Tag: jet

“It’s Not Rocket Science”, or How Compressed Air Has Straightforward Applications In Aerospace

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

On the submarine I served on, many of us used math, specific to our jobs. Torpedo (and missile) fire control, navigation, reactor operations…even meal cooking…involved certain formulas to accomplish particular tasks. One formula we all knew and kept near & dear to our hearts, though, was:

Number of surfaces = Number of dives

And those who fly aircraft and spacecraft, in – and out of – the atmosphere, have a similar formula:

Number of landings = Number of takeoffs

While this certainly requires a great deal of skill of the operators (as does diving and surfacing a submarine), it also takes a great deal of technical acumen in the engineering and construction of those aircraft & spacecraft (and warships). Terms like “aircraft grade” inspire a high degree of confidence in the integrity of materials, and rightly so – the quality standards that manufacturers and suppliers are held accountable to are stringent and inviolate. That’s why aerospace professionals need reliable, durable, and effective equipment to do their jobs.

EXAIR Corporation has been providing this kind of equipment to the aerospace industry (and others) since 1983. Here are some examples of the applications we’ve worked with “steely eyed missile men” to solve:

  • A jet engine manufacturer makes a titanium assembly consisting of a honeycomb shaped extrusion bonded to a rigid sheet. The cells of the honeycomb are only 1/8” wide, and 3/8” deep. After fabrication, they’re washed & rinsed, and the tiny cells tend to hold water. They would invert & tap the assembly to try to get the water out, but that wasn’t always effective and occasionally led to damaging the assembly. To reduce the chance of damage (and loss) of an assembly, they built a cleaning station, using EXAIR Model HP1125 2” High Power Super Air Nozzles and Model 9040 Foot Pedals, for hands-free control of the high force blow out of the honeycomb cells. The results were increased production, decreased defects, and lower labor costs.
  • A machine shop makes composite material parts for the aerospace industry. Static charge would build up, causing the shavings to cling to most of the surfaces inside the machine. The vacuum system was unable to overcome the force of the static charge to remove it, so they called EXAIR. Our expertise in static elimination led to the specification of a Model 8494 Gen4 Stay Set Ion Air Jet System to direct ionized air onto the tool during cutting. This eliminated the static as it was generated on the shavings, allowing the vacuum system to perform as advertised. Not only did it make for a cleaner work station, the air flow provided cooling for the cutting tool, improving performance & extending life.
  • If a company works with metal parts, there’s a decent chance they operate a welding machine, and those things make smoke & fumes that, at best, are a nuisance, and at worst, are toxic. An airplane repair shop that has to weld in tight spaces needed a convenient, portable, compact way to evacuate the welding smoke and fumes. They chose a Model 120024 4” Super Air Amplifier. They’re capable of pulling in over 700 SCFM, and with a sound level of only 73dBA and lightweight aluminum construction, they’re an ideal fit for this application.
  • Certain satellites have components whose batteries must be fully charged to ensure that everything works just right. Because of the heat that charging generates, they couldn’t be charged with the spacecraft on the launch pad without cooling. Conventional methods of providing cold air (refrigerant based or cold water chillers) are too bulky, so they instead use a Model 3230 Medium Vortex Tube, capable of providing 2,000 Btu/hr worth of cooling air flow. This enables them to charge the battery until just prior to launch, making sure the batteries are as fully charged as possible, prior to deployment.
  • While the lion’s share of Vortex Tube applications involve the use of their cold flow, a number of folks do use the hot air flow, with great success. A major material supplier to the aircraft & aerospace industry makes a flexible, porous strand of material that, after fabrication, passes through a wash tank prior to cutting to size. They wanted to speed up the drying time, but it was impractical to use electrically powered hot air blowers or heat guns. By using an EXAIR Model 3275 Large Vortex Tube set to a 70% Cold Fraction, they’re able to blow a little over 22 SCFM of 220°F air onto the strand, which effectively dries it to their specification, quickly & safely.
These are some of the EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products used in the aerospace industry.

Exacting jobs call for safe, efficient, and reliable tools. Even if your job “isn’t rocket science”, the value of the right tool cannot be stressed enough. If you use – or want to use – compressed air for such a task, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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“Math Wall” image courtesy of João Trindade, Creative Commons License

Great Stuff About Jets

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

There are a number of fascinating facts about jets…both the aircraft engines and the EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products:

  • Because they don’t require dense air to engage spinning blades (like their propeller driven counterparts,) they can operate at much higher altitudes. (Jet aircraft engines only)
  • They provide a high thrust, directed airstream, which makes them great for part ejection, chip removal, and part drying. (EXAIR Air Jets only)
  • With few or no moving parts, they are extremely reliable, durable, and safe. (Both jet aircraft engines and EXAIR Air Jets)
  • They use the Coanda effect (a principle of fluidics whereby a fluid flow tends to attach itself to a nearby surface, and follow that surface regardless of the flow’s initial direction) to do what they do.
    • EXAIR Air Jets use this principle to generate a vacuum in their throat, pulling in a large amount of “free” air from the surround environment, making their use of compressed air very, very efficient.
    • Jet (and propeller driven) aircraft wings employ the Coanda effect to create aerodynamic lift, enabling the plane to fly.

Now, since I’m not a pilot, nor do I particularly like to fly, but I AM a fluid dynamics nerd, the rest of this blog will be about the Air Jets that EXAIR makes.

All of our Air Jet products operate on the same principle…using the Coanda effect (as described above) to generate a high volume air flow while minimizing compressed air consumption:

(1) Compressed air enters and is distributed through an annular ring, and directed towards the discharge via the Coanda effect.
(2) This causes entrainment of surrounding air, both through the throat, and at the discharge.
(3) The total developed flow has tremendous force and velocity, for a minimal consumption of valuable compressed air.(1) Compressed air enters and is distributed through an annular ring, and directed towards the discharge via the Coanda effect.
(2) This causes entrainment of surrounding air, both through the throat, and at the discharge.
(3) The total developed flow has tremendous force and velocity, for a minimal consumption of valuable compressed air.

There are four distinct models of the EXAIR Air Jet:

  • Model 6013 High Velocity Air Jet is made of brass for economy and durability.  The annular ring gap (see 1, above) is fixed by a 0.015″ thick shim.  Performance can be modified by changing to a 0.006″ or 0.009″ thick shim, which come in the Model 6313 Shim Set.
  • Model 6013SS is a Type 303 Stainless Steel version, for higher temperatures – good to 400°F (204°C) – and superior corrosion resistance.
  • Model 6019 Adjustable Air Jet is brass construction, and dimensionally identical to the Model 6103.  Instead of a shim that sets the annular ring gap, though, it has a threaded plug, with a micrometer-style indicator, to “fine tune” the gap.
  • Model 6019SS is the Type 303 Stainless Steel version…fine tuning adjustability, good for high heat and/or corrosive elements.

Four distinct models to meet the needs of your air blowing application.

If you’d like to find out more about EXAIR’s quiet, efficient, and safe Air Jets, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Getting A Little More Vacuum and Flow

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Last week, a customer called and indicated that he was a long time user of the model 6013 High Velocity Air Jet.

6013
Model 6013 High Velocity Air Jet

The customer was using the Air Jet to remove light trim scrap from a manufacturing process. The Air Jets utilize the Coanda effect (wall attachment of a high velocity fluid) to produce air motion in their surroundings.  A small amount of compressed air to the Air Jet is throttled through an internal ring nozzle at speeds above sonic velocity.  In the above image, this produces a vacuum at the left side, pulling in large volumes of surrounding air. By utilizing this vacuum pull and ducting the right side exhaust, air and scrap stream to a collection area. The customer assembled a small, efficient, and inexpensive scrap removal system.

The reason the customer had called in was there were some recent changes to the manufacturing process and needed a bit more vacuum force and flow to handle larger scrap and longer travel. We explored using a larger shim, but they were already using the largest size (0.015″.) We talked about the other products that EXAIR offers (Air Amplifiers, Line Vacs) that are used for scrap removal and conveyance.  But with any change, there are usually other modifications and approvals that must be dealt with in order to proceed. So we hit upon the Adjustable Air Jet, which is an adjustable version of the model 6013.

6019
Model 6019 Adjustable Air Jet

The model 6019 Adjustable Air Jet utilizes an adjustable air gap in place of the fixed shim thickness.  This allows for greater air flow, which results in greater vacuum and conveyance distances. As is the case for many customers, we gathered some additional data to help this customer make a decision. We set up each of the units and tested them at maximum capabilities, and the model 6019 was shown to deliver upwards of 50% greater flow.  The customer felt certain this level of performance would handle what the changed process would require, and best of all, no modifications to any part of the set-up would be required, simply install the 6019 where the 6013 was currently placed.

The High Velocity Air Jet is also part of the model 1909 Blowoff Kit, and is also used in the model 8193 Ion Air Gun and model 8194 Ion Air Jet, for Static Elimination applications. Of course, each can be purchased as an individual item.

To discuss your application and how an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product can make your process better, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our other Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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EXAIR’s High Velocity and Adjustable Air Jets – Now Available in Stainless Steel

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Newly released, the EXAIR High Velocity Air Jet and Adjustable Air Jet are now available in Type 303 Stainless Steel, providing greater durability, corrosion resistance and a higher maximum temperature rating of 400 °F.  Type 303 stainless steel has good resistance to mildly corrosive atmospheres along with good oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures, making the stainless steel Air Jet a great choice for blowoff or part drying in your harsh environment. Both types of Air Jets are also available in brass, for applications at 275°F and below, and when corrosion resistance is not as critical.

6013ss
Model 6013SS – High Velocity Air Jet

Air Jets utilize the Coanda Effect – wall attachment of a high velocity fluid – to produce air motion in their surroundings. As illustrated above, a small amount of compressed air to the inlet (large black arrow) is throttled through an internal ring nozzle above sonic velocity.  A vacuum is produced, resulting in large volumes of surrounding, or “free” air, being pulled in through the jet (blue arrows.)

air jet How Air Jets Work

Both the outlet and inlet can be ducted for remote positioning applications.

If the end is blocked, flow simply reverses at well below OSHA dead end pressure requirements, ensuring safe operation.

The High Velocity Air Jet comes standard with an .015″ shim, and a Shim Set is offered that includes .006″ and  .009″ shims to provide additional adjustability and control.  The Adjustable Air Jet has a variable gap design, and can be adjusted and locked to meet the required airflow and thrust parameters.

When you are needing a simple solution to reduce excessive air consumption and noise levels on compressed air blowoff operations, EXAIR has a large line of Air Nozzles and Jets to solve your problems. You can contact an Application Engineer to discuss which Air Jet or Nozzle to best fit your application.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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