One of the areas of expertise for our Application Engineers is in compressed air blow off applications. Finding the proper Air Knife, Super Air Nozzle, or Safety Air Gun to suit an application can be as simple as considering a few variables (such as the required force to blow off the item in question), or as complicated as examining tolerance specs within the application to determine whether our products are the right fit (hint: we have CAD drawings available on our site to help with this, too).
Earlier this week I was contacted by an industrial service provider which performs leak testing on cable boxes. The boxes (shown above) are submerged in water as part of an inspection process, and after this process is complete, the water needs to be removed. The current method of drying the boxes is to allow the boxes to drip-dry, but this presents several problems. Firstly, drip-drying does not remove all the water from the crevices of the heat sinks, and it leaves unsightly water stains on the outside of the boxes (a small problem, but something to be avoided, if possible). But, most importantly, allowing the boxes to drip-dry creates a bottleneck in the testing process, reducing throughput due to increased time needed for drying. So, the service provider reached out to EXAIR in search of a solution to easily, effectively, and quickly remove the water from the heat sinks of these cable boxes.
In order to determine the best solution, we discussed application parameters surrounding the process. The most important aspect, after determining how much force is needed, was the degree to which the process is automated vs. manual. Due to the manual nature of the process, a manual blow off would be most suitable, and we determined that the model HP1230 Soft Grip Safety Air Gun would be the best fit for this application.
Coupled with a model 9008 pressure regulator to allow for reduction in line pressure (if needed) this solution provides an efficient, safe, and repeatable means to blow off the water from these cable boxes. If you have a similar blow off application, or would like to discuss another application, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.
Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE