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

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?

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

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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

Static Eliminators: The Blog!

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

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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

EXAIR Reversible Drum Vac™ System: Overview

EXAIR Reversible Drum Vac Systems come in a variety of sizes and configurations to meet the needs of most any application.

Not all liquid vacuums are the same.  We have seen motor burnouts, loud noises, single directional flow, and potential electrical hazards.  EXAIR manufactures a liquid pump to remove all those issues; the Reversible Drum Vac System.  It does not have any moving parts to wear; a two-way action to fill or expel liquid from standard drums; and is quiet.  They only use compressed air to generate a powerful vacuum to lift liquid; and with a simple twist of the knob, it will push the liquid out.  And by using compressed air, no electricity is needed, making it safe.  They work great for fluid transfers or liquid spills, and they can fill a 55-gallon (208L) drum in 90 seconds.  How can this product be useful for you?  If you work with liquids like coolant, waste water or hydraulic oils, the Reversible Drum Vac System is a simple reliable product to have at your facility.  In this blog, I will go over the specifications and packages that EXAIR offers.

The Reversible Drum Vac has stainless steel construction for corrosion resistance.  It comes with a built-in safety relief valve to avoid over pressurizing and an internal float to stop any over-filling of the drum.  The air consumption is minimal; 19 SCFM (538 SLPM) at 80 PSIG (5.5 Bar), and has a low noise level of only 86 dBA.  Systems are available in 5, 30, 55 and 110 gallon capacities (19L, 114L, 208L, and 418L respectively) in different packages.

Mini Reversible Drum Vac System

The 5-gallon size is our Mini Reversible Drum Vac System.  They are designed for tight spaces, quick clean-ups, and small sumps.  We offer two types of systems; the Standard and the Deluxe.  The Standard System, model 6196-5, will come with a 5-gallon drum, two-way pump assembly, shutoff valve, 10′ (3m) vacuum hose, a 90° quick release elbow, an aluminum chip wand, ABS spill recovery kit, two extension wands, a crevice tool, and a skimmer tool.  The Deluxe System, model 6296-5, will include every item in the model 6195-5 plus a 5-gallon drum dolly.

For the larger capacities, the Standard system will include the two-way pump assembly, shutoff valve, 10′ (3m) vacuum hose, a 90° quick release elbow, a standpipe, and an aluminum chip wand.  The standpipe is cut to length for the properly-sized drum (the drum is not included in this option).  The standpipe extends inside the drum to remove as much liquid as possible when emptying the drum. 

The Deluxe system will include all of the items shown above in the Standard system and adds a drum dolly, ABS spill recovery kit, (2) extension wands, crevice tool, skimmer tool and a magnetic tool holder.

The Premium system will include all of the items in the Standard System and adds the drum with lock ring and lid, upgraded heavy duty aluminum tools, ABS spill recovery kit, (2) crevice tools, skimmer tool, a magnetic tool holder and a 20′ (6m) compressed air hose.

Like I mentioned above, not all liquid vacuums are the same.  The EXAIR Reversible Drum Vac System is maintenance-free for long-lasting use in industrial environments.  We offer a 30-day unconditional guarantee for U.S. and Canadian customers if you wish to try them out.  And from now until May 31, 2022; EXAIR is having a promotion.  With a purchase of one of our Industrial Housekeeping Products, you will receive a Vac-u-Gun with a vacuum bag, a $133.00 value, with qualified purchases.   If you have any questions about the Reversible Drum Vac System or any of our other Industrial Housekeeping Products, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We will be happy to help you.

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