How to properly use the Flexible Stay Set Hose for long lasting service.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: twitter.com/exair_jb
Tag: John ball
Pushing Hot Parts with Compressed Air More Efficiently
A manufacturer of forged, steel parts contacted EXAIR today and spoke to me about an application that was really giving them some trouble.
The application involved placing a molten piece of steel into a die. The press would come down and mold the piece into a ring shape. As it opened, a solenoid valve connected to a compressed air supply was actuated to push the falling part with the compressed air to a bin behind the press. The manufacturer made a home-made nozzle by flattening a piece of ¾” pipe and directing it at the part. (Reference picture below). The operator had a cycle time of roughly 8 seconds. During that time, the compressed air was actuated for 1 second to push the part away from the die. An issue occurred if the part rotated 90 degrees as the die opened, and the compressed air would shoot through the open center of the part without pushing it into the bin. The part would rest on the bottom die, causing a slowdown in production because the part had to be removed manually.
The part weighed 2.2 lbs. (1 Kg) and had an outer diameter of 3.5” (89mm). The customer was operating the ¾” pipe “nozzle” at 90 psig (6.2 bar), and it was located 12” (305mm) away from the die. This gave me some good information to find an appropriate nozzle. While reviewing the force and air pattern needed, model 1112SS (3/4 NPT Stainless Super Air Nozzle) would be the best product. This Super Air Nozzle would be able to withstand the radiant heat within the application and can produce a force of 4.5 lbs. (2 Kg) at 80 psig (5.5 bar). At 12” (305mm), it produced an airflow diameter of 7.5” (191mm). Even if the part rotated, the air pattern and force was large enough to push the part from the die even if it rotated, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
Not only did the production rate get back on target, but as an added bonus, Model 1112SS was able to save the customer compressed air. The advantage of using the Super Air Nozzles, is that they entrain ambient air to work with the compressed air, increasing the overall mass flow toward the target, making it much more efficient than a flattened pipe. Even with the compressed air being turned on for 1 second during the 8 second cycle time, the Super Air Nozzle is projected to save the customer over $1,500.00/year when comparing its air consumption to that of an open 3/4″ pipe.
Whenever you have an urge to flatten an end of a pipe to create a home-made nozzle, you should contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR to see if we can help. Like the customer above, we were able to solve their production problem, and able to save them money.
John Ball, Application Engineer
johnball@exair.com
@EXAIR_JB
Line Vac for Safety
Here is a safety application with a Line Vac. EXAIR compressed air products have always been the leader in safety when it comes to noise reduction and dead end pressure. In this application, the safety feature was a little different. Have you ever seen the large coils of drainage tile in a farm field? A manufacturer of this plastic corrugated drain pipe contacted EXAIR to help with a safety issue. The manufacture produced a 4″ (102mm) diameter plastic corrugated pipe that can be sold in lengths up to 3200 feet (970 meters). They would wrap the drainage pipe around a larger piece of 16″ plastic pipe to support the center of the coil. After the coil was finished, it could be as large as 8 feet (2.4 meters) high by 15 feet (4.5 meters) wide. To secure the coil and prevent it from uncoiling, the operator had to thread a line through the center and around the outside. It was a two person operation where one operator would tie the line onto a piece of conduit and throw it like a spear through the center. The other operator would then grab the conduit, take it apart, and loop the line around the other side. They would do this numerous times to keep the coil together.
The Health and Safety Engineer, HSE, started to receive incident reports. They had unexpected passersby that would get hit by the conduit spear. They had reports of cuts and abrasions from the sharp edges at the end of the conduit after it contacted the steel spool or cement floor. The HSE had to make a change. He saw a video from the EXAIR website that used a Line Vac to carry a line through 120 feet (36 meters) of conduit for a start in pulling wires. (You can see it here: Video) So, he contacted EXAIR and purchased a model 150100, a 1 inch Heavy Duty Line Vac. With a model 9040 foot valve, the operator would place the line inside the Heavy Duty Line Vac, hit the foot valve, and feed the line to the other side. The operation was clean and simple. For the HSE, it was much safer than getting hit with a piece of conduit. He will be making it mandatory to install them on all the coil machines. In any application, an idea and a discussion could bring a safe, efficient, quality solution to any project. If you would like to discuss your ideas to any of our Application Engineers, you can always contact us.
John Ball , Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
Compressed Air Noise Problem? Solve it With EXAIR Products
There is a new way to clean golf shoes! That is with an EXAIR Safety Air Gun to blow the grass off their cleats and shoes. In keeping with “new and better” methods, a golf course decided to purchase an air compressor, hose, and an air gun at the local hardware store. They mounted the compressor inside a room to keep the noise levels low. They put the air hose and air gun outside near the club house entrance for patrons to clean their spikes and shoes.
Problem: With most golf courses, they have the 9th and 18th greens near the club house. They started to get complaints about the noise that was being generated by the compressed air gun, especially when the golfers on the green were ready to putt.
Solution: The golf course contacted EXAIR because they saw that we were experts in the field of compressed air products with noise, safety and efficiency. I suggested the 1409SS Precision Safety Air Gun with chip shield. With our engineered air nozzles and Precision Safety Air Gun, we were able to reduce the noise level to 68 dBA. This is similar to a normal conversation at 3 feet (1 meter) away. Also with the chip shield, it will help contain the grass and mud, and help attenuate the noise level even lower. With the added features in saving compressed air, safety for dead end pressure, and localized hard hitting force, the golf course was excited to replace their current air gun.
When people go and purchase an air gun to use in their garage, shop, or even the golf course, one important factor that is overlooked is the air nozzle. No matter how good the air gun is manufactured, the nozzle can make the air gun extremely loud and inefficient. Just like a top-of-the-line paint gun, if the spray nozzle spits and sputters, you will never get a nice paint job. The same goes with air guns. EXAIR offers Safety Air Guns with engineered Super Air Nozzles to create the best combination for compressed air usage, i.e. low noise levels, safety, hard hitting force, and increased efficiency. If you would like to discuss the features and benefits of the EXAIR Safety Air Guns and the Super Air Nozzles, you can contact our Application Engineers at 1-800-903-9247.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb