Tag: ndraker

Tiny Engineered Nozzle Saves 91 SCFM for Engine Block Blow-Off

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment
Drilled pipe
Air Box with homemade nozzles

Above, you see a photo of what our customer calls an “air box”. It is aptly named as it consists of approximately 65 homemade nozzles, connected to a large plenum, which are able to be aimed in a variety of directions to blow out the numerous holes that are machined into the bottom of an aluminum engine block.

The engine (1024x621)
Engine Block with multiple holes to be blown out

Each of the nozzles above were hand-made for the air box fixture with an internal hole diameter of 1.6 mm. and which produced a force of about 50 grams with 6 BARG inlet pressure. The goal of reviewing the application was to see what if any EXAIR nozzles could replace these custom-made units to produce an air savings and thus cost savings for operating their fixture.

1108ss_profile
Model 1108SS Super Air Nozzle

After determining that the existing nozzles consumed 4.1 SCFM @ 6 BARG inlet pressure, I was able to make a comparison to the Super Air Nozzles that make up the smaller end of our flow range. In comparing these nozzles, I was able to determine that the Atto Super Air Nozzle, model 1108SS consumes 2.69 SCFM @ 6 BARG and produces 61 grams of force per nozzle.

The calculated air savings between the existing nozzle and the EXAIR Super Air Nozzle was about 34%. That’s a savings of 1.4 SCFM per nozzle. In terms of sheer air volume, that’s not a lot, BUT when you multiply that up over 65 nozzles, total air savings is 91 SCFM. That is close to saving the full output of a 25 HP air compressor!

And so, if you run out the cost to operate a 25 HP air compressor for a year’s worth of production, the savings becomes quite clear that by simply swapping out these homemade nozzles for an engineered solution with EXAIR Super Air Nozzles, the customer can achieve their goal for reduction in air use. Not to mention a significant reduction in the noise level for the application as well as enhanced safety with OSHA compliant nozzles.

Do you have a blowing application that could benefit from the same kind of simple, swapping of nozzles to bring your production costs down? Give us a call and let us know about your application. We would be happy to discuss with you and provide a similar comparison to determine how much air you could save!

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
nealraker@exair.com
@EXAIR_NR

So, How Much Does Your Compressed Air Cost you?

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Recently, I had a conversation with my German colleague regarding the cost of compressed air. He was scrutinizing what we say when we say that if you don’t know your cost, you can estimate using a value of $ .25 / 1000 Standard Cubic Feet of compressed air. When you crunch the numbers down to this kind of value, it becomes very easy to see what your new compressed air based solution might cost you or perhaps save you in terms of compressed air savings over the present method.  His opinion was that the rate that we use was a very inexpensive one and so he was looking for some verification.

The first thing I did was to go to trusty old Google and look up the average electricity cost for our state (Ohio) over the past year for a typical industrial electric consumer. The rate I found was $ .0687 / kWh. (Kilowatt hour)

If you take a 15 kW air compressor, this is equal to our rating of 20 HP (15,000 / 746 = 20.1 HP). 15 kW * $ .0687/ kWh = $ 1.03/ hour to operate a 15 kW (20 HP) compressor.

A 20 HP compressor of industrial grade will produce 80 SCFM. It takes 12.5 minutes for an 80 SCFM compressor to produce 1000 SCF of air.

12.5 minutes / 60 minutes = .208 hours to produce 1000 standard cubic feet of air.   .208 hours * $ 1.03 / hour = $ .2142 (21.4 cents) to produce 1000 Standard Cubic Feet
of air.

And so, in showing him my math, I was able to convince my friend that using $ .25 / 1000 SCF is actually a liberal figure in our area in some cases a conservative estimate. Of course our energy prices don’t compare to those in Germany / Europe. So, for him to make this kind of example to his customers would be an even more effective discussion for using our air saving Nozzles, Air Knives, Air Amplifiers and also our Optimization products such as the EFC.

Neal Raker,
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

EXAIR Manufactures Cabinet Cooler Systems to Combat Heat

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

IMG_20160329_103754

The photo above depicts an autoclave with its computer control panel situated just above the opening. This particular customer uses their autoclave to process fish in a very controlled manner so they do not damage the meat while processing. The problem is that the controls for such equipment become overheated due to the simple process of the machinery to which they are attached. There are also critical times during the processing when the door is opened and heat as well as steam in this case waft out and up into the control box above, thus heating the components inside to a level that can cause intermittent or permanent failure.

Autoclaves are pressure chambers used within industrial processes needing higher temperatures and pressures than ambient air. They are only one example of machinery that associates the use of electronics on or near the heated portion of the “machine”. Other such examples are ovens, furnaces, steam turbines, metal casting machines, injection molding machines, extrusion lines and web processing lines.

Cabinet Cooler in steel mill
This Cabinet Cooler is installed above a hot steel processing line.

The thing that makes these kinds of applications sometimes difficult is the original decisions taken by the designer to locate the control panel in what they feel is the most appropriate and convenient place on the machine for the operators. However, as the photo above demonstrates, the heat generated by the process is sometimes the last consideration when trying to package everything in a nice, tidy package as well as to keep the machine foot-print of an already large item to be as small as possible. I’m working with the mindset that having a remote mounted control cabinet to keep the sensitive electronics away from the heat source would be the ideal situation. But as we all know, ideal isn’t always and most likely will not be what you are left to deal with.

So, when confronted with a similar situation, what is a controls engineer to do? That’s where EXAIR Cabinet Cooler system comes into play. EXAIR makes Cabinet Coolers to keep the temperature of those sensitive electronics down at a reasonable operating level for issues such as high process heat load as given above, or perhaps it is just a really hot summer and you are in a facility without air conditioning. We manufacture Cabinet Cooler Systems in NEMA 12, 4 and 4X configurations to cover a wide variety of application variables.

In the application above, we have recommended our Model 4825SS (NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler System, 1700 Btu/hr., with thermostat control). The customer’s calculated heat load was approximately 600 Btu/hr. according to the data they provided. When I made the recommendation, I did take into account the periods where the heat will be billowing out of the autoclave as well, thus the reason for the recommendation of a unit one size larger than I would normally recommend. Not to worry though. The included thermostat control will maintain the cabinet temperature at 95°F (35°C) at all times without wasting precious compressed air.

If you have an application where computer controls for a hot process are overheating on you, kindly consider contacting one of our Application Engineers or check out our handy Case Studies today to have a better understanding of how an EXAIR Cabinet Cooler System can help take away the heat and keep your processes humming along nicely.

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
 nealraker@exair.com
@EXAIR_NR

 

EXAIR’s Ion Air Cannon Static Eliminators

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment
8192_iac_sideview2top (924x1024)
Model 8192 Ion Air Cannon


EXAIR Corporation has introduced a new design for our Ion Air Cannon. The new design is able to perform all of the same functions as our previous model with the additional features that the product is even more rugged to withstand the rigors of industrial, everyday use in a variety of applications. The Ion Air Cannon performs on bench-top applications, can be mounted to a wall or ceiling, or placed in tight spaces within machinery to eliminate static. 

The New Ion Air Cannon, Model 8192 still has the UL component recognition for the US and Canada. It is also OSHA compliant for dead-end pressures in that it keeps the output pressure well below 30 PSIG when dead ended. Keeping our RoHS compliance was another important factor when putting together the new Ion Air Cannon design parameters. Beyond these compliances, the New Ion Air Cannon is also CE compliant to applicable European directives for safety as well as electromagnetic interference.

With the new design, we have integrated the grounding reference into the high voltage cable so there is now only one connection that must be made at the power supply for the high voltage signal as well as the return path for Earth ground. We have also changed the cable construction to be built using a PVC coated, stainless steel, armored cable to withstand many common hazards, thus protecting the internal conductors as well as providing electrical shielding to maintain CE compliance.

The modular, high voltage, cable assembly is also removable to allow for cleaning and replacement of the solid, stainless steel emitter point to insure problem free operation. The New Ion Air Cannon comes standard with a 5 ft. long, high voltage cable. However, other cable lengths up to 50 ft. are available by request for applications where mounting the Ion Air Cannon remotely from the power supply is necessary.

When powered by Model 7960, dual input voltage, Power Supply, the new, model 8192 Ion Air Cannon remains shockless to operators and incorporates over-current protection by means of an integrated fuse in the power supply as well as a shunting secondary to lower the voltage output to zero volts should the high voltage cable become damaged and cause a shorted condition.

The New Ion Air Cannon will make a substantial addition to any application requiring a flexible static eliminating solution to be mounted and operated by personnel working in packaging, finishing, plastic molding, pre-paint dust removal and many more applications.

Give the New Ion Air Cannon a try. You will be pleased with the fast static decay times and impressed with how easy it can remove static in your application.

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
 nealraker@exair.com
@EXAIR_NR