In case you are new to the EXAIR blog, we talk a lot about the intelligent and safe use of compressed air. Most manufacturing facilities in the world have point-of-use compressed air and that will also equal to any that do, probably have a handheld blowgun in their facility which may or may not be safe and efficient. This may very quickly be one of the most common tools used throughout some facilities and is often the most overlooked when safety and efficiency are a concern.
The Soft Grip Safety Air Gun is a versatile safety air gun from EXAIR that can easily replace most of the loud and inefficient blowguns in a facility. The option to choose from 14 different engineered air nozzles, most of which are also available in multiple materials to fit the application just right, will give the ability to fit any operator’s requirement for force and flow. Couple that with the ability to add one of 8 different extension lengths or 6 different stay set hose lengths, and it will give the operators exactly what they need for those hard-to-reach areas while staying out of harm’s way. Lastly, the chip shield adds yet another layer of protection for the users and can be adjusted up and down on the extension to fit each application’s needs.
EXAIR’s Free Efficiency Lab
If you aren’t sure whether the handheld blowguns in your facility would meet or exceed OSHA standards for dead-end pressure and allowable noise level exposure, contact an Application Engineer today and send one to us for a FREE Efficiency Lab and find out which EXAIR Safety Air Gun is going to meet or exceed OSHA standards and your expectations.
Years ago I was working with a pet food manufacturer who was having issues with their bag opening machine. The problem they had with their existing setup was the dust from manufacturing processes would get sucked into the venturi and start to decrease their performance. Hence, they needed a better solution that wouldn’t need to be replaced and could be cleaned.
Adjustable E-Vac
The bags were empty, and this vacuum generator was positioned to pull the bag open. The bags were made of a non-porous material as they had a coating on them and thus the actual action of opening the bag was not difficult. Enter dust through the throat of a small venturi, and it caused several downtimes that were not scheduled. When looking at the performance characteristics of their existing system I crossed that over to an EXAIR model 840008M – Adjustable E-Vac w/ Straight Through Muffler. This unit was able to open the bag and hold it open for their machine needs. The throat passage of the unit was also larger than their existing generator and the biggest benefit, the Adjustable E-Vac could easily be taken apart and cleaned. To see how easy they are adjusted, which is the same method used to take them apart, check out this previous video blog linked in the image below.
The process changed from changing an existing vacuum generator out, scrapping the old one, and putting in a new one to keeping two on hand. One (EXAIR Adjustable E-vac) that is in operation and functioning, then after a designated amount of time (predictive maintenance), they change it out for the spare (EXAIR Adjustable E-vac) vacuum generator. The second part of the process involves breaking the used one down (without the need for any specialized tools), to clean each of the three pieces on the unit. The refurbished unit is then reassembled, benchmarked for performance, and put on the shelf for the next maintenance cycle.
While this system uses the same volume of compressed air as their previous solution, we still save money in the amount of unusable replacements they were ordering with repairable units, allowing them to keep a working spare on hand. So it saves the customer money on the life of the product. A further benefit is the customer can also get the EXAIR Adjustable E-Vacs quickly as they are standard stock item for us at EXAIR and can ship the same day on orders received by 2 PM ET.
If you want to discuss how an Adjustable E Vac makes sense for you and your team, contact an Application Engineer today!
It’s Summer, it’s hot, and just about everywhere that sees the sun here in the US is currently pretty warm. This isn’t breaking news to anyone here in the Midwest, but it is also increasingly muggy and humid. I know this because the condensate drain on the A-Coil within my home HVAC system has been dripping more and more water down through the drain line and into the floor drain. I’ve also been watering my outdoor plants more and more frequently due to the lack of rain we have had the past month. At home, my HVAC system pulls moisture out of the air and lets it condense then pushes it down a drain. Out of sight and out of mind for most homeowners. In a manufacturing plant, that isn’t always the case because many have no climate control for their machine and production areas.
When I was in metal cutting, it was not uncommon for me to walk into a shop during the summer to repair a machine that had a thermal trip. Most of these machines that I worked on had simple air-to-air heat exchangers to cool the electrical cabinets which have a minimum of three variable frequency drives in them as well as a controller, many other relays, and circuits. Most machine shops I went into were also not climate controlled. The machining processes would build a mist and dust throughout the facility which would settle. The fan intakes would often not be maintained, and the cabinets would eventually overheat. Often, rather than cleaning the fans, the operators or maintenance would simply open the electrical panel doors and put a box fan blowing into the open panel, so they could finish cutting their parts.
Whatever you do, DON’T do THIS to your panel.
While this would put the machine back into service it would also pull in all that warm humid air from the shop that was filled with the metal fines, oil mist, and other dirt. This would then blanket the inside of the panel and all the open circuit boards. Some of the drives would even have fans on them from the manufacturer to keep the inside cool which would just internally coat the surfaces with oil, dust and debris. Then, after that job was done, it would just roll into the next job because the “fix” was working just fine. Well, after a while of the machine running like this, the buildup settling onto the boards and internal fans coating the inside of the drives the machine would generally go down again and this time they couldn’t apply the same fix of opening the doors again. This is when I would get the call and have to deliver the bad news that I now have to clean and inspect all the boards and drives. Then, when we would get finished, the cycle would start over unless the customer took to heart that the fans have a much-needed preventative maintenance cycle, or they would have the fans removed and install a Cabinet Cooler System.
The advantage of the Cabinet Cooler System is that the panels stay sealed and maintain their NEMA rating all while receiving less than ideal maintenance intervals. In fact, the Cabinet Cooler itself has no moving parts and the only maintenance is to ensure the compressed air filter is clean and clear. This option would often result in fewer calls for overheated machines. I am fairly certain it may impact the sale of box fans to these machine shops. At the very least, the operators get to keep the fans for cooling themselves off rather than blowing into an electrical enclosure.
If you have seen an open electrical enclosure with fans blowing into it, then you know exactly what I am talking about. I hope you understand that an EXAIR Application Engineer can help you prevent that safety violation as well as a general, all around bad idea for the health of the components inside the cabinet.
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 are continually keeping the facility functioning.
Don’t let this happen to your air gun…use an EXAIR Precision Safety Air Gun with a quiet, efficient Super Air Nozzle instead.
These handheld guns are easily overlooked for being safe and efficient for the operators to use. 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.
VariBlast® Precision Safety Air Guns
2022 Professional Tool & Equipment News PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER
The ergonomic design fits well in any sized hand and the long trigger makes for easy use with up to the four-finger engagement. The integrated loop allows the tool to easily hang on a tether or hook near an operator station. The optional Chip Shieldadds additional protection for the operator and can be adjusted to any location along the extension. 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.
There are three different models of Super Air Nozzle 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 the current air gun you use 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.
