Tag: extrusion blowoff

Strut Manufacturer uses EXAIR Back Blow Nozzles to clear ID

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

A few weeks ago I got a call from a large North American manufacturer of Strut Columns. They recently got a large recall on products they were shipping because metal chips and debris were causing the oil seals to wear and leak prematurely. They found that the manufacturing process could leave chips clinging to the inside diameter (ID) of the outer tube and would make it past there visual inspection. They wanted an option to design into a robotic “cleaning station” where the ID would get cleaned while the outside features were getting cleaned as well. Well for me it was pretty easy to select the EXAIR Back Blow Nozzles!

EXAIR Back Blow Nozzle

We offer three different sizes to fit inside a wide variety of diameters from ¼” (6.3mm) to 16” (406mm) ID.  They are designed to clean tubing, pipes, hoses, channels, and extruded “odd” shapes.  The 360o rear airflow pattern can “wipe” without touching the internal surface to remove coolant and chips.  For the application above, I recommended the model 1006SS Back Blow Air Nozzle to fit inside the 2″ (51mm) opening.  The range for this Back Blow Air Nozzle is from 7/8” (22mm) to 4” (102mm) inside diameters.  This 316SS robust nozzle would last a long time without having to change or replace.

Airflow Patterns for EXAIR Back Blow Nozzles

At first they purchased a hand held system on one of our Heavy Duty Safety air guns, This gave them the ability to test the concept out and they found it worked great wiping the ID clean of all unwanted debris. They used the 1306SS-12-CS, this gun with the 12″ extension and chip guard gave them a great platform to test!

Model 1306SS-24-CS Heavy Duty Back Blow Safety Air Gun with Model 1006SS Back Blow Air Nozzle, 24″ Alum. Ext Pipe & Chip Shield

Once they wrapped their testing up, they replaced this manual operation with just the nozzle on a 1.5″ schedule 40 pipe. The nozzle was mounted on the end and a robot would slide the part ID over the nozzle!

This $117.00 nozzle was able to fix an issue that caused hundreds if thousands of dollars in recalls! That’s why we take time and intelligently design our nozzles, the 1006SS was designed for these type of applications and it excels in them!

Using Engineered nozzles can make a big difference in the function of your processes – not only to your financial bottom line, but to everyone’s safety, health, and livelihood.  If you’d like to find out more about how EXAIR can help, give me a call.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Super Air Wipes Cleaning Rubber Cables

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

A rubber cable manufacturer was looking for a better way to clean water from the surface of their product.  Their process entailed extruding a rubber cable from the machine through a cooling water bath to harden the material.  This machine was able to make eight lines at a time.  After the water bath, the cables would pass through homemade blow-off devices to remove the liquid water from the outside surface.  From here, the cables would move through an inkjet printing machine.  They were having issues with the inkjet markings as they were not able to remove enough water.  They decided to contact EXAIR to see if we could help. 

The extruded rubber cables were close to ½” (13mm) in diameter.  So, I recommended the model 2401 1” (25mm) Super Air Wipe.  This would give enough clearance to remove the water in a non-contact way.  I challenged them to compare their home-made devices with our engineered design.  With our 30-day unconditional guarantee for U.S. and Canadian customers, they took me up on that challenge.  They ran a test and videoed the results. 

Super Air Wipe cleaning the rubber cable

The test was a bit crude as the Super Air Wipe was not aligned correctly.  But, with a short trial run, they were quite impressed.  In the photo below, you can see the dryness of the conveyor belt after the Super Air Wipe as compared to the home-made devices.  They were fascinated on how effective the Super Air Wipe was able to remove the water.  They replaced all eight units and noticed an improvement right away in reducing their visual defects in the printing process. 

Besides reducing defects, they noticed a few more things.  The production process ran smoother; even at faster line speeds.  They also observed that the Super Air Wipes were much quieter.  With a decibel rating of 80 dBA at 80 PSIG (5.5 Bar), the nearby operators were very happy with this choice during operations.  The biggest thing that they saw after a few weeks was the reduction in compressed air use as compared to their home-made devices.  Because the design utilizes the Coanda effect, “free” ambient air is drawn into the air stream, reducing the compressed air requirement.  They were using 30% less compressed air, which saved them a lot of money on their electric bill and operational costs. 

EXAIR offers a line of Super Air Wipes available to ship the same day from stock. The Super Air Wipe is available in aluminum construction in sizes ranging from 3/8” to 11” (10 to 279mm) in inner diameters.  All Super Air Wipes come with stainless steel hardware and stainless steel shims.  Sizes up to 4” (102mm) include a cross-over stainless wire braided hose to supply the other half of the Super Air Wipe.  In addition to the aluminum construction, the Super Air Wipe is also available in 303 stainless steel for corrosive or high temperature applications. The Stainless Steel Super Air Wipe can withstand temperatures up to 800°F and is available in sizes from ½”-4” (13mm – 102mm) from stock.

If you’re processing any type of hose, pipe, wire, or extruded shapes, the Super Air Wipe could benefit you in your process.  The customer above was able to reduce defects, decrease the noise level, and save compressed air with a simple replacement.  And if you wish to challenge your blow-off devices with an engineered EXAIR product, you can contact an Application Engineer for additional information.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Back Blow Air Nozzles Clean Inside Aluminum Extrusions

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

A manufacturing plant was using extruded aluminum structural framing for making benches.  After the aluminum parts were cut, they had coolant and chips inside the tube.  They tried to run a rag through the center to remove the material, but it wasn’t able to get into all the crevices and before long the rag was saturated.  Also, they noticed that the chips would scratch the internal surfaces.  For this company, quality was very important to represent their brand.  So, they were needing a non-contact way to clean the inside of these parts after sawing.   They contacted EXAIR as we share the same business facets of first-class customer service and great quality.

Back Blow Air Nozzle Family

At EXAIR, we design and manufacture nozzles for just this type of operation; the Back Blow Air Nozzles.  We offer three different sizes to fit inside a wide variety of diameters from ¼” (6.3mm) to 16” (406mm).  They are designed to clean tubing, pipes, hoses, channels, and extruded “odd” shapes.  The 360o rear airflow pattern can “wipe” without touching the internal surface to remove coolant and chips.  For the application above, I recommended the model 1006SS Back Blow Air Nozzle to fit inside the 1 ½” (38mm) opening.  The range for this Back Blow Air Nozzle is from 7/8” (22mm) to 4” (102mm) diameters.  This 316SS robust nozzle would last a long time without having to change or replace cloth rags.

After installing the model 1006SS onto an extension pipe, the cleaning operation became very easy and efficient.  After each cut, they would run the Back Blow Nozzle through the center with only one pass to clean.  The non-contact wiping removed the coolant and chips without marring the internal surface.  In addition, they were able to speed up their operation by 20%.  Cleaner tubes, less time, cost savings; they were happy that they contacted EXAIR for our expertise.

Model 1204SS-6-CS and 1206SS-6-CS

If you need to clean the inside of tubes, hoses, pipes, etc., EXAIR has the perfect nozzle for you, the Back Blow Air Nozzles.  EXAIR can also offer these nozzles on our VariBlast, Soft Grip, and Heavy Duty Air Guns for manual operations.  They come with Chip Shields and extensions that can reach as far as 72” (1829mm).  Or like the customer above, automate the system to get a great non-contact cleaning.  If you require any more details, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We will be happy to help you.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

EXAIR Super Air Wipes: Conical Blow-off for Cable, Pipe, Hose, Extrusions

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

EXAIR manufactures two types of Air Wipes; the Standard Air Wipe™ and the Super Air Wipe™.  They are designed to blow an airstream in a concentric pattern around the outside of pipes, cables, extruded shapes, hoses and much more.  In this blog, I will focus on the features and benefits of the Super Air Wipes.  Their unique design, variety of sizes, and construction definitely makes this product “Super”.

The Super Air Wipes are used to blow-off, cool, clean and dry products.  The air is blown in a conical 360o pattern completely around the outside of parts.  EXAIR engineered a Coanda profile to entrain large amounts of ambient air.  This will increase efficiency by using less compressed air and still generate a large force to perform the task.  The Coanda profile is set at a 30o angle to increase the contact area and keep debris away from the portion of the product that has already been cleaned.

Simply open the two halves, and clamp them around your product…no threading!

The construction of the Super Air Wipes is also unique.  It has a split design to allow for an opening to place around the part; so, you will not have to break or rethread the material.  They also use stainless-steel screws and stainless-steel shims.  For diameters up to 4” (102mm), they will come with a braided stainless-steel hose to supply compressed air to both halves.  The stainless-steel components give the units better corrosion resistance, higher temperature ratings, and more durability.

EXAIR manufactures the Super Air Wipes with two different body materials, aluminum and 303 stainless steel.  EXAIR stocks the aluminum models with inner diameters from 3/8” (10 mm) for wire and cables up to 11” (279mm) for large pipes and hoses.  The aluminum models have a temperature range good to 400oF (204oC).  We also stock the stainless-steel models from ½” (13mm) to 4” (102mm) inner diameters, and they have a temperature range up to 800oF (427oC).  If you require different diameters or materials, don’t be afraid to ask.  EXAIR also makes specials.

Super Air Wipe Kit

We also offer options with the Super Air Wipes.  We have kits to help get the most out of the Air Wipes.  A kit will include the Super Air Wipe, a filter, a regulator and a shim set.  The filter will remove bulk liquids and debris from the compressed air to keep the performance optimal.  The Regulator is used to control the force.  This helps to not over-use the amount of compressed air required for the job.  With a regulator, you can make fine adjustments to get the proper amount of air.  For coarse adjustments, you can add shims to increase the air flow and force.  They are easy to install on the Super Air Wipes to allow for applications to have more cooling, faster drying, and better removal for tough debris.  For cleanliness and control, the Super Air Wipe Kits would be recommended for your application.

Here are some additional advantages in using the EXAIR Super Air Wipes that I did not cover.  They are OSHA safe in dead-end pressure and noise exposure.  So, they are quiet.  We placed pre-tapped holes on each half of the bodies for easy mounting with brackets or attachments.  They do not have any moving parts or require any electricity to operate.  The non-contact wiping actions that the Super Air Wipe can provide helps to support cleaning items without affecting the surface finish.  Also, you won’t have to worry about replacing cloths or brushes that will slow production and wear over time.

With the creation of the EXAIR Super Air Wipes, uniform cleaning, cooling, and blowing around the outside of parts is a simple task.  You don’t have to worry about a variety of nozzles to target the circumference, or a fabricated blow-off device that will waste air and take much time out of your day.  A simple purchase of the Super Air Wipe is all you need.  You can order them from our website at www.EXAIR.com or call us at 800-903-9247.  If you need help in selecting the proper product for your application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR for help.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb