Tag: programmable air control

The Smartest Way to Stop Wasting Compressed Air

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

The most efficient way to use compressed air is simple: turn it off when you don’t need it. While engineered blow-off tools drastically lower utility demands, running them continuously across empty conveyor belts or during line pauses still drains valuable factory resources. The EXAIR Electronic Flow Control (EFC) eliminates this waste by pairing a precision photoelectric sensor with an advanced timing control module.

By automatically shutting down the air supply the moment a part passes, the EFC limits compressed air consumption strictly to active processing windows. This plug-and-play optimization system integrates directly into existing lines without complex PLC programming or wiring, offering a direct path to slashing energy bills.

Core Operational Benefits of the EXAIR EFC

Implementing automated flow regulation provides immediate operational improvements:

  • Drastic Cost Reductions: Shutting off air during gaps between parts can easily reduce air consumption by 50% to 75% or more, frequently generating thousands in annual factory utility savings.
  • Plug-and-Play Simplicity: The standalone system features a pre-wired NEMA 4 / IP66 polycarbonate enclosure, a 9-foot power cord, and a universal 100-240VAC electrical input.
  • Industrial-Grade Reliability: The compact sensor resists water and dust, boasts superior immunity to electrical noise, and accurately identifies targets up to 3 feet (1 meter) away.
  • 8 Versatile Timing Modes: An integrated analog timer supports eight distinct operations—including on/off delays, flickers, intervals, and “one-shot” pulsing—with time constraints adjustable from 0.10 seconds up to 120 hours.
  • Scalable Flow Ranges: Available across four distinct model sizes to efficiently regulate lines from 40 SCFM up to 350 SCFM via rugged, high-capacity solenoid valves.

Two Automated Applications: The EFC in Action

The true utility of the EFC is unlocked when paired with EXAIR’s Intelligent Compressed Air product family. Below are three common plant configurations utilizing the EFC alongside different EXAIR tools to optimize production.

1. Intermittent Part Drying with the Super Air Knife

When washed parts travel down a conveyor with uneven gaps between batches, running a continuous air stream wastes significant energy.

  • The Setup: A Super Air Knife is mounted over the conveyor line, plumbed through the EFC’s solenoid valve. The photoelectric sensor is positioned just upstream of the knife.
  • The Operation: The EFC is set to Signal On/Off Delay mode. When a part triggers the sensor, the solenoid instantly opens, unleashing a uniform sheet of laminar air to sweep moisture away. As soon as the part clears the sensor, the timer counts down a brief delay to finish the wipe, then snaps the valve shut until the next part arrives.

2. Automated Hopper Replenishment with the Line Vac

Line Vacs can convey many things.

Keeping raw materials flowing into a molding hopper manually can lead to structural overflows or costly machine starvation.

  • The Setup: An air-operated EXAIR Line Vac is installed to convey bulk plastic pellets or grains directly into a manufacturing hopper. The EFC photoelectric sensor is positioned at a designated low-level threshold inside the hopper wall.
  • The Operation: The EFC uses an Inverse Sensing or Delay profile. When the product drops below the sensor line, indicating the hopper is nearly empty, the EFC opens the solenoid valve to power the Line Vac. The vacuum transfers materials smoothly until the timer reaches its preset fill duration (or a secondary high-level sensor is cleared), halting the air supply precisely when replenishment completes.

Stop Paying for Empty Space

Relying on continuously running blow-offs means your plant is actively paying to compress air that blows into empty space. Integrating the EXAIR Electronic Flow Control lets you transition from costly manual oversight to true, targeted automation.

Ready to figure out exactly how much you can save? Check the EXAIR EFC Savings Calculator to input your plant’s specific cycle times, calculate your exact payback period, and start optimizing your workspace efficiency.

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Conserve Air with the Electronic Flow Control

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

A system with gaps in the process could be a candidate for saving compressed air.  This is a hidden profit-reducing culprit that is not well recognized.  I would like to correlate it to the refrigerator light turning off.  When it is not needed, then why have it on?  If your system has gaps, you should turn off the compressed air during these times to save money.  In this blog, I will cover the Electronic Flow Control, or EFC, to help optimize your compressed air system.

