Tag: Mini Cooler

Need to Cool Tooling but Limited On Compressed Air? Consider the Mini Cooler

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

I recently had a chat conversation with a customer who was looking to cool the tooling on his CNC router, mill and lathe in his small machine shop. During the machining process, as the tooling would begin to heat up, it would warp the bit, causing irregularities in the finished product. In some cases the tooling was getting so hot, it would actually break, creating a safety concern.

He had reviewed some of our cooling products and was thinking of using our Cold Gun in the application but was concerned with the air demand. The Cold Gun consumes 15 SCFM @ 100 PSIG and provides a 50°F temperature drop (from supply temperature) with 1,000 Btu/hr. of cooling capacity. The problem was that his compressor only produces a little over 9 SCFM. I explained that the existing compressor would in fact be undersized as it doesn’t produce enough volume to keep up with the demand of the Cold Gun.

Model 3808 Mini Cooler System with Single Point Hose Kit, includes swivel magnetic base and filter separator to remove moisture and particulate from the air supply.

Due to the limited amount of compressed air available, our Mini Cooler System, Model # 3808, would be the better solution. The Mini Cooler also provides a 50°F temperature drop with a little less cooling power, 550 Btu/hr., but this system only requires 8 SCFM @ 100 PSIG, falling within the existing compressor’s output capacity. The Mini Cooler also includes a magnetic base as well as flexible tubing to direct the cold air to the desired location, making it easy to move from machine to machine.

The Mini Cooler is the ideal solution for small tool or part cooling, with minimal air consumption.

If you are considering an EXAIR product for an application or have additional questions about performance, contact an application engineer for assistance in making the best selection.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

 

 

 

Adjustable Spot Cooler Keeps Cataract Lenses Cool and Dry During Machining

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment
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Neal Raker, International Sales Manager, and myself along with our Hungarian Distributor

During a recent visit with our Hungarian Distributor, I had the opportunity to take a look at an application using some EXAIR Adjustable Spot Coolers and Mini Coolers. The company manufactures cataract lenses and is using the coolers in a dry machining application. The previous process involved using a liquid coolant which caused a washing operation to remove the contaminants before the lenses could move on to the next step of the process. This was not only time consuming, but the solution they needed to use as a coolant was very expensive due to strict regulations that they had to adhere to.

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EXAIR’s Adjustable Spot Cooler installed on the lathe

The lenses are set up on a lathe which are precisely cut. The Adjustable Spot Coolers were positioned with the cold airflow just at the point of cutting to keep the temperature at a specific point. If the lenses get too hot, the material becomes less rigid and begins to warp. When this happens, the lens cannot be reworked and must be scrapped. Immediately after coming off of the lathe, an inspector places the lens under a microscope for inspection. At this point, a Mini Cooler is installed to ensure that the temperature of the lens stays cold. If the lens passes inspection, it is immediately placed in a small freezer next to the operator. Temperature probes are in place at several points during the process to ensure that they do not go above the specified temperature.

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Mini Cooler installed on the inspection station

By implementing a solution with the Adjustable Spot Cooler, this customer was able to boost productivity by removing a cleaning step from the process and also reduce costs by eliminating the need for the costly coolant solution that was required. If you’d like to replace messy coolant systems in your machining operation with a clean compressed air solution, give us a call. An Application Engineer will be happy to look at your process and recommend the most suitable solution.

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

Cooling Gelatin Pills Using The Mini Cooler

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I recently worked with an OEM on a cooling application for a gelatin pill forming machine they designed for their customer. In their machine design, the gelatin film leaves an extruding machine then travels between 2 punch rollers to form the pills. After the pills are formed, they are supposed to drop onto a chute feeding a conveyor to carry the pills to the bottling/packaging area.

View of machine showing direction of travel for the film and punch rollers

The problem they were having was the film was retaining heat which caused the pills to occasionally stick to the roller, resulting in rejects and lost production time. They were looking for an economical way to blow cold air across the rollers and film but were concerned about putting too much demand on their customer’s compressed air system.

After reviewing the photos and discussing the details, I recommended they use our Model # 3308 Mini Cooler System with dual point hose kit. The Mini Cooler provides a 50°F temperature drop from the incoming supply air temperature and provides 550 Btu/hr. of cooling capacity. The system includes a swivel mag base for easy installation while the dual point hose kit would allow them to direct the cold air to blow across both rollers from a single device. Compressed air demand is minimal, at only 8 SCFM @ 100 PSIG, alleviating their concern for the customer’s compressed air system.

Model 3308 Mini Cooler System with 2-cold outlets – provides a focused stream of 20°F air (based on ambient supply of 70°F)

If you are having heat related issues with your process or to discuss a particular application or product, give me a call, I ‘d be happy to help.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_JN

 

Music And The Mini Cooler

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Recently, EXAIR Corporation offered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training to employees. I already carry certification, so I held down the fort while some of the other Application Engineers received this training. As a middle aged man, I have to admit that my interest in my co-workers’ abilities to respond to a matter of this nature is not entirely unselfish.

One of the key parts of CPR training is the rate of the chest compressions. While most people couldn’t accurately replicate 100 beats per minute on demand, almost everyone is familiar enough with some popular songs with a rhythm close to that.  The song they always bring up in CPR training is “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees. Depending on how you feel about disco, another option is “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen. Pro tip: it might be considered bad form to sing that one out loud while performing CPR.

Speaking of music, while I was holding down said fort during this morning’s training session, I had the pleasure of assisting a caller in the music business: a piano restoration & tuning professional. A frequent job for them consists of resetting tuning pins, which requires drilling numerous small holes (a grand piano can have as many as 250) into a hardwood board. They’re pressed in, so it’s critical that they fit the newly-drilled hole precisely. If the drill bit gets too hot, it can expand in diameter, making the hole ever-so-slightly bigger than it should be. The heat can also cause the surface of the hole ID to glaze. Both of those things can cause problems with the pin fitting securely in the hole.

The EXAIR Model 3808 Mini Cooler System was an ideal solution – it’ll keep the drill bit cool & clean with a constant stream of cold air. It’s compact and quiet, and only uses 8 SCFM @100psig…well within the capacity of many smaller air compressors.

If you’d like to “get in tune” with a spot cooling solution, I can help…call me. Oh, and in case you wanted to know which song with about 100 beats per minute I’d use for CPR:

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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