Are you an OEM? Some of the largest concerns for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are supply chain interruptions, quality issues, confidence in suppliers, and pricing. In today’s market, changes occur frequently, and you need to rely on a supplier that can meet those changes. With pneumatic blow-offs, static elimination, atomizing nozzles, pneumatic conveying, and electrical panel cooling, EXAIR can be that supplier for you.
Since the establishment of EXAIR in 1983, customer satisfaction, quality, and quick turnaround have always been the cornerstone of our business model. And with this type of business model, our company continues to grow each year. Now EXAIR is recognized as a brand of excellence worldwide. With thousands of products in stock, we are able to ship with over a 99.9% on-time delivery. EXAIR offers free expert technical advice and shares solutions to pneumatic issues through EXAIR Blogs, application library, and social media. You can watch a quick video about EXAIR below.
Many companies are global and have plants and facilities throughout the world. If details like cost savings, safety, increased productivity, problem-solving, and energy efficiency were shared with affiliates, it would be very beneficial for everyone. It can help to grow profits, protect employees, improve throughput, and save energy, which will help to protect the environment. Since EXAIR is a leader in these areas of compressed air products, we can help you and your partners with pneumatic solutions. EXAIR sells direct in the USA, and we have over 50 distributors located throughout the rest of the world. If we do not have a distributor in your area, EXAIR does have an International Department that can assist you directly.
Why would you rely on lesser component parts that could affect your brand? This could be due to late deliveries, quality problems, and/or issues in the field. EXAIR can save you and your customers that headache. If you or your affiliates use compressed air to cool, dry, clean, convey, vacuum, or remove static electricity, EXAIR can improve these processes. With our large inventory, technical support, and quality design, we can accommodate the excellence that you expect from your supplier. You can contact us by phone at 800-903-9247, Chat, or email Application Engineers. We will be happy to assist you.
EXAIR has been manufacturing Intelligent Compressed Air® products since 1983. In the beginning, the Standard Air Knives and Full Flow Air Knives were very effective at that time. But as leaders in this market, EXAIR did not want to stop there. We were able to engineer a more efficient, more powerful, and safer air knife, the Super Air Knife. In this blog, I will discuss the features and benefits that the Super Air Knives can offer.
Bernoulli’s principle explains how a high velocity fluid can generate a low pressure. The Super Air Knife creates that high velocity air stream to produce a low pressure above and below the opening to entrain ambient air. What does this mean for you? The low pressure entrains the surrounding ambient air, adding it into the total airflow, and uses less compressed air. The mass of the free ambient air is added into the air stream to give a strong blowing force. The Super Air Knife has an amplification ratio of 40:1. For every 1 part of compressed air, 40 parts of ambient air is drawn into the blowing air stream. Ambient air is free, and compressed air is definitely not. EXAIR was able to engineer a design, using Bernoulli’s principle, to make the most efficient air knives in the marketplace.
Super Air Knife
Another benefit is they blow a laminar air stream which reduces noise levels and create a consistent force along the entire length. An even force will give you tighter control for blowing applications which will cut compressed air usage unlike the inconsistent and turbulent air flows caused by drilled pipes, manifolds of nozzles or blower-type systems. Some other interesting features for the Super Air Knives are that they have a compact design to fit into tight places for blowing and cooling. The footprint is very small as compared to blower-air knife systems. They do not have any moving parts to wear or maintenance to do. They only need clean compressed air to work.
What else makes the Super Air Knives unchallenged? We manufacture and stock the widest range in lengths and materials. To start, Super Air Knives range from 3” to 108” (76mm to 2,743mm) in three different materials; aluminum, 303 stainless steel, and 316/316L stainless steel. There is no-one else in this industry that can manufacture to those lengths. EXAIR also offers Super Air Knives in PVDF material with Hastelloy hardware for chemical resistant applications from 3” to 54” (76mm to 1,372mm). Depending on the temperature requirement, chemical resistance, OSHA and FDA regulations, or application details, we are confident there is one on the shelf for your application. IF you order by 2pm, EXAIR will ship same day.
If EXAIR does not stock it, we make special air knives in different lengths and materials to best fit your application. In some confined areas, the Super Air Knives may have to fit inside a specific width or footprint. Well, EXAIR can make it to that specific width in a short period. We have also made special designed Air Knives that were very thin, curved, double-sided, and with distinct mounting holes to easily attach to specific machines or operations. And if you need a special material, like the PVC Super Air Knife below, we can do that. EXAIR has a team of Application Engineers that can help you with the design, configuration, and details for special types of Super Air Knives.
PVC Super Air Knife
Double-sided Super Air Knife
We also offer the Super Air Knives in kits as a more complete system. The kit includes a filter, regulator and a Shim Set. The filter removes the debris and water from the compressed air line to optimize the performance of the air knife as well as keeping your product clean. The regulator is used to make the “fine” adjustment to the blowing force while the shim set is used as the “coarse” adjustment. EXAIR sells this kit as one model number for simple ordering, and the accessories are properly sized to not hinder the performance of the Super Air Knife.