EXAIR’s Electronic Flow Control provides precise timing control with a user-friendly module.  The timing is selectable from milliseconds to hours to optimize the on/off time of the solenoids.  They are CE and RoHS compliant.  The input power can range from 85 VAC to 264 VAC at 50 or 60 Hz.  It does come standard with a 120VAC Type B US plug or a NEMA 5-15P.  For other types of connections, please follow your local electrical standards.  The enclosure is NEMA 4 (IP 66) with a temperature rating from -13oF to 131oF (-25oC to 55oC).  The design of the EFC enclosure makes it very easy to mount onto your system. 

The EFC uses a photoelectric sensor to initiate the timing circuit.  It has a Light and Dark mode as well as a sensing range.  It will be factory set at 12” (305 mm), and it can be adjusted up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) with the sensitivity adjuster.  The sensor has a green light which means that the sensor has power, and an amber light which means that the sensor is triggered.  It comes standard with a 16.5 feet (5 meter) sensor cable. 

The EFC has seven timing selections.  The factory setting is set to R for an “Off” Delay, which operates when an object is detected. It will open the solenoid valve immediately and remain open for a set amount of time.  The other modes are “On” Delay, Single Shot – Rising Edge, Single Shot – Falling Edge, “On” Delay with control input, Single Shot – Rising Edge Supply voltage, and Clock Interval.    

EXAIR offers four different sized solenoid valves, ranging from ¼” NPT to 1” NPT sizes.  So, we can handle products that utilize high demands of compressed air.  We also can offer a dual solenoid type to operate two systems at the same time. 

The customers that purchase the Electronic Flow Control are people that need to improve their process for maximum savings, do not wish to purchase a PLC, have I/O boards that are loaded, or do not wish to contract an outside programmer.  As I mentioned above, they are simple to use.  If you have any questions about the EFC or wish to see the ROI, EXAIR has Application Engineers that can help you.   

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

Stop Starving Your Tools: How to Beat Pressure Drop in Compressed Air Systems

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

If you’ve ever noticed your pneumatic tools losing their “punch” or your machines throwing low-pressure faults, you’re likely dealing with the silent thief of industrial efficiency: pressure drop.

Pressure drop is the reduction in air pressure from the compressor discharge to the actual point of use. It’s not just a performance issue; it’s an expensive energy drain. Most facilities try to fix it by cranking up the compressor pressure, which is like trying to fix a leaky garden hose by turning the spigot up—it just wastes more energy and stresses the system.

Here is how to tackle it and how EXAIR products help you win the fight.

1. Size Matters (The Piping Dilemma)

The most common cause of pressure drop is undersized piping. Think of your compressed air system like a highway; if you try to cram 1,000 cars into one lane, traffic slows down.

  • The Fix: Always size your main headers and distribution lines for the maximum potential flow, not just your current average. Using a “loop” system instead of a single “dead-end” header allows air to flow in two directions to reach a high-demand tool, effectively doubling the capacity of the pipe.

2. Smooth Out the “Plumbing”

Every elbow, tee, and valve creates friction. Standard plumbing fittings often have sharp turns that create turbulence, slowing down the air.

  • The Fix: Minimize the use of 90-degree elbows where possible (use long-radius sweeps instead) and ensure you aren’t using restrictive, undersized quick-connect couplings at the tool.

3. Eliminate the “Spiky” Demand

Large, intermittent air consumers can cause the pressure in the entire line to “sag.”

  • The Fix: Use a receiver tank (surge tank) near the point of high demand. This acts as a local battery, providing the necessary volume instantly without pulling from the main header and causing a system-wide drop.

How EXAIR Combats Pressure Drop

EXAIR is built on the philosophy of “doing more with less.” Our products are engineered specifically to maximize force while minimizing air consumption, which is the most effective way to reduce pressure drop at the end of the line.

Engineered Super Air Nozzles

EXAIR Nozzles

Standard “open pipe” blowoffs are air hogs. They create massive localized pressure drops because they dump huge volumes of air inefficiently. EXAIR Super Air Nozzles use a small amount of compressed air to entrain large volumes of surrounding “free” room air.

  • The Result: You get high-velocity discharge with significantly lower compressed air demand, keeping the pressure stable for the rest of your tools.

Digital Flowmeters

You can’t fix what you can’t measure. EXAIR Digital Flowmeters allow you to see exactly where the air is going in real-time. By monitoring different zones of your plant, you can pinpoint exactly which branch or machine is causing the pressure drop, making it easy to identify leaks or bottlenecks.

Precise Pressure Regulators

Using more pressure than a process requires (artificial demand) is a leading cause of system-wide drops. EXAIR Pressure Regulators ensure that each application gets exactly the PSI it needs and nothing more. By lowering the pressure at the point of use to the minimum required, you preserve the “headroom” in your main lines.

The Bottom Line, combating pressure drop is about velocity and volume. By optimizing your piping layout and switching to high-efficiency end-use products like our intelligent, point-of-use compressed air products, you stop starving your tools and start saving on your electric bill.

If you’re ready to stop turning up the compressor, and start fixing the flow, give us a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Step 3: Upgrade Your Blow off, Cooling, and Drying Operations

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

In the world of manufacturing, compressed air is often called the “fourth utility.” It’s essential, but it’s also expensive to produce. If you’re following the Six Steps to Optimize Your Compressed Air System, Step 3 is where you stop the bleeding.

Step 3, dear reader, is the subject of today’s blog.

Upgrading your blow-off, cooling, and drying operations from “homegrown” solutions to engineered products is one of the fastest ways to slash energy costs and improve plant safety.

The Problem with “In-House” Solutions

Many plants rely on makeshift blow-off devices: crimped copper tubes, pipes with drilled holes, or basic air nozzles found at a hardware store. While they seem “free” or cheap, they are incredibly inefficient.

  • High Air Consumption: They lack the physics to move air efficiently, requiring massive volumes of compressed air to do the job.
  • Dangerous Noise Levels: Drilled pipes produce a high-pitched shear that often exceeds OSHA noise exposure limits.
  • Safety Hazards: If a pipe or open tube is dead-ended against skin, it can lead to serious injury or air embolism.

The Engineered Solution: EXAIR Technology

This is where EXAIR engineered compressed air products change the game. Unlike a standard pipe, EXAIR products use the Coanda effect to “entrain” the surrounding room air. For every part of compressed air used, an EXAIR nozzle or air knife pulls in 30 to 40 parts of “free” ambient air.

EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products such as (left to right) the Air Wipe, Super Air Knife, Super Air Nozzle, and Air Amplifier are engineered to entrain enormous amounts of air from the surrounding environment.

If you are drying a conveyor belt or cleaning wide sheets of material, a drilled pipe is a money pit. An EXAIR Super Air Knife provides a high-velocity, uniform sheet of air across the entire surface. It’s quiet (around 69 dBA for most applications) and reduces air consumption by up to 80% compared to open headers.

For targeted blow-off or part ejection, Super Air Nozzles replace open tubes and cheap nozzles. They provide a forceful, concentrated stream of air while meeting OSHA requirements for skin pressure and noise. You get more “push” for significantly less “psi.”

Step 3 isn’t just about blowing air; it’s about optimizing how air manages temperature and waste. From Vortex Tubes that provide spot cooling without refrigerants to Air Amplifiers for smoke and fume removal, these tools ensure you aren’t overworking your compressors for simple tasks.

The Bottom Line

Upgrading to EXAIR engineered products isn’t just a maintenance fix; it’s a financial strategy. Most facilities see a return on investment (ROI) in just weeks through reduced energy bills.

By replacing inefficient, loud, and dangerous blow-off methods with engineered solutions, you’re not just optimizing your compressed air—you’re creating a quieter, safer, and more profitable shop floor.

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Find us on the Web
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