Tag: efficient

Compressed Air In The Wild

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Over the past weekend, I had the honor of visiting a local MakerSpace. These types of places are what my dreams are made of. The one we toured had a full metal and woodworking shop as well as a separate area for 3D printing, sewing, standard printing, electronics, and even laser engraving/cutting. Every workstation has an electrical drop and a compressed air drop coming from the ceiling as the area can be used for any number of projects.

Handheld air guns are something that you can find in nearly any and all manufacturing facilities that have compressed air within them. Suppose they are not at every operator station because the machines don’t require compressed air. In that case, they are generally found at the very least within the maintenance department, where they continually keep the facility functioning and may be the only ones in the facility with compressed air.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is cry-for-help.jpg
Don’t let this happen to your air gun…use an EXAIR Precision Safety Air Gun with a quiet, efficient Super Air Nozzle instead.

Handheld blowguns like the one shown above are easily overlooked when it comes to operator safety and energy savings. Often, the cheapest gun possible is also the most costly regarding ownership and operation. These are just a few of the reasons EXAIR designed the VariBlast Precision Safety Air Gun.

The ergonomic design fits well in any sized hand and the long trigger makes for easy pull and variation in the amount of air being used. The integrated loop allows the tool to easily hang on a tether or hook near an operator station, while the optional Chip Shield adds additional protection for the operator and can be adjusted to any location along the extension. Effective chip guarding is a portion of the OSHA standard for dead-end pressure. Lastly, the extension pipe is offered in three different lengths: 6″, 12″, or 20″ overall length. Each one of these components is also field replaceable in the event one becomes damaged. That means it’s not disposable like the other guns on the market.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is vpsagP1052x2.jpg

Three different Super Air Nozzle models are available at the end of the extension in two separate materials. You can purchase the Atto, Pico, or Nano Super Air Nozzle in either stainless steel or PEEK thermoplastic for more sensitive applications. These nozzles coupled with our engineered valve design permit the user to vary the amount of air coming out of the gun by pulling the trigger to a higher flow or pulling it slightly and letting less volume of air through.

If you want to discuss whether your current air gun meets or exceeds OSHA standards and how much air it may use versus what an EXAIR VariBlast Precision can do for you, please contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

EXAIR Case Study Library: Help Me Help You

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR Corporation has a broad range of resources to aid in the selection of the right product for the right application:

If you’re a regular reader of EXAIR blogs, you’ve seen a number of “brags” on the successful implementation of just about all of our products. Another “more” part of our website is Applications, where you’ll find WAY more brief summaries of EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product successes than we can fit in our catalog. These come from conversations, emails, and oftentimes shared photos or videos between EXAIR Application Engineers and our customers. We get to write those up as examples of our products making things better. On the occasions where the customer is willing to work with us to quantify how MUCH better our products have made things, we’re able to do a Case Study. A typical Case Study involves collection of “before/after” data, quantifying the benefits of using EXAIR products. This can include, but is not necessarily limited to :

  • Compressed air consumption
  • Noise level
  • Safety (OSHA compliance)
  • Performance improvements
  • Product durability/longevity

At last count, there are over forty entries in our Case Study Library. You can search these by Product, or by Application…depending on what, specifically, you’d like to know. Registration (free and easy) is required to access our Case Studies…if you’re already registered & signed in, you can read the details on any of them. For your immediate viewing, though, here are the pertinent details on just a few:

“Before/After” photos of this efficient and quiet upgrade.
  • More durable and efficient Safety Air Guns: This customer’s main concern was the durability of the air gun they were using. This was a situation where they sent one in for Efficiency Lab testing (that’s one of the ways we can help collect “before” data for a Case Study). I did this one, and the customer’s air gun’s trigger BROKE WHILE I WAS TESTING IT. In addition to providing a more durable product (a Model 1310 Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun, specifically), it also reduced the compressed air consumption from 63.5 SCFM to 14 SCFM, and the sound level dropped from 89.9dBA to just 74dBA.
EXAIR Safety Air Guns: rugged construction, quiet & efficient performance.
Static charge from simple contact between this injection molded plastic part & the mold caused defects in a subsequent metallic coating process (left,) which were eliminated after an EXAIR Super Ion Air Knife was installed (right.)

So, back to the title of this blog…how can you “help me help you” with a Case Study? Let’s start with that 2nd part. Upon successful completion of a Case Study, I can “help you” with a credit on the order you placed for the EXAIR product(s) that replaced what you were using before, or a discount on a subsequent order…if, for example you got a Super Ion Air Knife to try out on one of your headlight making machines, and it worked so good you want to put them on the other nine machines (true story).

The “help me” part is pretty easy too. If you have instrumentation (air flow meters, sound level meters, etc.) to gather the “before” data, we can use that for the Case Study. If you don’t, we do. You can send the subject devices in for Efficiency Lab testing…our engineering staff will use calibrated test equipment to work up a detailed performance profile on what you send in. It’s a free service we offer to anyone who wants this data, in fact, and Efficiency Lab testing has no effect on the credits or discounts we offer for participation in a Case Study.

I also “help you” (and “help me”) by keeping your name, and your company’s name, off the Case Study. That way, if your process or product is proprietary in nature, we don’t risk sharing your hard earned success with your competition. We also don’t run afoul of the authorities, like this one last Case Study I’m going to share, where a machine shop was blowing off parts they make for the military that are classified in nature. They had crimped copper tubing pointed at the cutting tool, and it worked…it was just loud and wasteful. They zipped the crimped ends off and installed Model 1100 Super Air Nozzles with a simple compression fitting. Had the photo below shown the machined part in the lathe chuck, “we’re ALL going to prison” according to the customer:

One well-cropped photo made for a great Case Study, and nobody had to go to prison. THAT was a good deal.

This one, by the way, saved 2.7 SCFM per nozzle (over $840.00 a year in compressed air savings), and reduced the sound level from 96dBA to only 76dBA.

EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products have been making things better for compressed air users for almost forty years. If you’d like to find out how MUCH better we can make things for you, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

The Basics of a Compressed Air Leak Detection Program

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

It is no surprise that compressed air can be a costly utility for industrial facilities. It can easily chip away at the bottom line finances if used carelessly and without planning. This is one of the leading reasons we have educated continuously on how to ensure this vital utility is used with safety and conservation in mind. If we have installed all engineered solutions at the point of use throughout a facility, there is still more to be saved. One of the easiest things to do with a utility system inside of a facility is to leave it unchecked and undocumented until something goes wrong. This does not have to be the scenario and in fact, starting a leak detection program in a facility can help to save up to 30% of the compressed air generated.

Leaks cost money!

That’s right, up to 30% of the compressed air being generated in an industrial facility can be exhausting out to ambient through leaks that run rampant throughout the facility. When the point of use production is still working fine, then these sorts of leaks go unnoticed. Another common occurrence goes something like this example: Maybe there is a leak bad enough to drop the packaging line pressure slightly, this may get fixed by bumping up a pressure regulator, production is back up and it is never thought of again. In all actuality this is affecting the production more and more with each leak.

The leaks add additional load onto the supply side. The compressor has to generate more air, the dryer needs to process more air, the auto drains dump more moisture, it all ads up to additional wear and tear also known as false load. All of this additional load on the system can add more maintenance which if left undone can result in system shut downs. One way to begin to eliminate this false load is to deploy a leak detection program. The steps are fairly easy.

Similar to our 6 Steps to Compressed Air Optimization, you start with a baseline of how much air the system is seeing and operating pressures. This begins the documentation process which is critical to the success of the program. Next, acquire an ultrasonic leak detector (ULD) and a layout of your compressed air system piping. Utilizing the ULD, test all compressed air piping along with equipment, and tag each leak that is detected. Next, begin to repair all of the tagged leaks and document the amount of compressed air savings with each repair. This again, is more documentation which leads to giving a quantitative value to the return on investment of the program. Lastly, schedule a follow up scan that recurs on a pre-determined basis to prevent the system from returning to it’s original leaky state.

EXAIR Ultrasonic Leak Detector

If you would like to discuss starting a leak detection program in your facility or have questions about the ULD or any point of use compressed air product, please reach out to an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

EXAIR Super Air Knife Promotion

Engineered Compressed Air Products = Less Noise & Money Saved

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment

Everyone dislikes loud noises for the most part. Here in Ohio we just got done surviving the constant buzz and swarming of cicadas. We all deal with noise on a daily basis, some of it enjoyable and some of it not so much. Noise is an inescapable fact of life and all we can do is try to reduce noise level to save our sanity. But, did you know that cutting down on the noise produced by compressed air blow offs can actually save you money? Your loud homemade blow off system is not only way too loud, but it is most likely also costing you more money than you need to spend.

EXAIR’s engineered compressed air products are designed to operate quietly and efficiently. The reduction in noise they produce is only one of the benefits – another is the reduction in money by reducing compressed air use.

EXAIR Super Air Knife Promotion
EXAIR’s SUPER AIR KNIFE

But how does one calculate out the ROI? It is very simple to calculate out your potential savings of using one of EXAIR’s Intelligent Engineered Compressed Air Products. If you would rather not do the calculations out yourself then we can do it for you by sending the item in question to our Efficiency Lab Testing. The Efficiency Lab Testing is a free service that we offer to show you the possible savings by switching to one of our products.

The following is a typical ROI preformed and replaced with a corresponding EXAIR Super Air Nozzle:

  • ¼” drilled pipe with (3) 3/32” Holes which uses 9.4 SCFM per hole at 80 psig (denoted as DP)
  • A Model 110003 3” Super Air Knife can be used to replace and only uses 8.7 SCFM at 80 psig (denoted below as SAK)

Calculation:

(DP air consumption) * (60 min/hr) * (8 hr/day) * (5 days/week) * (52 weeks/year) = SCF used per year for Copper Pipe 

(28.2) * (60) * (8) * (5) * (52) = 3,519,360 SCF

(SAK air consumption) * (60 min/hr) * (8 hr/day) * (5 days/week) * (52 weeks/year) = SCF used per year for EXAIR Product 

 (8.7) * (60) * (8) * (5) * (52) = 1,085,760 SCF

Air Savings:

SCF used per year for DP – SCF used per year for SAK = SCF Savings

               3,519,360 SCF – 1,085,760 SCF = 2,433,600 SCF in savings

If you know the facilities cost to generate 1,000 SCF of compressed air you can calculate out how much this will cost you would save. If not, you can us $0.25 to generate 1,000 SCF which is the value used by the U.S. Department of Energy to estimate costs.

Yearly Savings:

                (SCF Saved) * (Cost / 1000 SCF) = Yearly Savings

                                (2,433,600 SCF) * ($0.25 */ 1000 SCF) = $608.40 annual Savings

With the simple investment of $216 (as of date published) you can calculate out the time it will take to pay off the unit.

Time Until payoff:

                (Yearly Savings) / (5 days/week * 52 weeks/year) = Daily Savings

                                ($608.40/year) / (5 days/week * 52 weeks/year) = $2.34 per day

                (Cost of EXAIR Unit) / (Daily Savings) = Days until unit has been paid off

                                ($216) / ($2.34/day) = 92.3 days 

As you can see it doesn’t take long for the air knife to pay for itself. You also get better overall performance as the Super Air Knife will provide a solid curtain of air. In the end you get to breathe a sigh of relief as no more jump scares and a loud hiss when you turn your air on. Who doesn’t like to save a little money and sanity, especially in these crazy times?

If you have any questions or want more information on EXAIR’s Air Knifes or like products. Give us a call, we have a team of application engineers ready to answer your questions and recommend a solution for your applications.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook