Tag: extrusion drying

The Right Tool for Drying, Cleaning, and Cooling Continuous Material

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

If you’ve ever tried to dry or clean a continuous length of pipe, wire, or hose using a handful of nozzles pointed at it from different angles, you already know the problem. You’re always going to miss a spot. It doesn’t matter how many nozzles you throw at it or how you arrange them, getting full 360° coverage on a moving product with open-ended blow offs is a losing battle. That’s exactly the problem the Super Air Wipe was built to solve.

The Super Air Wipe is a close relative of our Super Air Knife, and it works on the same principle. A Coanda profile entrains large amounts of ambient air to amplify the compressed air supply and deliver a high-velocity, laminar airflow across the entire target. The difference is the geometry. Where the Super Air Knife delivers a flat curtain of air, the Super Air Wipe delivers a uniform 360° ring of laminar airflow directed inward at a consistent angle. The result is complete, gap-free coverage on pipe, cable, hose, wire, and extruded shapes as they pass through the center of the unit.

Split ring design eliminates the need for product “threading” through the Air Wipe.

One of the most practical features is the split design. The Super Air Wipe opens up like a clamshell, allowing you to clamp it directly around a continuous run of material without having to thread anything through. That means no line stoppages for installation, no re-threading when you switch over to a different product diameter, and no downtime when maintenance requires you to pull the unit for inspection. You just unlatch, remove, reinstall, and go.

The aluminum Super Air Wipe is available from stock in sizes ranging from 3/8″ all the way up to 11″ inside diameter, covering a wide range of pipes, tube, and hose diameters. All units include stainless steel hardware and stainless steel shims. For sizes up to 4″, a brass tee and a stainless steel wire braided hose are included to supply each half of the unit independently, which is important for maintaining even airflow around the full circumference. For sizes over 4″, each 1/4 NPT compressed air inlet should be piped directly from the supply line to ensure both halves receive equal pressure.

For applications involving corrosive environments or elevated temperatures, the Super Air Wipe is also available in 303 stainless steel construction. The stainless steel version handles temperatures up to 800°F, making it a solid option for positioning close to an extrusion die or in areas where chemical exposure would deteriorate aluminum over time. The stainless steel Super Air Wipe is available in sizes from 1/2″ to 4″ and ships from stock.

Like the Super Air Knife, the Super Air Wipe has 1/4-20 tapped holes along the downstream side for hard mounting. For smaller sizes, rigid compressed air supply pipe can double as structural support, eliminating the need for a separate mounting bracket altogether. Airflow and force can be tuned two ways, through shim sets for gross adjustments to the air gap, or through a pressure regulator for real-time fine-tuning. Kits are available that bundle the Super Air Wipe with a shim set, a pressure regulator, and an auto-drain filter to keep the supply air clean and dry. Increasing input pressure increases both force and flow from the unit, so if line speed changes, you’re not reworking the installation, you’re just turning a knob. For operations running different product sizes or materials across shifts, that flexibility matters.

One of the most straightforward uses for the Super Air Wipe is drying extruded PVC pipe after it exits the cooling tank. At that point in the process, the pipe is wet and moving continuously toward a printer or saw. Positioning a Super Air Wipe immediately after the water bath and before the downstream equipment ensures the surface is dry before it reaches the inkjet coder or the cutoff. Manual wiping at line speed is unreliable, and open nozzles leave gaps. The Super Air Wipe handles it consistently, every time.

If you’re processing any type of hose, wire, cable, or extruded profile that could benefit from a reliable blow off, drying, or cleaning solution, give us a call.

Tyler Daniel

Assistant Application Engineering Manager

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

Automated Drying For Pipe, Tube, and Extruded Shapes

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

The challenge with drying or cleaning a continuous pipe or tube is that air has to reach the entire circumference simultaneously. Standard nozzles or simple air rings often leave “dead spots” where moisture or debris can hide, leading to quality failures in downstream processes like ink jet coding or packaging. The Super Air Wipe solves this by generating a high-velocity, 360-degree laminar air curtain. As the pipe or tube passes through the center of the wipe, the air strips the surface clean without any gaps in coverage.

In many pipe and hose operations, the biggest bottleneck is the inability to break the line for maintenance or setup. Because the Super Air Wipe features a split design, it can be unlatched and clamped around the pipe at any point. You do not have to feed the material through the center, which means no downtime when a new roll is started or a different section of the line needs a blow off station.

For tubes ranging from 3/8 inch up to 11 inches, the Super Air Wipe provides a concentrated blast that moves with the material. On a PVC line, for example, the air wipe can be positioned immediately after the cooling tank. By stripping the water off the pipe at high speed, you ensure the surface is bone dry before it hits the printer or the saw. This level of consistency is impossible to achieve with manual wiping or haphazard nozzle arrangements.

Control is straightforward. By using a pressure regulator, you can dial the force up or down based on the line speed. If you are running a heavy gauge pipe at low speed, you can drop the pressure to save air. If the line speeds up, you increase the pressure to maintain the same drying efficiency. This flexibility ensures you are only using the compressed air required for that specific run.

For those working in high-temperature extrusion or corrosive environments, the 303 Stainless Steel models are the standard choice. They handle temperatures up to 800°F, allowing you to position the wipe closer to the die where the material is at its hottest. This prevents debris from baking onto the surface and ensures a cleaner finish. Whether you are dealing with cutting fluid on machined tubing or water on an extrusion line, the Super Air Wipe provides a repeatable, 360-degree solution that manual methods simply cannot match.

Tyler Daniel

Assistant Application Engineering Manager

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

How the Coanda Profile Drives Efficiency in EXAIR Products

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

In compressed air applications, efficiency often comes down to how effectively you use the air you already have. One of the most important aerodynamic principles that allows modern air-powered devices to operate efficiently is the Coanda Effect. This phenomenon is the foundation behind several EXAIR engineered products, enabling powerful airflow while minimizing compressed air consumption.

Understanding how the Coanda profile works can help engineers and plant managers optimize processes such as drying, cooling, cleaning, and conveying.

Compressed air flows through the inlet (1) to the Full Flow (left) or Standard (right) Air Knife, into the internal plenum. It then discharges through a thin gap (2), adhering to the Coanda profile (3) which directs it down the face of the Air Knife. The precision engineered & finished surfaces optimize entrainment of air (4) from the surrounding environment.

What Is the Coanda Effect?

The Coanda Effect describes the tendency of a fluid stream—such as air—to follow along a nearby curved surface instead of continuing in a straight line. As the air travels along this surface, it pulls surrounding air into the stream, creating a region of low pressure and dramatically increasing total airflow.

In simple terms:

  1. Compressed air exits a small opening.
  2. The air adheres to a curved surface (the Coanda profile).
  3. This creates a low-pressure area.
  4. Surrounding air is entrained, or pulled into the airflow.

The result is a much larger volume of moving air than the compressed air supply alone would create.

This principle was originally studied by aeronautical engineer Henri Coandă in the early 1900s while researching airflow over aircraft surfaces.

EXAIR Products That Use the Coanda Profile

EXAIR incorporates this aerodynamic design into several of its Intelligent Compressed Air Products™.

1. Air Knives

EXAIR Air Knives use a Coanda profile to create a wide, high-velocity sheet of air across the entire length of the unit.

Examples include:

  • EXAIR Standard Air Knife
  • EXAIR Full-Flow Air Knife
  • EXAIR Super Air Knife

Inside these units, compressed air enters a plenum chamber and exits through a narrow slot. The air then follows the curved Coanda surface, turning approximately 90° and flowing down the face of the knife.

As the air moves along the profile, it entrains large volumes of surrounding air—up to 30-40 parts ambient air for every 1 part of compressed air.

Common applications include:

  • Parts drying after washing
  • Conveyor cleaning
  • Web or sheet drying
  • Cooling components
  • Pre-paint blowoff

2. Air Amplifiers

Another product that relies heavily on the Coanda profile is the Air amplifier.

Super Air Amplifier Family

Example:

  • EXAIR Super Air Amplifier
  • EXAIR Adjustable Air Amplifier

Instead of producing a flat airflow like an air knife, air amplifiers generate a conical air stream. Compressed air flows across a circular Coanda profile that draws in large amounts of surrounding air.

This creates amplification ratios up to 25:1, meaning the airflow produced is far greater than the compressed air supplied.

Typical uses include:

  • Cooling hot parts
  • Ventilating smoke or fumes
  • Circulating air in enclosures
  • Removing heat from equipment

3. Air Wipes

EXAIR also applies the Coanda profile in a circular configuration for drying or cleaning cylindrical materials.

Super (left) and Standard (right) Air Wipes come in sizes from 1/2″ to 11″.

Example:

  • EXAIR Air Wipe
  • EXAIR Super Air Wipe

These devices create a 360-degree ring of air that surrounds rods, tubes, wires, or cables. As air follows the Coanda profile around the ring, it entrains surrounding air and produces a strong, uniform drying or blowoff action.

Applications include:

  • Drying wire or cable
  • Removing coolant from tubing
  • Cleaning rods or extrusions

The Coanda Effect might seem like a theoretical concept, but it has a very practical impact on industrial operations. By carefully designing curved surfaces that guide airflow and entrain surrounding air, EXAIR products turn a small supply of compressed air into a powerful and efficient airflow solution.

Whether drying parts, cooling electronics, or removing debris from a conveyor, the Coanda profile allows EXAIR products to deliver maximum performance with minimal energy use.

Jordan Shouse, CCASS

Application Engineer / Sales Operations Engineer

Send me an email

Super Air Wipes™: Product Overview

Published on by John BallLeave 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.

The Super Air Wipes are used in applications 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.

The construction of the Super Air Wipes is also unique.  It has a split design to allow for an opening which installs around the material; so, you will not have to break or re-thread 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 Super Air Wipes with two different body materials; aluminum and 303 stainless steel.  EXAIR stocks aluminum models with inner diameters from 3/8” (10 mm) for wire and cables up to 11” (279 mm) for large pipes and hoses.  The aluminum models have a temperature range of 400oF (204oC).  We also stock stainless-steel models from ½” (13 mm) to 4” (102 mm) inner diameters, and they have a temperature range up to 800oF (427oC).  If you require different diameters or different types of body materials, don’t be afraid to ask.  EXAIR can also make specials.

What can improve the function of the Super Air Wipes?  We offer 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 optimal performance.  The Regulator is used to control the force.  This helps to not overuse 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 permit applications to have more cooling, faster drying, and better removal of tough debris. 

Super Air Wipe Kit

Here are some additional advantages to using the EXAIR Super Air Wipes that I did not cover.  They are OSHA safe from dead-end pressure and noise exposure.  So, they are quiet.  We placed pre-tapped holes in each half of the body 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 help to support cleaning items without affecting the surface finish.  Also, you won’t have to worry about replacing cloth or brushes that will be worn over time and slow down production.

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 make a fabricated blow-off device that will waste air and take a lot of 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