Tag: OSHA air nozzle

Combining Products For Total Blow Off Of Objects With Complex Geometry

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR Super Air Knives are extremely efficient at blowing off flat surfaces. The laminar air flow they generate makes a stripping/sweeping action, as opposed to the turbulent flow from a non-engineered blow off, which really just beats on the surface. If the object being blown off, though, has features such as holes, recesses, grooves, bosses, “nooks & crannies”, etc., it may be challenging to get those features 100% blown off, 100% of the time.

If the object you’re blowing off is flat, the laminar air flow from a Super Air Knife is ideal. They come in lengths from 3 inches to 9 feet long.

Depending on the size & shape of the feature presenting the challenge, the first thing we might recommend is to adjust the angle at which the Air Knife’s flow contacts the surface. For most applications, you can optimize performance by blowing at as low of an angle as practical. You may need to aim the Air Knife at a steeper angle, for example, if you’re blowing off something that’s dense (like shot blast or garnet, as opposed to dust or chips), or if it’s somewhat adherent to surface (like grease or mud, as opposed to water or light oil). This can also work if you’re trying to blow out a hole, recess, or groove in an object.

EXAIR manufactures a wide variety of engineered Air Nozzles, designed for safety, efficiency, and quiet operation.

Other times, a dedicated blow off may be necessary to pick up where the Air Knife leaves off. In situations like that, we can specify an appropriately sized Air Nozzle, Air Jet, Air Amplifier, or maybe even a smaller Air Knife, to provide more complete removal of whatever you need to get off of the object. It’s fairly common to use Air Nozzles for these applications, and our Air Nozzles & Jets catalog section is a great tool that can be used for selection. It lists them all, from smallest to largest, with airflow patterns, performance data, and dimensions.

EXAIR offers solutions for plumbing, installation, and aiming the Air Nozzle too:

  • Swivel Fittings are installed on threaded pipe, and provide 50° of angular movement. Just loosen the lock nut, aim the Nozzle, and re-tighten for rigid & secure placement.
  • Stay Set Hoses are likewise be threaded into 1/4 FNPT connections, with the Air Nozzle secured onto the other end. These come in lengths from 6″ to 36″, with 1/8 FNPT or 1/4 MNPT threads for the Air Nozzle.
EXAIR Stay Set Hoses and Swivel Fittings are ideal for installation and positioning of your Super Air Nozzle.

Metal tubing with compression fittings is another option, that can be used to install & aim an Air Nozzle. Copper tubing is relatively easy to bend by hand. Stainless steel tubing usually requires a tube bender tool, with the advantage that it can’t easily be bent by hand…on purpose or by accident. While metal tubing is certainly an option, it is generally reserved for applications where the ability to readjust is not necessary. The Stay Set hoses and Swivel Fittings tend to work better when flexibility is required.

The copper tube used to have a crimped end that was aimed at the part in the chuck. They simply cut it off and used a compression fitting to install the Super Air Nozzle.

If you’ve got a blow off application that’s not working the way you want it to, it’s highly likely that EXAIR has a solution. We would love to share our ideas with you. Give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Safety Air Gun Accessories!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

EXAIR Has a nice selection of Safety Air Guns. The VariBlast Precision and Compact, Soft Grip, Heavy Duty and Super Blast Safety Air Guns, and the newest addition, the TurboBlast are available with a variety of air nozzles, chip shields and pipe extensions. (Click on the product link above to see a blog about any of the eight types of Safety Air Guns) They are durable and comfortable and ergonomic to use.These Safety Air Guns are designed with durability and comfort in mind while also ergonomically safe to use. Safe operation is assured along with low air consumption and noise levels.EXAIR Engineered air nozzles are available in Type 316 stainless steel for superior corrosion resistance and mechanical wear, Type 303 stainless steel for corrosion resistance, PEEK thermoplastic for non-marring and chemical resistance or zinc/aluminum alloy for general purpose applications.

Flying Debris? – Chip Shields are durable polycarbonate shields that protect the operator from risk of flying debris often seen when blowing off chips from machined parts. They are also useful to prevent coolant from splashing back, creating a mess during drying processes.

The Chip Shields are available for EXAIR’s VariBlast, Soft Grip and Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns. The Chip Shield can be used on Safety Air Guns with or without an aluminum extension. They may be purchased as part of a new air gun system, or retrofitted as a Chip Shield Kit.  Consult an Application Engineer for selection assistance.

If you have a blow-off process where the air is to be directed at a distance away from the operator, or into a hard-to-reach location, an extension is the solution. Available in lengths from 6″ (152mm) to 72″ (1829mm), with sizes as to meet most requirement can be found. To add an extension to an air gun, simply add -xx to the current part number. EXAIR’s Stay Set Hoses are available from 6”-36” in lengths with ¼ NPT male threads on each end, or a ¼ NPT male on one end and 1/8 NPT female on the other.

Model 1310-12 Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun, With 12″ Extension & 1100 Super Air Nozzle

The Stay Set Hoses are rigid and allow you to maintain precise positioning of the blow off nozzle. The hoses have “memory” and will not creep or bend.

Options from 6″ to 36″

 If you need a 12′ coiled air hose, to use with your Safety Air Gun, we have them available and in stock. Available with 1/8 NPT, 1/4 NPT or 3/8 NPT male end swivel connections. Avoid tangled and messy air lines and keep things neat!

If you have an application and need help deciding which EXAIR Safety Air Gun and/Nozzle you need. Please contact us and ask for any Application Engineer. We are always happy and eager to help.

Jordan Shouse
Application EngineerSend me an email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

Super Air Nozzles and Swivel Fittings

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

EXAIR manufactures a variety of Intelligent Compressed Air™ products that can cool, clean, coat, convey, and conserve.  They’re designed with efficiency, OSHA safety, and high quality in mind.  One of our best products for replacing open pipes for blow-off is our Super Air Nozzles.  They will improve the safety for your personnel and save you much money by reducing the compressed air usage.  The payback period is typically less than two months.  What could make these products even better?  Making them adjustable, with the ability to aim them exactly where you need them!  EXAIR offers Swivel Fittings with our Air Nozzles and Jets to achieve this.  In this blog, I will cover the features and benefits of both products.

EXAIR’s engineered Air Nozzles and Jets are designed to optimize your compressed air system.  Inefficient solutions are commonly used in the form of inexpensive nozzles, and sometimes even worse, open pipes and tubes.  An open pipe or tube, even if “flattened”, wastes an excessive amount of compressed air and is not OSHA compliant.  The wasted compressed air can create problems in your facility due to unnecessarily high energy costs as well as pressure loss in your system, affecting other pneumatic processes.  An open pipe or tube will also produce sound levels in excess of 100 dBA.  At these noise levels, according to OSHA, permanent hearing damage can occur in just 2 hours of exposure.  If one of your goals is to reduce air consumption and improve safety in your facility, look no further than EXAIR’s engineered Air Nozzles and Jets.

To add versatility to the EXAIR Air Nozzles and Jets, we offer Swivel Fittings.  Swivel Fittings are a great way to securely install and aim EXAIR nozzles. They are dynamic, as they can be adjusted and set to a flow direction with 50-degrees of movement.  They are made from stainless steel for corrosion resistance, with ports ranging from 4mm to 1” NPT.  If you need positioning for precise blowing or adjustments for different locations, the Swivel Fittings could be a nice addition to include with your EXAIR Super Air Nozzles and Jets.

Companies that think about safety when using blowoff devices will evaluate the items that they purchase.  Some of the more common fines for OSHA violations deal with loud noises and dead-end pressure.  To avoid any future fines, it is important and more economical to purchase EXAIR products.  If you would like to improve safety and save money with your current blow-off devices, an Application Engineer at EXAIR can help you select the appropriate items.

John Ball
International Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photo: Safety First by Succo. Pixabay License

Scraper Blade & Super Air Nozzle Helps Clean Stuck-On Debris

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

EXAIR’s newest addition to our Safety Air Gun and Air Nozzle family is the Soft Grip Super Air Scraper. Utilizing a patent pending nozzle, the Soft Grip Super Air Scraper combines the high velocity airflow from the 2” Flat Nozzle with a strong, corrosion resistant stainless steel scraper blade.

Stuck-on debris and stubborn grime is no match for the Soft Grip Super Air Scraper. The scraper blade used in addition with the Soft Grip Safety Air Gun provides necessary leverage to allow you to get underneath and scrape away debris. The strong airflow from the 2” Flat Nozzle also gets underneath the material, allowing it to be easily blown away. Don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself just how well it cleans off floor tape, stuck-on grime, and other difficult cleaning tasks in this video:

It makes quick work of applications such as removal of tape from floors, gaskets, adhesive, labels and stickers, grease, paint and sealant. The Soft Grip Super Air Scraper comes standard with a durable ¾” air extension in lengths ranging from 6”-72” as well as with optional Chip Shields to protect your operators from blow back of material. A replacement scraper blade is something you can keep on hand in the tool crib for quick and easy replacement (video showing you how to perform that swap can be found here).

One of the most common applications we’ve found for our Super Air Scraper is for the removal of stuck-on floor tape. This is usually used in an industrial plant to mark safe passageways and areas where forklifts and other industrial trucks operate. While necessary, these labels are a real pain to remove when they need to be replaced. Constant foot traffic, wear and tear, etc. quickly makes these labels illegible. Eventually, they need to be replaced. The strong adhesive used to ensure they remain in place on the ground is great, for keeping them in place that is. However, when it’s time to remove them, good luck! Rather than just scraping away for an hour as you try to remove each and every last piece of label, get yourself one of EXAIR’s Soft Grip Super Air Scrapers. You’ll find yourself trying to find a mess to clean up in the shop as it makes quick work of otherwise stubborn materials.

Ready to ship from stock and backed up by EXAIR’s unmatched 30-day unconditional guarantee, there’s no excuse not to give the Soft Grip Super Air Scraper a try. Reach out to an Application Engineer today, and we’ll help you determine the best fit based on your needs!

Tyler Daniel, CCASS

Application Engineer

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

Twitter: @EXAIR_TD