Tag: Exair_DW

Wood Veneer Pressing Using Venturi Technology

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

We get some odd calls at EXAIR. Selling factory direct to the end-user means we field calls from all types of people. One these calls turned into a unique and great application.

An amateur woodworker called in looking for a vacuum pump or vacuum generator in order to glue up wooden veneers into complex shapes. This was an application I had not yet assisted anyone with and needed further investigation to understand the process. I found the video below showing the basic mechanisms for the vacuum bag pressing of wooden veneers.

EXAIR vacuum generators, or E-Vacs, are perfect for this application. The E-Vacs, are compressed air powered venturis that  provide vacuum up to 27″ of mercury. In this application once the vacuum is pulled a there is no air flow, so a non-porous vacuum generator is perfect. The customer was able to use our 810002 2 SCFM non-porous vacuum generator, a vacuum switch, and a solenoid to create a flexible veneer press in his own shop. I was immediately struck by how effective this method would be. It is commonly used in for flat pieces, but I could see it being used to form convex curves for artistic pieces.

Here is a time lapse video of a similar process which also features a (helpful?) dog. There are not as many details in this video but it does show some steps not shown in the above video. Plus, it has a dog, and I like dogs.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss an application, please contact EXAIR.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
1-800-903-9247  OR  513-671-3322 outside of USA and Canada
@EXAIR_DW
DaveWoerner@EXAIR.com

3 Keys for Eliminating Static

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

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

Video Blog: Meet Application Engineer Dave Woerner

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

This video will allow you to put a face to a name. Below I introduce myself, and add a few details about my background.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
@EXAIR_DW
DaveWoerner@EXAIR.com

Being a Manufacturer Who Improves Manufacturing Has Benefits – For You

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

On many of occasions EXAIR has benefitted from our own products. One of the fertile areas for testing, product development, and customer feedback are our own manufacturing and assembly processes. Yes, EXAIR is a real factory in Ohio with employees, machinery, and equipment that uses our products everyday. Being a production facility leaves us best suited to understand the abilities, challenges, and opportunities of our customers. Today, I want to point out how two of our products have helped us to make Intelligent Compressed Air products that exceed your expectations. The Ultrasonic Leak Detector and Chip Trapper have both been studied at our facility to measure and understand the real benefits and capabilities of our products for our customers. Below is their story.

Leak Detector
Ultrasonic Leak Detector, Model 9061

 

Famously, one of the original case studies for our Ultrasonic Leak Detector took place at 11510 Goldcoast Dr Cincinnati, OH. (That’s EXAIR Corporation’s address). As the biggest rival against wasted compressed air, having it at EXAIR would be inconsistent with our own philosophy – we just can’t have it. Our President, Bryan Peters wrote about the benefits of the Ultrasonic Leak Detector in a blog “Free Money!…”. In the blog, he details the mystery of the compressed air costs during times when our plant was not running. Compressed air was so expensive that was costing us money while we were closed. Using the ultrasonic leak detector, EXAIR was able to find our leaks and fix them. The leaks in our system were miniscule compared to some old and very large compressed air systems. But even with our relatively small leaks we were able to save ONE MILLION CF per year of compressed air. This lost compressed air results in significant energy consumption as your compressors try to keep up with the demand caused by the leaky air lines. Please stop wasting money and energy on compressed air leaks. Find them today with EXAIR Ultrasonic Leak Detector.

EXAIR's new Chip Trapper
EXAIR’s Chip Trapper

At EXAIR, we also deal with a  variety of metalworking coolants as we manufacture aluminum, brass, and stainless steel parts. Before we started using our Chip Trapper, our water based coolant would last around 2 months. After those six weeks, we would vacuum out the coolant. After the coolant is pumped out, we would then shovel out the chips that had settled in the bottom of the sump. This task is time consuming, and the smell is awful from the rancid coolant. We found that by using a Chip Trapper weekly. We could extend our coolant life to six months. Some may say that cleaning the coolant sumps weekly is adding work. That is an old mentality though because by removing chips from the coolant weekly we save hours of labor we used to consume every two months and clean up our coolant in minutes not hours.  Here is a video to learn more. Our machinists loved our final prototype so much they kept it. You know how machinists are. Don’t mess with their tools.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
@EXAIR_DW
DaveWoerner@EXAIR.com