Super Air Knife Kits include a Shim Set, Filter Separator, and Pressure Regulator.
With the today’s cost to make compressed air, it is important to do it as efficiently as possible. The EXAIR Super Air Knives are the most efficient as well as safe and effective. And if you need a specific design for your application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. We will be glad to help you.
EXAIR has been manufacturing Intelligent Compressed Air® products since 1983. In the beginning, the Standard Air Knives and Full Flow Air Knives were very effective at that time. But as leaders in this market, EXAIR did not want to stop there. We were able to engineer a more efficient, more powerful, and much safer air knife, the Super Air Knife. In this blog, I will discuss the features and benefits that the Super Air Knives can offer.
Bernoulli’s principle explains how a high velocity fluid can generate a low pressure. The Super Air Knife creates that high velocity air stream to produce a low pressure above and below the opening to entrain ambient air. What does this mean for you? It will save you much money by using less compressed air. The mass of the free ambient air is added into the air stream to give a strong blowing force. The Super Air Knife has an amplification ratio of 40:1. For every 1 part of compressed air, 40 parts of ambient air is drawn into the blowing air stream. Ambient air is free, and compressed air is definitely not. EXAIR was able to engineer a design to use the Bernoulli’s principle to make one of the most efficient air knives in the market place.
Super Air Knife
As a benefit, they blow a laminar air stream which reduces noise levels and create a consistent force along the entire length. An even force will give you tighter control for blowing applications which will cut compressed air usage unlike the inconsistent and turbulent air flows caused by drilled pipes, manifolds of nozzles or blower-type systems. Some other interesting features for the Super Air Knives are that they have a compact design to fit into tight places for blowing and cooling. The footprint is very small as compared to blower-air knife systems. They do not have any moving parts to wear or maintenance to do. They only need clean compressed air to work.
What else makes the Super Air Knives unchallenged? We manufacture and stock the widest range in lengths and materials. To start, Super Air Knives range from 3” to 108” (76mm to 2,743mm) in three different materials; aluminum, 303 stainless steel, and 316/316L stainless steel. There is no-one else in this industry that can manufacture to those lengths. EXAIR also offers Super Air Knives in PVDF material with Hastelloy hardware for chemical resistant applications from 3” to 54” (76mm to 1,372mm). Depending on the temperature requirement, chemical resistance, OSHA and FDA regulations, or application details, we probably will have one on the shelf for you.
If EXAIR does not stock it, we make special air knives in different lengths and materials to best fit your application. In some confined areas, the Super Air Knives may have to fit inside a specific width or footprint. Well, EXAIR can make it to that specific length in a short period. We have also made special designed Air Knives that were very thin, curved, double-sided, and with distinct mounting holes to easily attach to specific machines or operations. And if you need a special material, like the PVC Super Air Knife below, we can do that. EXAIR has a team of Application Engineers that can help you with the design, configuration, and details for special types of Super Air Knives.
PVC Super Air Knife
Double-sided Super Air Knife
We also offer the Super Air Knives in kits as a more complete system. The kit includes a filter, regulator and a Shim Set. The filter removes the debris and water from the compressed air line to optimize the performance of the air knife as well as keeping your product clean. The regulator is used to make the “fine” adjustment to the blowing force while the shim set is used as the “coarse” adjustment. EXAIR sells this kit as one model number for simple ordering, and the accessories are properly sized to not hinder the performance of the Super Air Knife.
Super Air Knife Kits include a Shim Set, Filter Separator, and Pressure Regulator.
With the today’s cost to make compressed air, it is important to do it as efficiently as possible. The EXAIR Super Air Knives are the most efficient as well as safe and effective. And if you need a specific design for your application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. We will be glad to help you.
A few weeks ago I participated in a series of three events that spanned the course of three days. Each of these events was through a company called GORUCK which manufactures American made gear and conducts endurance events led by Special Forces Cadre that use some of the training methods they have experienced throughout their career in the armed forces. GORUCK also works alongside service projects that help to better and empower veterans as well as their communities. I believe this tag from their page says it best. “So, yes we build gear. Yes, we lead events, build teams, and strengthen communities. But only because if we didn’t, we’d have to find some other way to change the world, one day at a time.” (GORUCK,2020)
Our custom team weight, weighing in at 25 lbs. Commemorating the battle of A Shau Valley
Our custom team weight weighing in at 25 lbs and commemorating the battle for A Shau Valley
The events that weekend were to commemorate and tell the story of a battle from Vietnam, specifically the battles for A Shau Valley. This is where the battle that became known as Hamburger Hill took place. The valley was an unforgiving place that came with many disadvantages to try and overtake. For example, the elevation goes from 2,000 feet above sea level in the valley to 5,000 ft and anywhere in between thanks to the surrounding mountain ridges.
The valley is also a triple canopy jungle making air support and recon extremely difficult. This valley was a supply chain during the war and there is still turmoil as to whether the battles were necessary as there were many lives lost and several other options that would have achieved a similar supply chain disruption. In the end, there were 17 Americans involved in a battle with a constantly changing number of support forces. 100% of the soldiers became casualties, 5 paid the ultimate sacrifice during the battle and there were 2 Congressional Medals of Honor given due to actions during the battle for Hamburger Hill.
Taking roll call and getting the lay of the land for the event.
To learn all of this we started out Friday evening at 2100 hr. in a park here in Cincinnati, on a basketball court. There were 23 of us total participating in the event as well as Cadre Steve our leader and then a great friend of mine who shadowed and photographed a great portion of the events. After some administration, we did a quick warmup where we quickly learned what it meant to be in sync and to move as a team. When doing physical exercises, in the dark, with 23 people from all walks of life and varying physical ability it can get interesting. With a team leader assigned by the Cadre, we made around a 1-mile movement as a group carrying with us an American Flag, GORUCK flag, six empty sandbags, and a team weight that weighed in at 25 lbs.
The movement was to a public sand volleyball court where the sandbags quickly went from empty to filled. Thus adding around 650 lbs of extra weight to the team. Each movement, from the point we stepped off to filling the bags became a task as we had to stay within a certain distance of each other, everyone wanted to go different speeds and the urban terrain was an added obstacle. Adding in the weight and suddenly the team will quickly realize how important communication as well as cooperative work and supporting one another is.
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We then moved to a small secluded area where the Cadre had done some excellent recon to locate a downed communication device that needed relocation. This was a downed telephone pole that we are estimating weighed in at well over 300 lbs and was around 20′ long. 6 people were assigned from the team to carry that and continued our movement to another park within the city limits that had no easy way to reach other than up and over several of the hills our great city offers. Around 5 miles later and 5 hours later we reached our destination to get some more history on the events that took place during the war.
Along the way, our tactics for the weight continued to vary and we eventually placed 9 people tripping over each other on the heavy communication device, then an additional six on the sandbags, two people on flags, one on the team weight, and the rest just falling in line. By the time we got to the park, everyone on the team had become exhausted, some believed they were carrying more of the load than others, people carrying sandbags would want to not carry weight and have to go under the log then back to a sandbag all because communications were breaking down and the team was beginning to fray at the seams.
At some point it is human nature to look outside rather than inside and begin to focus on what others aren’t doing rather than what you can personally do in order to improve the situation of everyone. The rhythm that the team had been keeping broke down with mental and physical fatigue. Once we had received some more knowledge on the battles the Cadre asked how we were doing and what could be done better. We gave the team leader at each of these sessions three items they did well and three items to improve on then they are removed from their position and another is placed before the next movement. This also helps those that were leaders to understand their importance when placed in a support role.
At this stop, we were able to pay out through exercises leaving the communications pole at a safe location and have a better understanding of how to better move as a team and be congruent even in the middle of the night. We were able to move faster and get to the last stopping point for more education then off to where we started everything at to finish out the event. From this point on we had constant communication, we were working fluidly as a team and everyone from the front to the back of the pack was in the know of what our goal was, our time, and what was needed to get there.
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During these events, every single person gets to fight their own minds and questions whether or not they are being an asset to the team or being a liability. It is when you are feeling weak, have pain, see others not struggling, or just get tired that this simple question can become devastating. That’s when everyone has to be willing to communicate and expose their weakness to their team in order for their team to support and help them overcome these internal hurdles. Not everyone gets there and not everyone can overcome. The team as a whole will grow closer and become far more effective if the members all experience this.
Experiencing this throughout the course of the night and seeing the kinds of opportunities that the team here at EXAIR has made possible for me to grow goes hand in hand. When someone here has not experienced an application, or we are weak within a certain area of knowledge or ability, the rest of the team will support, strengthen and ensure everyone makes it through. This is one reason that communication will always be one of the most important traits I can find in a team member. It is also one reason EXAIR continues to progress and continue forward even through trying times.
We communicate from the front all the way to the back of the building fluently and concisely. When something doesn’t happen then we know there is a problem and rather than focusing on blame or what went wrong the teams here all focus on the solution and then we can debrief once the issue is resolved. This leads to on-time and shipping accuracy percentages that continue to improve over the past decade. We place our team’s focus on being able to take care of our customers, give them a safe and efficient way to utilize compressed air and be easy to do business with throughout the entire process.
If you would like to discuss any compressed air application you may have or if you would like to discuss an interaction that you have had with us and share anything good or bad, please feel free to contact me directly.
