EXAIR‘s Line Vacs are a great option for replacing a ‘bucket and ladder’ operation when it comes to conveying bulk material. For most of these applications, the material being conveyed isn’t too heavy, nor is the distance too far. There are some applications where the parameters are a little more challenging. For cases like these, we have our Heavy Duty Line Vacs
Heavy Duty Line Vacs use compressed air to generate a vacuum with the Venturi effect. Our unique design generates a high velocity airflow to create a powerful vacuum on the suction side. Once the material reaches the throat area of the Line Vac, the compressed air will carry the product the rest of the conveying distance to the discharge. Where Heavy Duty sets itself apart from other models is through two key features:
Threaded Heavy Duty Family
The Heavy Duty is made from a hardened alloy construction for increased abrasion resistance. This makes them ideal for materials like sand, ceramic, glass, garnet, tumbling media and steel shot.
The Heavy Duty produces higher vacuum levels, allowing them to convey further, faster, or to convey heavier materials.
With models ranging from 3/4″ to 3″ OD, with either smooth bore or threaded connections, we have many options for many applications. If you would like to discuss if a Heavy Duty Line Vac is right for your conveyance application, give us a call!
If you’re performing any type of manual transfer of raw material in your processes, it might be time to take a closer look at an EXAIR Line Vac. The Line Vac is designed as an ideal solution for the transfer of bulk materials from one point to another. The best part about the Line Vac is there are absolutely no moving parts to wear out, no maintenance at all, and the flow of material can be fine-tuned by regulating the air pressure just upstream.
The Line Vac is capable of moving large volumes of material over long distances with just a small amount of compressed air. The compressed air is injected through directed nozzles that produce a vacuum on one end and high-volume output flows on the other instantaneously. The Line Vac is offered in several different materials, sizes, and with a few different options for connection style.
The Line Vac works best when replacing what we refer to as a “bucket-and-ladder” operation. When replacing any form of manual transfer, the Line Vac not only increases production throughput but also makes the process safer. Whenever an operator must lift a container of material to dump it, oftentimes climbing up a ladder to do so, there’s a potential injury risk that can be avoided.
We’ll often see customers in the plastics industries manually filling the hoppers for an injection molding process. Rather than doing this manually, the Line Vac presents a simple and easy solution for conveying bulk material from the floor directly into the hopper.
One such industry that has seen some success with the EXAIR Line Vacs is coffee manufacturers. Using the Line Vac to convey raw, green coffee beans into a roaster is one example. Or, as was the case for a client in Colombia, using the Line Vac to transfer whole and ground beans automatically here in this video:
It’s not just about moving bulk materials, but the Line Vac can also be used to remove scrap trim in the converting industry. The application below shows one of our aluminum Line Vacs removing scrap trim and depositing it away from the process in a waste container.
We’ve seen the Line Vac used to strip any remaining wire or yarn off of a remaining spool for reuse. They’ve also been used by electrical contractors to run wire through underground conduit:
Heavy Duty Line Vacs operate in the same manner as our standard or threaded units, but are constructed of a hardened alloy steel engineered for use with abrasive media. The Heavy Duty Line Vacs are offered with both smooth or threaded connection styles and also provide a boost in conveyance when compared with our other Line Vacs. The Heavy Duty Line Vacs are ideal for any media that is abrasive in nature or for applications requiring higher conveyance rates over longer distances.
The Sanitary Flange Line Vac incorporates ISO 2852 compatible flanges on both the intake and outlet of the Line Vac. In the food/pharmaceutical industries, these types of connection styles are common to allow for easy removal of the system for sanitization purposes. An application I worked on recently involved a customer in the Food & Beverage industry that needed a solution for transporting bulk bags of salt. They’d looked at a high capacity conveyor system to serve this need, only to find out that it cost nearly 10x that of the Sanitary Flange Line Vac. The Model 161200-316 was used to convey this salt easily for them without the need to purchase a large and complicated system.
EXAIR’s Line Vacs are all on the shelf and ready to ship same-day from stock. If there’s a process in your facility that could benefit from an automated pneumatic transfer solution, give us a call! We’ll be happy to help you determine the proper size based on the application parameters.
I started doing an application spotlight to really break down the process of selecting the right product for a customer. This was an interesting application to pass vitamin capsules through a metal detector from a feed funnel.
One of the quality processes for these capsules is passing them through a metal detector to verify the product is metal free prior to packaging. Up until this point, they were filling buckets then manually dumping them into the detector. This was causing the detector to get overwhelmed and required work hours. So, instead, they are going to use a 2″ sanitary flange line vac to convey the pills through the detector as they fall off the line.
One of the largest hurdles to this kind of application was if the funnel filled up, this could cause the ambient air supply to the line vac to be cut off, really hurting the performance. To help with this, they added an open vent to the right, so the line vac could pull in ambient air!
The Sanitary Flange Line Vacs™ are an excellent way to convert pipe systems into conveying systems for moving “sensitive” materials. This would include materials in the medical, food, and pharmaceutical industries that require frequent and mandatory washing. The Sanitary Flange Line Vacs allow for easy disassembly and reassembly for hygienic and bacterial-free cleaning, as well as being made from 316L stainless steel for aggressive cleansers. As a part of EXAIR history, this product line came from a frequent special that we produced specifically for a variety of customers. And as a manufacturer, we decided to help other customers in this market by adding it to our productline in a variety of sizes.
Model 161200-316 – 316 Stainless Steel Sanitary Flange Line Vac
The Sanitary Flange Line Vac uses ISO 2852-compatible flanges on both the intake and outlet of the Line Vac. EXAIR offers them in four different sizes, from 1 ½” (38mm) up to 3” (76mm) in stock. The performance is the same as our Standard Line Vacs, which move products without any moving parts or motors. This provides a compact and easy-to-use design that will last for a long time. We can upgrade the generator to a high-power version for increased conveyance rates as well as to allow for moving material over longer distances.
I wrote a blog about a Line Vac application to remove bones from the surface of salmon fillets: “Let’s go fishing with EXAIR Sanitary Flange Line Vac”. They had pipes and hoses fitted with sanitary flanges already installed. Since this application was before EXAIR started manufacturing the Sanitary Flanged Line Vacs, this customer actually welded the flanges on to a 316SS Line Vac and attached them to their system. With requests for opportunities similar to this, EXAIR was able to develop this new product line.
If you need to move a product where cleanliness is a requirement, the Sanitary Flange Line Vacs may work for your application. They work well for transferring bulk materials within the food, medical, and pharmaceutical industries. For U.S. and Canadian customers, EXAIR has a 30-day unconditional guarantee to try these out. If you have any questions, an Application Engineer will be happy to assist you.
If you’re performing any type of manual transfer of raw material in your processes, it might be time to take a closer look at an EXAIR Line Vac. The Line Vac is designed as an ideal solution for the transfer of bulk materials from one point to another. The best part about the Line Vac is there are absolutely no moving parts to wear out and no maintenance at all. Adjusting the flow of material is extremely simple and can be fine-tuned by regulating the air pressure just upstream of the Line Vac.
The Line Vac is capable of moving large volumes of material over long distances with just a small amount of compressed air. The compressed air is injected through directed nozzles that produce a vacuum on one end and high-volume output flows on the other instantaneously. The Line Vac is offered in several different materials, sizes, and with a few different options for connection style.
Standard Line Vacs are offered with a smooth inlet/outlet designed to be used with any smooth-bore conveyance hose. Clear PVC hose in 10’ increments up to 50’ is available direct from stock for sizes 3/8”-3” ID. These Line Vacs are offered in aluminum sizes up to 5”, and in 303 and 316 stainless steel up to 3”.
If you’d rather use rigid pipe for the material conveyance, Threaded Line Vacs are also available directly from stock. With identical performance to the standard Line Vac, the Threaded Line Vacs are offered with NPT threads on both the inlet/outlet in sizes ranging from 3/8” NPT to 3” NPT in aluminum, 303, or 316 stainless steel.
Heavy Duty Line Vacs operate in the same manner as our standard or threaded units, but are constructed of a hardened alloy steel engineered for use with abrasive media. The Heavy Duty Line Vacs are offered with both smooth and threaded connection styles and also provide a boost in conveyance when compared with our other Line Vacs. The Heavy Duty Line Vacs are ideal for media that is abrasive in nature or for applications requiring higher conveyance rates over longer distances.
For applications where you only need to convey small volumes over short distances or particularly lightweight materials, our Light Duty Line Vac would be an ideal solution. The Light Duty Line Vac is available in sizes ranging from ¾”-6” and consumes a bit less compressed air than the standard and heavy-duty versions. This style of Line Vac is only offered in aluminum construction and for use with smooth-bore hose.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Sanitary Flange Line Vac. The Sanitary Flange Line Vac is the best method for conveying materials in systems that require frequent or mandatory cleaning. Utilizing ISO 2852 compatible clamp-style sanitary flanges, they can be easily removed from the system for periodic sanitization. These are offered in sizes ranging from 1-1/2”-3” from stock and are ideal for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
If none of these stock Line Vacs suit your process, we still have more options!! Custom units are available with varying styles of flange connections, hybrid NPT threaded/smooth units can be done with stock components, we’ll even manufacture in special materials. At EXAIR, we take pride in offering custom solutions for customers that may require something just a little different from what is readily available on the shelf.
If there’s a process in your facility that could benefit from a product like the EXAIR Line Vac, act fast! Now through October 31st you’ll receive a FREE 1122 2” Flat Super Air Nozzle with the purchase of any EXAIR Line Vac, Threaded Line Vac, Heavy Duty Line Vac, Sanitary Flange Line Vac, or Light Duty Line Vac.
