Tag: promo items

EXAIR is Offering a Promotional Item With the Purchase of a Safety Air Gun! 

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

From August 1st to September 30th, 2023, with qualified purchases, EXAIR will be giving away a 1” Flat Super Air Nozzle with a purchase of our Safety Air Guns, including the VariBlast Precision, VariBlast Compact, Soft Grip, Heavy Duty, Super Blast and TurboBlast Safety Air Guns.  We are promoting the importance of safety in the workplace with the EXAIR Safety Air Guns.   

Compressed air guns are one of the most commonly used pneumatic products in manufacturing plants.  They are used at workstations to blow off debris and clean parts and tools.  Because of the large quantities that are used in a plant; they are the most targeted by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).  The majority of the common brands of air guns fail to comply with two common violations, rule 29CFR 1910.95(a) for noise levels and rule 29CFR 1910.242(b) for dead-end pressure.  The reason for this is due to the type of nozzle that comes with the compressed air gun.  OSHA fines can be very expensive, and you can alleviate these penalties by purchasing an EXAIR Safety Air Gun.  Safety is everyone’s responsibility: management, the HSE department (Health and Safety Engineer), supervisors, and even the operators.   

With EXAIR Safety Air Guns, we supply an efficient, effective, and, most importantly, safe air nozzle with all of our air guns.  They are CE Compliant and exceed the OSHA sound level and dead-end pressure requirements, even above 30 PSIG (2 bar).  With substandard air guns, the operators will have to listen to loud noises all day or wear hearing protection.  And for the dead-end pressure; the EXAIR nozzles are engineered to not allow the operator to completely block the end of the nozzle with their hand or skin.  This is very important because if the pressure exceeds 30 PSIG, air can penetrate the skin and cause an air embolism.  With our design, the compressed air is able to escape, and the pressure against the skin will not exceed 30 PSIG, even with the compressed air pressure set at 100 PSIG.  Safety is a major concern for all of our customers and a priority for EXAIR in manufacturing our products.   

As I mentioned above, the nozzles are one of the most significant parts of making a compressed air gun safe and OSHA compliant.  Combining our engineered nozzles with a quality air gun makes the EXAIR Safety Air Guns one of the best products in the market.  We currently have six different styles; the VariBlast Precision, VariBlast Compact, Soft Grip, Heavy Duty, Super Blast, and TurboBlast Safety Air Guns.  These Safety Air Guns are ergonomically designed to comfortably fit in your hand; and they come with quality trigger mechanisms and a durable valve assembly.  The VariBlast Precision Safety Air Guns are great for tight spaces and clearing out small holes.  The VariBlast Compact Safety Air Guns have a cast aluminum body for rugged use with our smaller air nozzles.  The Soft Grip Safety Air Guns provide extra comfort for long, extended uses, and the Heavy Duty Safety Air Guns are rugged, heavy duty industrial air guns with nozzles for larger forces.  The Super Blast and TurboBlast Safety Air Guns use our largest nozzles for cleaning large areas quickly.  In combination with the EXAIR nozzles, the Safety Air Guns can offer another important attribute; we can save you money!!!  Compressed air is very expensive to make, and with our Safety Air Guns, we use less compressed air but still create a strong blowing force.  We do this by entraining the free ambient air into the air stream.  If you increase the mass of air at the target, it will give you a hard-hitting force to remove debris from surfaces or clean tools and holes.  The amplification ratio can be as high as 25 to 1.  That means that for every one part of compressed air that it uses, the EXAIR Nozzles will entrain 25 parts of free ambient air.  This will add mass to the airstream to give a powerful impact.  Also, the payback period for using an EXAIR Nozzle with our Safety Air Guns can be within weeks due to the savings in electrical costs from your air compressor.  With EXAIR products, we were able to partner with Energy Star and power facilities.  For the amount of energy saved, some power companies offer rebates for using EXAIR products.       

A substandard blow-off gun is unsafe, loud, and wasteful.  EXAIR Safety Air Guns can help improve these situations.  They are OSHA compliant, very safe, and very quiet.  They use less compressed air, which saves you money.  And with a variety of different nozzles, they can better fit your application to decrease downtime.  In the U.S. and Canada, EXAIR offers a 30-day unconditional guarantee on our cataloged items so you can try them out.  You can see for yourself how effective these compressed air guns can be.  If you need help matching the best Safety Air Gun to your application, you can contact an Application Engineer.  And during the next two months, take advantage of the free 1” Flat Super Air Nozzle, a $59.00 complimentary gift.     

John Ball
Application Engineer

Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Static Problem on your Packaging Line?

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Pretty much every consumer grade product comes in packaging, so It’s safe to say most manufacturing processes end in a final packaging of the final product! One of the most common issues with Form, Fill, Seal and other general packing systems is Static! That pesky force you can’t see, but you know and can feel the effects! So how can you address those issues? With EXAIR’s line of static eliminators! With a dozen different configurations an Application Engineer can help you pick one to fit into your process and eliminate the static that’s wreaking havoc!

But let’s take a look at a couple of the most common applications!

Bottle Sleeves

Unlike the Coke bottles below, most bottoms now have the thermo shrink on the cap to secure the lid and keep it clean. (You may ask why I used the Coke photo…. well I just liked it!!) But typically a flat sheet of thermo sensitive plastic is fed through a forming block to connect the ends to make a sleeve. Then they are fed over the bottle cut and thermo formed around the bottle. There are a lot of things there that can create static! Check out this blog by Tyler. His customer used a Super Ion Air Wipe to rid the static prior to the forming!

Image courtesy of Kevin Trotman, Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Filling

Filling a container with product is one of the most common packaging situations we encounter! Why? Because there are so many different operations that go into it. First you have to form the packaging, then clean it, then move it, then fill it, then seal it, then clean before bulk packaging. You guessed it each one of those tasks have the ability to build and be affected negatively by static.

Below is a photo of a line to fill vials with a vaccine, but first these need to be cleaned. Static can cause dirt and dust to stick inside the vial. This is a common use of the GEN4 Super Ion Air Knife, it can eliminate the static, then provide the force to dislodge the dust and dirt. Then you can push it into the air and dispose of it with a downdraft system. And just like the bottling line, they cap the vials with a thin cap cover, you can use the same product to eliminate that static to keep the flaws to a minimum.

Image courtesy of Vaccines at Sanofi, Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

As the temperatures begin to decline, so does the humidity in the air. Drier air results in an increase in static problems. Get ahead of it this year and check out EXAIR’s complete line of Static Elimination products, all available to ship same-day from stock!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

Send me an Email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

Static Eliminators: The Blog!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Over the years we have expanded our Static Eliminator’s product line time and time again. Since its close to Christmas and I’m in the giving mood let’s do a full overview!!! Buckle up this is going to be a long one!!

GEN4 Super Ion Air Knife!

The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife floods an area or surface with static eliminating ions. With a uniform airflow across its length, misalignment to critical surfaces like webs is avoided.  The force can be adjusted from a light breeze, to a full out blast of air. The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife is electrically powered, is shock less and has no moving parts.

How It Works

gen4siak_hwrks_800x

GEN4 Standard Ion Air Knife!

Similar to the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife, this product has a good compressed air efficiency.  It utilizes the Coanda effect to draw in ambient air at a 30:1 amplification ratio.  They come in stocked lengths from 3” (76mm) to 48” (1.22 meters).  The Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife are used in similar applications as well as mold releasing, package cleaning, label applications and plastic bag opening.

Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife

GEN4 Ion Bar (NO COMPRESSED AIR NEEDED)

This rugged design is for industrial use to remove static cling from flat surfaces. They range from a length of 3” (76mm) to 108” (2.74 meters).  Without the assistance of air, the product has to be within 2 inches (51 mm) from the surface to remove static charges.  The Gen4 Ionizing Bar is shock less and works well in applications where blowing air could be a detriment for the process.  This would include screen printing, labeling, and large printing process.

Gen4 Ionizing Bar

GEN4 Super Ion Air Wipe

This product blows ionized air in a 360-degree pattern.  They are engineered to remove static and debris from the outside of hoses, plastic pipe, extrusions, and coated wires.  With the split design, the Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe can easily mount around the product without having to rethread.  They come in two different sizes with a 2” (51mm) and 4” (102mm) inner diameter. The ionized air has a fast static decay for speedy transfers.

Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe

GEN4 Ion Air Cannon

Just like the name, this product will shower an area with ions to remove static. It can reach distances up to 15 feet (4.6 meters).  They are used in multiple areas including pre-paint car bodies, containers, shrink packaging, lenses, etc.  As an Air Amplifier, a small amount of compressed air will draw in a large amount of ambient air.  The ions are carried to the surface from the Gen4 Ion Air Cannon in a laminar air steam.   Once the ions coat the surface area, the air flow can gently remove any debris held by static forces.

Ion Air Cannon

GEN4 Ion Air Jet and Gun

For manual static removal to target specific areas, the Gen4 Ion Air Gun will work great.  This product comes standard with 10 feet (3 meters) of shielded cable for maximum reach.  An ergonomic air gun is attached to a Gen4 Ion Air Jet to manually remove static in difficult areas and from “shock” zones.  The Ion Air Guns work great for small batch processes used for quality checks or label applications.

Similar to the Ion Air Gun, this product is used for “hands-free” operations. They use a small amount of compressed air to “shoot” the ions onto a surface.  They can be operated with a solenoid valve or foot pedal to blow ions during specific times and situations.  They can easily be attached to a Stay Set Hose and Magnetic Base for best “hands-free” positioning for optimal cleaning.  They work well on small targets for automated systems or inspections areas prior to packaging.

GEN4 Ionizing Point

This single point design is manufactured to remove static on small targets in tight spots.  Utilizing the same rugged design of the Gen4 Static Eliminators, this product can remove static in spot areas and help to stop jams in slitting operations. They can also be panel mounted to neutralize duct air.

Intellistat Ion Air Gun

This is one of EXAIR’s newest product that is a lightweight solution for static and particle removal.  The patent-pending air gun comes complete with a 24Vdc power supply and a 6mm compressed air tubing.  There is a red and green LED lights to signify the production of ionized air for visual feedback.  The engineered air nozzles are quiet and OSHA safe.  The emitter point inside that creates the ions can be easily changed for replacement.  The applications range from circuit boards, electronic manufacturing, laboratories, clean rooms, and scientific testing.

Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle

And if you need a hands-off product that meets all the requirements the Intellistat Ion air guns does. The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle is your answer!

If you find that static is creating process problems, wasting time, and costing you money, EXAIR has a large line of Static Eliminators that can help you.  If you have an application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR to help select the correct model and remove that static nuisance.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

Send me an Email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

EXAIR’s Static Eliminator Variety Provides Solutions for Any Industry

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

As the weather starts to change and the colder dryer months are upon us, static electricity can become a real nuisance.  Machines will start jamming, alignments will be difficult, dirt will collect to surfaces, and hazardous sparks can shock personnel.  EXAIR manufactures a line of Gen4 Static Eliminators, also called ionizers, to remove these nuisances.

Static is generated from non-conductive surfaces being “rubbed”.  This could be caused from going over rollers on a conveyor, stacking product onto each other, sheet feeding, and even peeling away a backing material.  When a non-conductive surface, or insulator, is moved or separated, electrons are “stripped” and redistribute into different areas on the surface.  Static charges are typically measured in kilovolts (KV), or 1,000 volts, and they can be either positive or negative in nature.

The higher the charge, the stronger the static force.  At a 10 KV static charge, a spark can jump one inch (25 mm) from the surface.   You probably felt that shock when working with plastic or non-conductive materials.  EXAIR has a Digital Static Meter to measure the amount of static voltage on a surface.  It is a great tool for finding problem areas in your process as well as determining the effectiveness of the treatment.

Static is dynamic.  The more you rub or move the material, the higher the static charges can form.  Static can also regenerate itself after the charges have been removed.  With higher static charges, the attraction force to other materials is much stronger.  This attraction could be to other products, dust, lint, and even you.  An undesirable effect of static can be seen with dirty surfaces, tearing, alignment, jamming and shock to personnel.  The EXAIR Gen4 Static Eliminators are engineered to remove both negative and positive static charges in an assortment of designs to best fit the application.

EXAIR manufactures nine different products, including Static Eliminators with air assistance to reach farther distances or Static Eliminators without air when surfaces could be disrupted by air flow. The newest product, the Intellistat™ Ion Air Gun is engineered for clean processes, laboratory and test environments.

The Gen4 ionizers are powered by a 5,000 Vac power supply.  The alternating current, AC, will create both negative ions and positive ions.  No matter the kind of static charge is on the surface, the Gen4 Static Eliminators will be able to remove it.  The power supplies come in either a 2 port or 4 port design; so, you can power multiple Gen4 Static Eliminators with one power supply.  The input power is selectable from either 115Vac or 230Vac in both 50/60 hz. An armored and electromagnetic shielded cable connects the power supply to the ionizer in a single wire design. This will help to protect the cable from abrasions, cuts and splits in industrial areas.

The Intellistat Ion Air Gun is powered with a 24Vdc power supply. The Gen4 Static Eliminators and the Intellistat Ion Air Gun have a shockless design, and they are UL Component Recognized and CE compliant.  I will give a brief description of each product that utilizes this rugged design for optimal static neutralization.

Gen4 Static Eliminators with Air:

Super Ion Air Knife

  1. Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife: This product has the best compressed air efficiency in removing static by combining the Super Air Knife with an Ionizing Bar.  The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife has a 40:1 amplification ratio and uses the laminar air flow to carry the positive and negative ions to the surface.  The laminar flow allows for a quick static discharge in fast conveyance speeds.  They can also remove static from surfaces up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) away.  EXAIR manufactures stock lengths from 3” (76mm) to 108” (2.74 meters).  Some typical applications for the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife are found in web cleaning, sheeters, pre-paint dust removal, and shrink wrappers.
  2. Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife: Similar to the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife, this product has a good compressed air efficiency.  It utilizes the Coanda effect to draw in ambient air at a 30:1 amplification ratio.  They come in stocked lengths from 3” (76mm) to 48” (1.22 meters).  The Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife are used in similar applications as well as mold releasing, package cleaning, label applications and plastic bag opening.

    Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe
  3. Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe: This product blows ionized air in a 360-degree pattern.  They are engineered to remove static and debris from the outside of hoses, plastic pipe, extrusions, and coated wires.  With the split design, the Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe can easily mount around the product without having to rethread.  They come in two different sizes with a 2” (51mm) and 4” (102mm) inner diameter. The ionized air has a fast static decay for speedy transfers.

    Gen4 Ion Air Cannon
  4. Gen4 Ion Air Cannon: Just like the name, this product will shower an area with ions to remove static. It can reach distances up to 15 feet (4.6 meters).  They are used in multiple areas including pre-paint car bodies, containers, shrink packaging, lenses, etc.  As an Air Amplifier, a small amount of compressed air will draw in a large amount of ambient air.  The ions are carried to the surface from the Gen4 Ion Air Cannon in a laminar air steam.   Once the ions coat the surface area, the air flow can gently remove any debris held by static forces.

    Gen4 Ion Air Gun
  5. Gen4 Ion Air Gun: For manual static removal to target specific areas, the Gen4 Ion Air Gun will work great.  This product comes standard with 10 feet (3 meters) of shielded cable for maximum reach.  An ergonomic air gun is attached to a Gen4 Ion Air Jet to manually remove static in difficult areas and from “shock” zones.  The Ion Air Guns work great for small batch processes used for quality checks or label applications.

    Ion Air Jet
  6. Gen4 Ion Air Jet: Similar to the Ion Air Gun, this product is used for “hands-free” operations. They use a small amount of compressed air to “shoot” the ions onto a surface.  They can be operated with a solenoid valve or foot pedal to blow ions during specific times and situations.  They can easily be attached to a Stay Set Hose and Magnetic Base for best “hands-free” positioning for optimal cleaning.  They work well on small targets for automated systems or inspections areas prior to packaging.
  7.  Intellistat™ Ion Air Gun: This is EXAIR’s newest product that is a lightweight solution for static and particle removal.  The patent-pending air gun comes complete with a 24Vdc power supply and a 6mm compressed air tubing.  There is a red and green LED lights to signify the production of ionized air for visual feedback.  The engineered air nozzles are quiet and OSHA safe.  The emitter point inside that creates the ions can be easily changed for replacement.  The applications range from circuit boards, electronic manufacturing, laboratories, clean rooms, and scientific testing.

The Gen4 Static Eliminators with air can be purchased with kits which will include the power supply (required for ionization), a filter (to clean contamination from the compressed air), and a regulator (to control the blowing force).  In the spirit of compressed air efficiency, EXAIR also offers the Electronic Flow Control, EFC, that uses a photoelectric sensor to turn on the air flow only when the product is under the Static Eliminator.

Gen4 Static Eliminators without Air:

Ionizing Bar
Low cost Ionizing Bars eliminate static cling.

  1. Gen4 Ionizing Bar: This rugged design is for industrial use to remove static cling from flat surfaces. They range from a length of 3” (76mm) to 108” (2.74 meters).  Without the assistance of air, the product has to be within 2 inches (51 mm) from the surface to remove static charges.  The Gen4 Ionizing Bar is shockless and works well in applications where blowing air could be a detriment for the process.  This would include screen printing, labeling, and large printing process.

    Gen4 Ionizing Points
  2. Gen4 Ionizing Point: This single point design is manufactured to remove static on small targets in tight spots.  Utilizing the same rugged design of the Gen4 Static Eliminators, this product can remove static in spot areas and help to stop jams in slitting operations. They can also be panel mounted to neutralize duct air.

If you find that static is creating process problems, wasting time, and costing you money, EXAIR has a large line of Static Eliminators that can help you.  For our U.S. and Canadian customers, we are offering a promotion for online orders for a limited time.  You will receive an AC Sensor, a $59.00 value, for free as a Promotional item from now until the end of March 2021 with a qualified purchase.  How can you not give them a try?  If you have an application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR to help select the correct model and remove that static nuisance.

John Ball
Application Engineer

Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb