Tag: e vac

“Other” Uses For Vacuum Generators

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Okay. Throughout our catalog and most of my training, many moons ago, we always stuck to using the E Vac Vacuum Generators as pick and place type units. Hook them up with some suction cups and you can have some fun. However, this isn’t all they can be used for. In fact, I blogged about it over a decade ago not being used for a pick and place operation. Rather, I used it to pull a steady vacuum on a hydraulic brake system in order to pull the fluid through the lines.

My E-Vac Brake Bleeder Setup

Today, I want to show you another trick that I am almost certain I saw when I was a kid on Mr. Wizard. I saw this in High School, learning from one of my amazing educators in the Science department, and then again in college taking basic Chemistry courses. The trick is maybe not something that you would use regularly, but it is a great visualization for something that may help some DIY’ers and even some industrial engineers. So what is the process exactly? Well, it is using a vacuum to “boil” water, except we aren’t really boiling the water, it just appears that way.

That’s right, in this video you can see I have a very small E-Vac Vacuum Generator connected to a glass jar with some water in it. Now there is some condensation in the jar from the water being warmer than the environment we were in. As I energize the E-Vac, you will see the operating pressure go up on the gauge to the right, and you will see the pressure in the jar go down on the vacuum gauge to the left. You can also see just how quickly the small E-Vac removes all the air from the chamber and then begins to build the vacuum, effectively pulling the gas from water, making it appear as though it is boiling due to a temperature increase. Instead, it is actually “de-gassing” the water and removing the oxygen.

This same process can be used in molding operations, epoxy resin processes, and even off-gassing operations. If you can get the surface or container into a vacuum condition, then an Inline E Vac or Adjustable E Vac can be used to evacuate the gases from the fluid within the chamber or area. This makes them more conducive for use without bubbles forming during the curing phase. The size of the E Vac needed for this will be determined by the size of the area and that is exactly what our Application Engineers are here to help with.

If you would like to discuss an off-the-wall idea or de-gassing, feel free to contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Additional Benefits To The Adjustable E-Vac Vacuum Generators

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

The EXAIR Adjustable E-Vacs are available in 4 different sizes to fit whatever your pick and place, vacuum holding, degassing, or vacuum evacuation process may call for. These units have been used in a multitude of applications and the Adjustable factor makes them versatile enough to fit a production line with changing needs.

These are all examples of how an E-Vac pick-and-place system is just a solenoid valve away from automation.

The Adjustable E-Vacs have a few benefits that may go unnoticed if one is not keen to exactly how they are constructed and function. This sets them apart from many vacuum generators. When dealing with vacuum generator applications such as pick and place, having a part that is always the same is easiest. This is not always the case. Sometimes it is not just the dimensions of the part that changes, sometimes the material changes or even the surface finish of the part. This is where the ability to change from a porous to non-porous vacuum generator is extremely helpful. Generally this means the material of the parts getting picked up will allow air flow through them (paper, cardboard, wood) or not (plastic, glass). A porous vacuum generator will pull more flow through the part material to hold the vacuum, a non-porous vacuum generator will pull less flow and achieve higher vacuum levels.

To better understand the difference between porous and non-porous, we’ve written about that. Check out Tyler Daniel’s blog on the difference between the two here. The beauty of the Adjustable E-Vac is that it can easily convert from porous to non-porous with a simple adjustment. This is a great feature for a job shop that may change materials they are cutting or engraving on their machines and need to adapt in a moments notice for the job at hand. This could also reduce the number of vacuum generator variances a store room may need to keep on hand for a series of production lines and help to reduce the chance an incorrect model is installed on a machine due to fewer variants.

Adjustable E-Vac

Another benefit which can be helpful in a production environment that has an E-Vac picking up dirty or debris ridden material is that the Adjustable E-Vacs can be disassembled and cleaned. Picking steel sheets off a laser cutter in order to remove the scrap that has a volume of spatter / dust can cause an accumulation of debris on the internals of any vacuum generator. By unscrewing the plug from the body the Adjustable E-Vac can be easily cleaned and all passageways maintained at a level to offer continual performance.

No matter what, the adjustability coupled with minimum components and fastener free disassembly of the unit are two great features that can help minimize machine downtime, lower number of parts kept on hand for machines, and ensure optimal performance no matter what the requirement is for the vacuum generator. If you would like to discuss further, please contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
@EXAIR_BF
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com