Tag: drying

Super Air Amplifiers – Adjustability for Blowoff, Drying, Cooling, Circulation and Ventilation

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The Super Air Amplifier is a powerful, efficient, and quiet air mover. Applications currently in place include blowoff, drying, cooling, circulation and ventilation. Sizes from 3/4″ to 8″ are available to best match the air volume that is necessary to achieve the process goals. There are a couple of ways to change the performance of the Super Air Amplifier if either a small or large change to the output flow is required.AirAmplifiers

The chart below shows the Total Output Flow for each of the 6 models. As an example, the Model 120021 or 121021, when operated at 60 PSIG of compressed air supply, will have a total output flow of 120 SCFM. These same devices when operated at 80 PSIG will have a total flow of 146 SCFM. By simply using a pressure regulation device on the compressed air supply, the output performance can be tuned to match the desired outcome.

Capture

For those applications where much greater flow and/or force is needed, the option of installing a thicker shim is available.  The Super Air Amplifiers are supplied with a 0.003″ shim installed (the 8″ model 120028, has a 0.009″ shim as standard) and can be fitted with shims of thicknesses of 0.006″ or 0.009″ (the 8″ model has an optional 0.015″ shim.) Installation of a thicker shim increases the slotted air gap, allowing for a greater amount of controlled air flow.  As a general rule, doubling the shim thickness will double the air flow rates.

Super Air Amplifier Shims
Patented* Shim Design for Super Air Amplifiers

The Super Air Amplifier design provides for a constant, high velocity outlet flow across the entire cross sectional area,.  The balanced outlet flow minimizes wind shear to produce sound levels that are typically three times quieter than other air movers. By regulating the compressed air supply pressure and use of the optional shims, adjustability and flexibility of the unit is wide ranging and sure to meet your process needs.

If you have questions regarding the Super Air Amplifier, or would like to talk about any EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

Send me an email
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*Patent #5402938

Super Air Amplifiers vs. Fans – Why are Amplifiers More Effective at Cooling & Drying?

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Super Air Amplifier
Super Air Amplifiers entrain ambient air at a rate of 25:1!!

When seeking a suitable solution for cooling or drying your parts, you may be tempted to try out a low-cost fan to get the job done. While fans do a great job of keeping you cool during the warmer months, they’re not the best choice for cooling or drying parts. Have you ever noticed that when standing in front of a fan the flow pattern is not consistent? This is due to the nature in which the fan blades create that air flow by “slapping” the air as they spin rapidly. The air flow that exits from the fan is turbulent and is not as effective as the laminar air flow pattern that is produced by EXAIR’s Super Air Amplifier. The Super Air Amplifier utilizes a patented shim design that maintains a critical position of the air gap and creates a laminar air flow pattern that will exit the outlet of the unit.

fan data2

In addition to providing laminar air flow more conducive for cooling and drying, the Super Air Amplifier provides much more air that can be directed at the target. A standard 2.36” x 2.36” DC operated fan provides anywhere from 12-27 CFM at the outlet, depending on the model. For comparison, a Model 120022 2” Super Air Amplifier will provide 341 SCFM at the outlet when operated at 80 psig. At just 6” away from the outlet, this value increases to 1,023 SCFM!! When compared to the fan outlet air flow, the Super Air Amplifier produces more than an 1,100% increase in air volume!

When replacing a fan with a Super Air Amplifier, the process time can be dramatically reduced. The increase in air volume significantly reduces the contact time that your part will need to be exposed to the air flow, allowing you to increase your line speed and decrease the overall production cost of the part. This is achieved due to the nature in which a Super Air Amplifier draws in air from the ambient environment. At amplification ratios as great as 25:1, the Super Air Amplifier is the best way to move a lot of air volume across the part with very little compressed air supplied to it. Check out the video below for a good representation of the air entrainment of a Super Air Amplifier.

In addition to providing laminar airflow and increasing the volume of air, the Super Air Amplifier is also infinitely adjustable through one of two ways. Each size Super Air Amplifier has a shim set that can be purchased. Swapping out the stock shim for a thinner shim will reduce the compressed air consumption, force, and flow. Installing a thicker shim will increase it. Additionally, the force and flow can also be adjusted by regulating the input supply pressure through the use of a pressure regulator. With sizes ranges from ¾” up to 8”, there’s a Super Air Amplifier for all applications. Give us a call today to see how you can optimize your process by replacing your fans with one or more Super Air Amplifiers.

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@Exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

Air Amplifiers – Vent, Exhaust, Cool, Dry, Clean – With No Moving Parts!

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As an Application Engineer, one of the interesting aspects of working with customers on applications is the varied types of solutions an EXAIR product can provide.  The Air Amplifier family – Super Air Amplifier, Adjustable Air Amplifier, and the special High Temperature Air Amplifier can be used in a wide variety of process and applications.  Below highlights several of those from past experiences.

A defense contractor was performing maintenance service on a Navy ship, and the ventilation system had to be shut down.  To keep the personnel cool and safe, an auxiliary ventilation was to be supplied.  Rather than use a cumbersome blower assembly, which has to mounted on the top deck, and ducted down to the lower decks, they chose to utilize (2) 4″ Super Air Amplifiers.  They are very portable and can be set up in minutes.  This solution provided the necessary air flow, providing a safe environment for the maintenance crew.

Super Air Amplifier
EXAIR Air Amplifiers use a small amount of compressed air to create a tremendous amount of air flow.

A light bulb manufacturer needed a better solution for a cooling operation.  During manufacturing of a mercury lamp, the bulb must be cooled from 700°C to 600°C in just 15 seconds.  The current method, an open brass pipe, was working but the noise level was too high (95 dBA.) The goal was to maintain the 15 second cooling time, but reduce sound levels to 85 dBA.  By utilizing (2) of 3/4″ Adjustable Air Amplifiers, the customer was able to maintain the cooling rate, and reduce the noise level down to 80 dBA, a 15 dBA reduction.

adjustable Air Amplifier
Adjustable Air Amplifier

A garbage collector presented a problem that needed a solution.  The garbage was incinerated and when the furnaces were first started up, there tended to be issues with getting the flue to draft properly.  Using the High Temperature Air Amplifier, the high velocity air flow and draw provided the needed draft until the stack warmed up and the natural draft would be established.  Since the unit is capable of handling temperatures up to 700°F, it was able to withstand the heat of the process after the compressed air was turned off.

These and other Applications for the Air Amplifiers and all other EXAIR products can be found on the EXAIR website on the Products page, under the Related Info section toward the bottom of each page.

If you have questions regarding Air Amplifiers or any EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

Send me an email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_BB

Super Air Knives Remove Water from Knee Replacement Parts

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

EXAIR’s Super Air Knives are the go to when you need to dry your parts as they’re traveling along a conveyor. The high velocity, laminar airflow from the Super Air Knife does a fantastic job of stripping away moisture, leaving your part dry for the next stage of the process. With models available in both 303 & 316 Stainless Steel, Aluminum, and polyvinylidene fluoride and at lengths ranging from 3″-108″, there’s a knife for every application.

I was recently working with a customer that manufactures knee replacement devices. He was designing a new blowoff station to eliminate having to have operators manually dry the parts after a washing operation. He created a test rig to test out his theory of using Super Air Knives. While conducting his tests, he was having issues completely removing the water from the parts. Due to some of the grooves and pockets, the underside was not drying in one pass. This led to him having to manually blow the parts off after they exited the basket. This would not be acceptable as the purpose was to remove the operator from this part of the process. After taking a look at some photos of the setup, I noticed that he had the knives angled so that the airflow was blowing perpendicular to the parts. In doing this, the amount of time that the part is exposed to the airflow is greatly reduced. In any blowoff application, maximizing the time & contact that the part has with the airflow is critical in maximizing effectiveness. By angling the knives so that the parts were exposed to the airstream just as they exited washing, he was effectively able to dry the parts in one pass.

Optimized-IMG_20170313_133531
Improper Positioning of Super Air Knives

We’re frequently contacted by customers who may have the right product for the application, but are not seeing the results they expected. EXAIR has a highly trained team of Application Engineers that are ready and waiting to help you optimize your installation. In addition, EXAIR offers an unconditional 30 Day Guarantee on all stock products. We want you to have an opportunity to test the product out in your application before committing to the purchase. In doing this, we have the unique opportunity to work with you as you troubleshoot the application. If you have an EXAIR product installed and still aren’t seeing the results you expect, give us a call. We’d be happy to look into your setup and determine if there’s anything that can be done to enhance the performance.

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer

E-mail: tylerdaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD