Tag: projects

SHOCKING! One Project Leads To Another

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Here at EXAIR, we always have a promotion going. At this time of year, static electricity is running rampant due to the low moisture content in the air. This is easily seen in my garage, where I currently have several projects going. One of which includes a 1″ thick piece of rigid foam insulation, and another part of that same project includes about 10 sheets of drywall.

The main wall that started the project.
Before, there wasn’t even a frame there.

That project, finishing a basement area, also included making some plywood built-ins. Well, if you have ever cut plywood, then you know it can be quite dusty. Put that in a small space and just the dust floating in the air during these dry months resulted in the sheet of rigid foam which was standing up away from the cutting area now holding a nice layer of fine dust to the surface. This dust was all attracted to the surface by the static charge. The charge on the surface was ramped up from the movement to get it into the garage from the store, with lots of friction, attachment, and detachment. I could definitely benefit from something like the Gen4 Ion Air Gun to blow down the sheet and remove anything on the surface before I take it into the house for the project.

I made one cut on a sheet of plywood about 8 feet away from this foam insulation sheet. All the light-colored areas are sawdust that is now hanging on the surface.

Well, if I were to order the Gen4 Ion Air Gun Kit through the current EXAIR promotion, I would also be receiving a free A/C Sensor pen which I could have used to help me trace where voltage is present in our dryer, which decided to break in the middle of the basement project. Luckily, I was able to trace it down to a thermal fuse that had buildup on it. Thankfully, we now have the repair parts on order.

If your facility has dry ambient conditions right now in these winter months, and you are starting to struggle with sheets clinging together, packaging material clinging to products, or operators complaining of nuisance shocks from aspects of their daily tasks, we have a product that can help. Best of all, we have a promotion to deliver a FREE A/C Sensor pen with any EXAIR Static Eliminator purchase.

Whether you need a fixed solution like the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife, Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle, or Gen4 Ion Air Cannon, maybe you need something that can travel from one workstation to another or is handheld like our Gen4 Ion Air Gun Kit, or the Intellistat Ion Air Gun. Maybe you don’t have compressed air available like I didn’t in the basement. As long as you have access to a standard 120 VAC 3 prong US plug or 230 VAC, then you can use one of the Gen4 Ionizing Points, a Gen4 Ionizing Bar, or even the Varistat Benchtop Ionizer. See the page at the link below for all the offerings and make sure you use the promotional part numbers to get the free A/C Sensor pen which can be used for electrical troubleshooting for free!

If you aren’t sure which static eliminator will be the best fit for your current application, I and the entire Application Engineer team are here to help. We all have knowledge and experience with the products and a wide variety of backgrounds, so we can help determine the best path forward for you and your team. Contact one of us today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Line Vac Helps Students With Automation Projects

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Over the past year I received a contact from a professor and student combination from Madison Area Technical College inquiring about the sizes available for our Line Vac products.  They were using a 2″ Line Vac in one of their automation class labs and wanted to try something a little bigger for a new project.  The 2″ Line Vac was one they had used in the past on different projects and had always worked well.   The new project however increased the bag size and made the conveyance difficult for the 2″ Line Vac.

The Initial e mail received.
The Initial e mail received after a short conversation.

With the picture below of their current setup and a good understanding that they will be placing three items into a heat sealed bag that is roughly 3″ long and 2″ wide we settled on using the 3″ Aluminum Line Vac at a low pressure to convey the baggies to their secondary function.   As you can see in the video below, the Line Vac is activated by a sensor and operates for just seconds in order to convey the bag of parts successfully to the other side of the machine cell where the bag is then picked and placed by a robotic arm.

The existing 2" Line Vac they had in place.
The existing 2″ Line Vac they had in place.

After the project was completed we received a mention through social media, as well as a brief video showcasing the Line Vac in use.  The video showcases how easy it is to install an EXAIR Line Vac into a tight space where adding other conventional mechanical conveying systems would be considerably more elaborate.  The Line Vac is being controlled via a PLC that energizes a solenoid valve on a timer to convey the package in a matter of seconds.

 

Social Media Contact
Social Media Contact

We are very pleased to see the projects these kids turned out, and the leadership shown by Peter, their instructor. Manufacturing programs such as this one at Madison Area Technical College are important for our economy and for the future of these kids. We’d like to congratulate them all on their accomplishment.

If you have a project you are trying to move products from one point to another, contact us.  If you are a professor, student, or even a mentor to an educational program that would benefit from EXAIR products, please contact me directly.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer Manager
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Efforts And Hard Work Coming To Fruition

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

This past weekend I got to check one of the many projects off my “Honey-Do” list from my wife.  I finally got the plants we had started from seeds several months ago into the ground in the backyard in a freshly made garden.  After running errands for most of the day on Saturday and Sunday, picking up supplies for other projects, I had some time to start outlining this garden.

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I thought it was going to be a small garden, maybe 4′ x 4′.   It turned out to be a 6′ x 12′ garden that could stand to be a little bigger.  I did have the help of a 10″ wide tiller that lost the muffler before the first stripe was done.   It was by no means an easy task but I finally got the entire area tilled and laid out the plants with the help of my father, my wife planted them.

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Now we have to ensure the weeds are kept, the plants are watered, and the animals are kept out.  With any luck, we will get to see the hard work turn into something the whole family can enjoy, mainly vegetables.

Here at EXAIR we are constantly working hard  to develop new products and processes to help you, our customer, save time, effort, money, and most importantly compressed air.  If we didn’t put in the hard work to get our messages out and make sure that every product performs how we say it will then we wouldn’t be here.   The company would dry up like a garden that is untended.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF