Tag: pump

Line Vac Assists Pump Bottle Assembling

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

We have a customer in the packaging industry who packages liquid soap into bottles. Part of the process involves loading the push-pump dispenser into a capping machine to be assembled to the bottle after filling.

The problem was that the push-pumps came in cardboard boxes which had to be wheeled over to the machine and dumped into the hopper. This was rather difficult as the top of the hopper on the capping machine was over eight feet off the ground. So, the customer went looking for some sort of solution to suck the pumps up out of the box and into his hopper.

Fortunately, he found EXAIR Corporation and our Line Vac product. We discussed the rate at which he needed to convey the product, the distance and the dimensions of the parts. All was well suited for the 4” Aluminum Line Vac Model 6086. The customer tried a few different configurations with the Line Vac and his hose because manipulating a 4” hose around isn’t all that easy to do. So the customer came up with an ingenious little waist-high platform with the vacuum feed on one side into which the parts could be slid into and vacuumed up to the hopper.

The customer is going to evaluate the effectiveness for this method of loading. He was planning on a time savings of at least 10 minutes per box to fill the hopper. He is also banking on the fact that it is now a safer application because an operator no longer has to climb a ladder to fill the hopper.

Are you in the packaging industry? Do you have an odd-shaped product that you could use to move from point A to point B rather quickly?  Perhaps you have a hopper that needs to be filled? Give one of our Application Engineers a call today to discuss your application.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

 

Priming the Pump

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk to a customer who was looking to prime a pump to remove a liquid out of an 8 foot deep tank.  He was pulling in the liquid through 1 1/2″ pipe and wanted to prime the pump in 5 seconds.  This was an interesting application for me, because it had some tangible numbers for the design.  In most applications with the E-Vac Vacuum Generators, a customer needs to lift something heavy and they need the job done fast. Those terms are very subjective, and we have to try and prognosticate what vacuum generator will work for the customer. Yesterday was different, the customer had some really defined limits, and I knew what I needed to do in order to satisfy the application.  The engineer in me was very happy with the situation.

Let’s start with the parameters.  He was looking to lift water 8 feet vertically.  8 feet of water corresponds to 7.06 inches of mercury.  The porous E-Vac can generate vacuum up to 21 inches of mercury and the non-porous E-vacs can generate 27 inches of mercury, so all of the E-Vac models can easily draw the liquid up the 8 feet of piping.  This is where most vacuum generator applications stop, but not this one.  If time is not a concern the 800001 will use the least amount of air (1.5 SCFM @ 80 PSIG of inlet) and get the job done, but how long will it take?

This is where you need to use the evacuation charts, from EXAIR.com. Below are two charts from the “Specs” tab for Inline E-Vacs.

E-Vac porous evacuation time

Non-porous Evacuation time

The 1 1/2″ Pipe that is 8 ft. long has volume of around .1 cubic foot.  We need to generate at least a 7.06 inches of mercury, so we will look at the 9 inches of mercury column. It will take the 810002 17.85 seconds to evacuate 1 cubic foot of pipe.  The 800001 will take 14.40 seconds to evacuate the same volume, and  it will use less air.  We will want to use the porous vacuum generator, because we don’t need a very high vacuum to get the job done. If the 800001 can evacuate 1 cubic foot in 14.40 seconds it should be able to evacuate .1 cubic foot in 1.44 seconds which is easily fast enough for the customer.  The math also told us the customer could use up to 27.7 feet of hose to lift up that 8 feet, if he needed to take a non linear path.  If we know that the customer needed to move the fluid more that 27.7 feet, we could move up to the next vacuum generator to get the job done faster, but it was not necessary in this application.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
Davewoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW

I’m Back! But My A4 Isn’t…Commence Troubleshooting

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

Last week I enjoyed the company of Airtec Servicios, Dansar Industries, and Global Automation (EXAIR’s distributors in Mexico and parts of South America).  We met in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, for an EXAIR training event that covered all topics of EXAIR products.

Following my return to the States, I dug into a project at home that I’ve been working on here-and-there; my 98 Audi A4.  In an earlier blog post I showed the damage done to the cylinder head when a valve-train component failed and a few valves were bent.  After rebuilding the cylinder heads on a bench here at EXAIR, I finally got the engine back together and hit the key for the first time since I bought the car.

Fortunately, the valve timing was perfect and the engine fired right up.  Unfortunately, however, was the terrible knock from the bottom half of the engine – the half I left untouched during the initial repair.  (See image below for my feeling on the issue)

Lie_down_try_not_to_cry_cry_a_lot_cleaned_525Now I’m faced with a dilemma of the best course to take, and after chewing it over, I’ve decided to open up the bottom half of the engine and make the repair.  The most likely cause for the noise is a defective wrist pin or connecting rod.  When I open it up, I’ll be sure to take pics and share for those interested. I had thought repairing the top half of the engine would make the fix because most of the time that is the case. Similarly, we occasionally experience reduced performance in our Reversible Drum Vac. Most of the time (I’d speculate 95%-99%) a simple cleaning is all that is needed (see video demonstration here) because this product has no moving parts there is little to go wrong. Occasionally it is another issue that is causing reduced performance; for these times we have the Reversible Drum Vac troubleshooting guide:

lit6203-Reversible Drum Vac Troubleshooting

So, sometime soon I’ll run through the next troubleshooting steps for the engine in the A4. If you need help troubleshooting an EXAIR product or a compressed air application, please contact EXAIR.

In the meantime, the A4 is relaxing, hanging loose at home – and I am too.  Mexico was wonderful, and the people were more than kind.  But, it feels good to be home.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Old & Worn Out

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Over the weekend I had the opportunity to help a dear friend with a weekend project. Being in his late 70’s it was a little more strenuous than what he was capable of. Then, me being in my mid 60’s, I found out that I was not the man I used to be. It’s very disappointing that as we age our physical endurance diminishes. I have always done my own work and now find myself needing assistance as did my more elderly friend. Very hard to accept and cope with.Drum Vac

Except for wine and cheese, products we use deteriorate with age. Not the EXAIR Reversible Drum Vac though. With no moving parts and operating on compressed air, they will vacuum fluids indefinitely.

With the turn of a knob, the compressed air powered Reversible Drum Vac will fill or empty a 55 – gallon drum in 90 seconds. Coolant sumps can be easily refilled, floor spills vacuumed, or contaminated liquids transferred.

Would you like to learn more about this awesome tireless product? Call 1-800-903-9247 and ask to speak to an application engineer.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax (513) 671-3363
Web: http://www.exair.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair