An aluminum smelting plant had been using our model 150300 Heavy Duty Line Vac for over a year. They wanted to share how extremely satisfied that they were with this product. They were expanding their operations, and it was easy for them to contact EXAIR to buy two more units. In this blog, I will share why they initially contacted EXAIR and why they continue to do so.
This company had a reactor that would melt 10 mm aluminum granules for die casting parts. They had a portable hopper that was filled with aluminum pellets (reference photo above). Before they started using the Heavy Duty Line Vac, the operators would have to use shovels to move the aluminum from the catch bin located below the hopper to the crucible inside the reactor. This operation was tedious, back-breaking, and time-consuming. After filling the crucible, they would have to do some housekeeping for the granules that fell during transport. With safety concerns and slow operations, they needed a better way to move the aluminum granules to the reactor. Hence, the reason for the first purchase of the model 150300 Heavy Duty Line Vac from EXAIR.
To expand a bit more on their operation, the hopper was placed roughly 10 feet (3 meters) away from the reactor, and the reactor used a hatch door that was 2 feet (0.6 meter) in diameter to expose the crucible. Since the crucible was inside the reactor, they wanted to govern the velocity to feed the aluminum pellets at a controlled rate. From flow and speed calculations, I found that the model 150300 would work the best for this particular application. As an added feature to the EXAIR Air-Operated Conveyors, the Heavy Duty Line Vac is easy to control with a simple compressed air regulator to balance the speed and vacuum to move the material in a manageable way. With the compact design, it worked well to attach a conveyance hose that would move the aluminum pellet directly through the hatch door and right into the crucible. This was a benefit for quick filling without much manual labor or cleanup.
The reasons that EXAIR continues to grow as a business are the quality of our products, the enormous stock that we carry, and the exceptional customer service. For these reasons, customers continue to return to EXAIR for solutions to pneumatic applications. The quality of our products is second to none. For the Heavy Duty Line Vacs, they are made from a hardened alloy material which makes them resistant to abrasion and wear. They also do not have any moving parts or motors; so they are reliable and long-lasting. The smelting company above have used the Heavy Duty Line Vac for over a year, and it is still working. Can you imagine the number of shovel scoops that was eliminated with the purchase of this air-operated conveyor? And, the work environment was safer ergonomically by removing the shovel loads and reducing cleanup. As for customer service, EXAIR is staffed with Application Engineers that are Subject Matter Experts. We can make recommendations to give you the best EXAIR product for your application. With our technical support, fast deliveries, and problem-solving products; it was an easy decision for the above company to purchase two more model 150300 Heavy Duty Line Vacs.
If your company relies on moving product from point A to point B, EXAIR has a range of Air Operated Conveyors to do this type of operation for you. From Threaded Line Vacs to Sanitary Flange Line Vacs to Heavy Duty Line Vacs, EXAIR stocks a variety of materials, types, and sizes to fit into your application. An Application Engineer is sitting by to help improve your system as we did with the smelting company above.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
