650 may not seem like much, but they used up to (40) of these open blow offs depending on what part they ran. Replacing all (40) of these blow offs saves $26,000 per year at a capital investment of $2,880 for (40) 1100-9212, Super Air Nozzle with 12 inch stay set hose. That would be a simple ROI of 72 days.

That ROI is only taking into account compressed air cost. Additionally, the 1100 Super Air Nozzle will reduce noise by 28 dBA and it complies with OSHA Standard CFR 1910.242(b) for dead end pressure.

We have found that our customers all have unique setups which greatly vary the values of their particular blow off. Even if customers have the same 1/4″ tube, the way they implement it can greatly affect its performance. Variations in inlet pressure, length, diameter tolerance and even what they used to cut it to length can have an impact on how much air it will consume. If you want to know for certain how much air and money you can save, use our free Efficiency Lab service.

EXAIR can save a lot for you!

Dave Woerner
Engineer, BSME
EXAIR Corporation

EXAIR’s Cabinet Cooler® Systems Withstand Every Environment

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EXAIR’s second product to win Plant Engineering Magazine’s Gold Award for Product of the Year is EXAIR’s Dual 316 Stainless Steel Cabinet Cooler System.

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems are used continuously in some of Industry’s harshest environment to protect crowded, overheated, and expensive electronic controls from heat failures and alarms.  Dual 316 Stainless Steel Cabinet Cooler Systems provide 5,600 BTU/HR of cooling through (2) electrical knockouts and a compressed air line.  The 316 Stainless Steel NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler Systems are UL Listed for wash down environments for food service and pharmaceutical application.

Fans, air conditioners, and heat exchanges use ambient air and are susceptible to failure from dusty environments when the filters clog or mechanical components fail.  With no refrigerant, motors, or bearings, Cabinet Cooler Systems require no maintenance and can run for years or decades. Cabinet Cooler Systems prevent downtime on the most critical components in your facility.

These coolers are used to protect the most sensitive electrical components in the United States.  A customer disposes of chemical weapons and monitors the exhaust gases of their facility with electronic components mounted to the outside of the smoke stack. This enclosure is exposed to the elements and the heat of the desert sun. Any failure or alarm in the equipment forces the process to shutdown.  A Stainless Steel Cabinet Cooler System protects these electrical components from overheating.

CC_Apps_4up

Stainless Steel Cabinet Cooler Systems have been used on ships, power plants, medical device manufacturing facilities, and bakeries to keep heat out of their enclosures.  They also feature an added benefit that fans, air conditioner and heat exchangers don’t.  The EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Systems apply a positive pressure to the enclosure to push out any dust that may otherwise gather inside your cabinet.  This positive pressure improves air flow and limits dust building up on electrical components.  When dust collects on components, it acts as an insulator trapping the heat against your critical controllers.  This trapped heat can lead to premature failure even with sufficient cooling inside the enclosure.

As this spring heats up and summer begins, keep the Cabinet Cooler System in mind as great solution to your over heating issues.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
Davewoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW