Tag: high pressure nozzle

What’s So Great About EXAIR Safety Air Guns?

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment
Cheap to buy; expensive to operate. And it’s loud, to boot.
Precision VariBlast Safety Air Gun offers strong blow off while reducing air use & noise levels.

You can go to almost any hardware store and buy a $10-$20 air blow gun. It’s going to be loud when you pull the trigger, it’s not likely to be compliant with OSHA standards. AND, it’s going to cost more to operate than an engineered product like an EXAIR Safety Air Gun. I actually performed an Efficiency Lab test on such a blow gun recently. First thing I did was look for the manufacturer’s published data on air usage – there was none. Testing with our calibrated rotameter showed that it used 13.5 SCFM @80psig. This same customer had purchased a Model 1809SS-CS VariBlast Precision Safety Air Gun with our Pico Super Air Nozzle installed (and a Chip Shield, which made me really respect their safety game), which uses only 4.9 SCFM @80psig.

The VariBlast Precision Safety Air Guns cost them $136.00 each (2023 pricing). We used a US Department of Energy thumb rule which states that compressed air costs an average of $0.25 per 1,000 Standard Cubic Feet, and calculated that the blow guns they were using cost $158 annually, each, to operate 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, with 3 hours of ‘trigger time’ a day:

13.5 SCFM X 60 min/hr X 3 hrs/day X 5 days/week X 52 weeks/year X $0.25/1,000 SCF = $157.95

Using the same math and substituting the 1809SS-CS’ air use, we see they only cost $58 per year to run:

4.9 SCFM X 60 min/hr X 3 hrs/day X 5 days/week X 52 weeks/year X $0.25/1,000 SCF = $57.33

And, again, since there are 14 of them, the customer is realizing an annual operating cost saving of over $800.00 a year!

At EXAIR, we’re in the business of making sure you get the most out of our products, and your compressed air system. If you’d like to find out what that might mean for you, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Disk Manufacturer Improves Their Heating Process

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

An external hard drive manufacturer was looking to increase their production rate.   One process was inside a clean room where they manufactured aluminum spinning disks.  This process included dipping 2 ½” (64mm) diameter disks into a cleaning solution, then taking them to an oven for drying.  They noticed that this process was a bit too long.  Like with most manufacturing processes, the faster you can go, the more profit you can make.  They saw a blog about another similar dipping process where EXAIR provided a solution called “EXAIR Offers An Easy Way to Improve Your Metal Dipping Process”, so they contacted us. 

EXAIR has many great products that can be used for non-contact wiping.  For this customer, the disks are small enough to use 2” Flat Super Air Nozzles.  They are very efficient as we are able to add free ambient air at a rate up to 25:1, which means that for every one part of compressed air, we can entrain 25 parts of ambient air.  This makes them very efficient as they use less compressed air to generate a good force.  They are also OSHA safe for dead-end pressures and noise levels.  With the EXAIR Super Air Nozzles, we can generate a laminar flow to give an even force across the entire surface.  So, it is easy to set the correct pressure to get an effective and consistent cleaning. 

For the company above, they were using an oven to dry a large rack of disks.  When it comes to drying in an oven, the less liquid that requires evaporation, the faster and more efficient the drying.  So, to increase speeds in this area, the disks need to be very clean and dry after the dipping process.  And since the surface of the disks has to be like glass and defect-free, the best method would be to dry them by a non-contact method.  To add to this automated process, the space was limited between each disk.  A robotic arm would dip six disks at one time, and they had four robotic arms, so they cleaned 24 disks at a time. 

Model 1122SSW

Since this was a clean room, 316 Stainless Steel was required.  EXAIR stocks many types and sizes of 316 stainless steel Super Air Nozzles.  For this application, I recommend the model 1122SSW.  This model number combines the 2” Super Air Nozzle with a Swivel Fitting. 

Swivel Fittings are a great way to securely install and aim the EXAIR nozzles. They are dynamic, as they can be adjusted and set to a flow direction with 50 degrees of movement.  They are compact and made from stainless steel for corrosion resistance.  With the tight space and requirement for precise blowing, the Swivel Fittings were a great addition to include with these EXAIR Air Nozzles.

After installing the Super Air Nozzles and Swivel Fittings on a manifold in their system, they started to see a vast improvement in their process.  The excess drips were removed without surface issues, and they were able to decrease the heating time by 10%.  As an added bonus, the Super Air Nozzles reduced the amount of solution required as the excess went back into the dipping tank.  Less waste and faster production times were the solutions that the EXAIR Super Air Nozzles provided the customer above.  If you have a similar application and want to discuss how we can improve your dipping process, an Application Engineer at EXAIR will be happy to assist. 

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

Photo: Hard Drive Data Store by Christopher Muschitz.  Pixabay Content License

Measure and Reduce Your Sound Level!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

When you walk around a manufacturing facility, one of the things you will notice is they are typically pretty loud. All the processes going on start to add up to an excessive level not safe for personnel.

OSHA Standard 29 CFR – 1910.95(a) identifies the maximum allowable Noise Exposure by hours and sound level. If exposed to excessive levels of sound over a period of time, hearing impairment or even a total loss of hearing are quite possible when not wearing proper hearing protection.

How can you determine if the sound levels in your facility are exceedingly high? EXAIR has a Digital Sound Level Meter Model 9104 system that allows a user to measure sound pressure levels within the environment. This meter is calibrated from EXAIR and is able to measure the sound pressure level in decibels (dB) on either the A scale or the C scale with fast or slow response. This allows the user to identify those areas which are loud enough to require PPE to guard against hearing loss. Or, maybe a true problem that needs repair is identified and the sound is reduced in that way too.

Once you are able to make measurements, you can identify the applications that need to be addressed through repairs, attenuation efforts or through PPE requirements. Following are some of the most common sources of excessive compressed air noise levels:

  • Open pipe blow offs
  • Cross-drilled holes in Safety Air Gun Nozzles
  • Liquid nozzles that are used for air blow offs
  • Poorly designed air nozzles

By simply replacing the open tubes and cross drilled nozzles with an Engineered EXAIR Super Air Nozzle, you can quickly reduce air consumption AND reduce the sound level just like the application below!

 One Case Study I can 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. Our customer zipped the crimped ends off and installed Model 1100 Super Air Nozzles using a simple compression fitting. Sorry, we couldn’t show the machined part in the lathe chuck. It was a proprietary part for the customer:

Replaced open copper tube with a 1100 Super Air Nozzle

This quick and easy change to an EXAIR solution 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. A 20 dBA reduction!

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.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Air Nozzles and Jets Stay Set Hoses

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

Very few applications are exactly alike. In fact, many applications have very specific needs; only a certain material will work, or a specific amount of force is needed, or the air flow needs to be directed at just the right location. You will have a hard time finding more flexibility and customization than with our Air Nozzles and Jets when combined with our Stay Set Hoses.

 EXAIR’s Air Nozzles come in a variety of materials, including Zinc-Aluminum, Stainless Steel Type 303 and 316, Brass, and PEEK (plastic). Each of the materials will cater to different situations – PEEK is non-marring for working with sensitive products. Stainless steel can withstand high temperatures when that is a concern.
In addition to multiple materials, EXAIR’s Air Nozzles can also produce a wide range of forces from 2oz all the way up to 23lbs. Whether you need a precise blowoff, or a forceful blast, we have you covered. With all of these variations, we have over 70 different nozzles to choose from!


Even with all of these options, there is one thing all of EXAIR’s Air Nozzles and Jets have in common. They are all designed to be compliant with OSHA 1910.242(b), which states “the use of compressed air for cleaning purposes at pressures at or greater than 30 psi is permissible if the outlet or source is fitted with a relief device that drops the pressure to less than 30 psi if the flow is dead-ended”. Our design achieves this by preventing the openings from being blocked off. This also has the added benefit of helping entrain the ambient air, making them very efficient in their compressed air usage.

Once you add in our Stay Set Hoses, the customization increases exponentially. Our Stay Set Hoses have a memory function, so they won’t creep or droop until you physically move them. They are perfect for directing the air flow in a particular direction, or at a specific target. The Stay Set Hoses come in lengths from 6” (15cm) to 36” (91cm), and they have threaded connections with either 1/4” NPT male on both ends or with a 1/8” NPT female X 1/4” NPT male thread.  The hoses are made from reinforced synthetic rubber and have a maximum pressure rating of 250 PSIG.

Flexible and durable, EXAIR Stay Set Hoses come in lengths from 6″ to 36″.

Whatever the specifics of your application are, we are sure to have a great solution. If you would like to discuss options for your application, feel free to contact me.

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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