Tag: osha air nozzles

Application Spotlight! – Back Blow Nozzle!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Last month I started doing an application spotlight. In these, I’m going to pull from the dozens of phone calls or emails and walk you through how we on the Application Engineering team select a product for a specific application!

A customer called in with a tricky application where they need to keep the ID of a bearing cool. Seemed like a simple application, something where an air amplifier or a Super Air knife would be ideal!

But this wasn’t a simple application. They were heating the OD up, so they could add a surface treatment. The radiating heat was causing the inner race to slightly deform, so they wanted to cool it down, while not interrupting the heating taking place on the OD. And an air amplifier or knife would cool the entire bearing down with its larger pattern of air.

So we had to come up with an off-standard use for one of our products, and the first thought was our Back Blow Nozzles. The bearing ID was 2″, so we went with a 1006SS as it’s rated from 7/8″ to 4″. It was located, so the air stream was aimed downward. The airflow was hitting the ID and bouncing off the plate that the bearing sat on and worked its way out the top. This limited the air flow around the OD to basically zero, so it didn’t affect the coating process! Below is a quick sketch I did with the customer on the phone. It shows a section of the bearing and the air flow that would come from the back blow nozzle!

In more common applications, such as blowing chips or debris forward out of a pipe, our selection of forward blowing nozzles work quite well. However, this may not always be possible. The pipe may be long, making it impossible to push the debris all the way down the pipe. The other end of the pipe may not be open or there could be some process or area to which it is attached that would become contaminated if debris were blown in that direction. In any of these scenarios, a Back Blow Nozzle is the right tool for the job. An array of holes located around the outside diameter of the Back Blow Nozzle head provides a powerful 360° airflow pattern that will pull and clear out any leftover coolant or chips ahead of it within a pipe from a machining or any other process.

From the easy ID blow out application to the tricky “off book” applications, the application engineering team here at EXAIR are here to help you select the right product for you!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Bearing Photo courtesy of Patrick via creative commons

Utility Rebates – How EXAIR Products Can Save You Money!

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

We love to talk about how our intelligent compressed air products can save you money. This has been the subject of many blogs, emails and phone calls; primarily focusing on how our products will reduce your overall air consumption. This leads to lower energy costs, which over time will save you thousands of dollars. Another way you can save money is through rebate programs.

Many electrical companies offer rebates for efficient products and programs that help reduce energy consumption. The NC Clean Energy Technology Center has created a website that consolidates this information for you on their website: www.dsireusa.org.  “DSIRE is the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewable and energy efficiency in the United States”. Since EXAIR’s products fall into this category, rebates can be applied to the use of our products. If there is a rebate available, you will find it on this site.

It’s easy to find what rebates are available for you by selecting your state from the map on DSIRE, and then filtering down to Technology > Energy Efficiency > Industrial Equipment > Compressed air. As an example, in Michigan there is currently a rebate from Energy Smart for using Engineered Nozzles.

Once you’ve found your rebate, give us a call! We can help you determine which of our products will allow you to take advantage of it, whether it’s one of our engineered nozzles like the above example, or any of our other intelligent compressed air products.

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Image by Robert Goerman from Pixabay

Tips for Building Your Own Blowoff System

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

One of the most common applications we help with here at EXAIR is where some form of blowoff is needed. Whether it is removing coolant, ejecting a part, or blowing away scrap and debris, we have a product that will help.

EXAIR Blowoff Systems are a combination of EXAIR air Nozzles, Mag Bases and Stay Set Hoses. The Mag Bases are available in single or dual outlets, the Stay Set Hoses come in lengths from 6″ to 36″, and we have a large selection of nozzles. The flexibility of this product comes in handy when an application requires multiple points for blow-off or requires different force values of each nozzle. Customizing allows you to fit the nozzles directly to the needs of your application.

When selecting the right solution for you, there are several things to take into consideration:
How much force do you need?
If you need a large amount of force, then you should consider our 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle, or possibly our 2″ High Power Super Flat Air Nozzle. These can provide up to 2.2lbs of force.

Sometimes, you DO need the high force of the HP1125 2″ High Power Flat Super Air Nozzle

What area do you need to hit with the airflow?
For application where you are stripping, or sweeping with the airflow, you want to have a low angle, and direct the airflow against the motion of travel. This allows for greater time in contact with the part. If you are trying to eject a part, then having the airflow straight on may be better. Our Stay Set Hoses will allow you to point your nozzles in whatever direction you need, while the hose’s memory will hold it in position, without creeping or bending. Our Swivel Fittings can also be used to position our nozzles. They provide a firm, vibration-resistant mounting.

Are you replacing a pre-existing blow off?
If you are replacing an existing blowoff operation, then you may only need to install the nozzles, or Swivel Fittings. If there is no existing plumbing, then a Mag Base is an easy to set up solution that will attach to any magnetic surface.

Model 9042 Single Outlet Mag Base (left), 9043 Dual Outlet Mag Base (center) and 9029 Swivel Mag Base (right), and some typical uses.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for an efficient, quiet, and safe method of blowing compressed air, EXAIR has you covered with a wide variety of Intelligent Compressed Air Products to choose from. If you have questions about them, or how to mount them for optimal performance, give me a call.

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Using the EXAIR EFC

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

We like to tout the benefits of our intelligent and efficient compressed air products. For example, our Super Air Knife entrains ambient air at a ratio of 40:1, so for a moderate amount of compressed air, you will get large volumes of air blowing against your part. But another way you can be efficient is by turning your compressed air off – or at least only turning it on when you need it. For example, if you are drying parts moving along a conveyor, turning the air off in between parts will save even more compressed air. You only need to use the air when it is necessary. This is where EXAIR’s Electronic Flow Controller, or EFC, comes in.

Our EFC is great for automating processes involving compressed air use, by turning the air flow off when it’s not needed.  In fact, not only does it provide simple on/off control to blow only when a part is “seen” by the photoelectric sensor, there are eight distinct modes to incorporate delay on or off, flicker on or off, signal on/off delay, interval, or “One-Shot,” where the sensor detects the part, delays opening the valve per the timer setting, and blows for one second. The different modes are demonstrated in this video:

We include the EFC with our Deluxe Super Air Knife Kits for the obvious synergy with the Super Air Knives’ typical applications of cooling, drying and cleaning. However, there are many other EXAIR products and applications that could benefit from the functionality of the photoelectric sensor. Take our Line Vacs, for example. If a hopper is being filled with product that is being conveyed by the Line Vac, you can use the sensor on the EFC to turn off the Line Vac. Alternatively, you could use the sensor to detect when the hopper is almost empty and turn the Line Vac on.

We have had customers use our EFC to control the flow from our Atomizing Spray Nozzles. When the sensor detects the parts being coated, the EFC turns on the compressed air supply, allowing the Air Atomizing Spray Nozzle to apply a coating. Once the part has been coated, the EFC shuts off the air supply, not only saving on compressed air, but also the liquid used to coat its parts.

Our Electronic Flow Controls can accommodate flows up to 350scfm, so they can be used in a wide variety of applications. In fact, the more air volume you control with one of these, the faster you can amass savings and the faster your return on investment! If you would like to discuss how an EFC could save you money, give me a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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