Tag: reduce sound level

What is Sound, and How Can You Reduce It?

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

Many manufacturing plants have a strong focus on safety for their workers.  One major safety concern that is commonly overlooked is noise.   Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has a directive that defines the noise exposure over a time-weighted average; 29CFR 1910.95(a).   For an eight-hour day, the maximum noise level is 90 dBA.  The Center for Disease Control, CDC, reports that “approximately 18% of all manufacturing workers have hearing difficulty”1.

What is sound?  In the simplest of terms, a decibel is one-tenth of a bel.  Historically, bel was a unit created to honor Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone.  Like the frequency waves that travel through telephone wires, pressure waves travel through the air as sound.  This sound pressure is what our ears can detect as loudness.  EXAIR offers a Digital Sound Level Meter, model 9104, that is calibrated and can measure sound in decibels.  It is very important to know the sound level, as it can permanently damage your ears.

Here is a test for you.  If you go and stand in your plant, you can probably hear loud noises coming from your compressed air system.  EXAIR has an engineered product to solve most of them.  On the Hierarchy of Controls for NIOSH, Personal Protection Equipment, PPE, is the least effective.  A better control would be to isolate your operators from the hazard with an engineered product.  EXAIR can offer that solution for many of your blow-offs and pneumatic discharges to reduce noise levels.  This would include; but not be limited to; Super Air Nozzles, Safety Air Guns, Super Air Knives, and Super Air Amplifiers. 

Let’s look at a ¼” open copper tube.  It can create a sound level of over 100 dBA.  They are commonly used because they are readily available and inexpensive to make.  But they waste a lot of compressed air, as well as creating a hazard for your operators.  Just by adding a model 1100 Super Air Nozzle to the end of the copper tube, we can reduce the noise level to 74 dBA at 80 PSIG (5.5 bar).  Wow!  Not only will it remove the hazard, but it will reduce the amount of compressed air usage; saving you money.  Here is a quick video to show the importance of the EXAIR Super Air Nozzles.

At EXAIR, we have a statement, “Safety is everyone’s responsibility.”  EXAIR manufactures engineered products with high quality, safety, and efficiency in mind.  To keep your operators safe, EXAIR offers many different types of blow-off products that are designed to decrease noise to a safe level.  So, here’s to Alexander Graham Bell for creating the telephone, which you can use to contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We will be happy to help to reduce your sound levels. 

John Ball
Application Engineer


Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Note 1: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ohl/manufacturing.html

What is a Decibel Level?

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Decibel level also known as dBA, is how the industry measures sound intensity’s effect on the human ear and is an important value when discussing noise exposure for employees and operators within manufacturing. Manufacturing personnel can be at risk for hearing damage when exposed to high decibel levels if the proper precautions are not taken. For reference, 0 dBA is the softest level that a person can hear. Normal speaking voices are around 65 dBA. A rock concert can be about 120 dBA.

Sounds that are 85 dBA or above can permanently damage your ears. The more sound pressure a sound has, the less time it takes to cause damage. This damage occurs within a sensitive part of our ear called the cochlea, which contain thousands of hair cells used to allow our brains to detect sounds. For example, a sound at 85 dBA may take as long at 8 hours to cause permanent damage, while a sound at 100 dBA can start damaging hair cells after only 30 minutes of listening.

OSHA Max Noise Exposure Chart

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 22 million workers are exposed to potentially damaging noise at work each year. Whether you work near machinery, at a sports venue, on a tarmac, or operate a jackhammer—hearing loss is preventable.

Noise may be a problem in your workplace if you:

  • Hear ringing or humming in your ears when you leave work.
  • Have to shout to be heard by a coworker an arm’s length away.
  • Experience temporary hearing loss when leaving work.

If you need to raise your voice to speak to someone 3 feet away, noise levels might be over 85 decibels. Sound-measuring instruments are available to measure the noise levels in a workspace.

The first step to lowering your sound level is to take a baseline reading of your various processes and devices that are causing the noise. EXAIR’s Sound Level Meter, Model 9104, is an easy to use instrument that provides a digital readout of the sound level. They come with an NIST traceable calibration certificate and will allow you to determine what processes and areas are causing the most trouble.

From there, EXAIR has a wide range of Intelligent Compressed Air Products® that are designed to reduce compressed air consumption as well as sound levels. For noisy blowoffs where you’re currently using an open-ended pipe or a loud commercial air nozzle, EXAIR’s Super Air Nozzles are the ideal solution. Not only can they pay for themselves over a short period of time time due to compressed air savings, but your operators will thank you when they’re able to hear later on in life!

 EXAIR has the tools you need to reduce sound level in your processes. If you’d like to talk to an Application Engineer about any applications that you feel could benefit from a sound reduction, give us a call.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS

Reduce Sound Level in your Factory, Improve Worker Safety and Comfort

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

Checking the sound level in your processes is an important aspect of ensuring a safe working environment for your employees. Loud noises and the exposure time can lead to significant health concerns. Permanent hearing loss, increased stress levels due to the uncomfortable work environment, and potential injury due to lack of concentration or inability to hear the surroundings are all examples of some risks associated with a noisy environment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, known by most simply as OSHA, introduced Standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a) as a means of protecting operators from injury associated with high noise levels. The chart below indicates maximum allowable exposure time based on different noise levels. At just 90 dBA, an operator can operate safely for 8 hours. Open end pipe blowoffs and some air guns fitted with cross drilled relief holes will often result in noise levels in excess of 100 dBA. At 110 dBA, permanent hearing loss can be experienced in just 30 minutes!

OSHA Chart

The first step to lowering your sound level is to take a baseline reading of your various processes and devices that are causing the noise. EXAIR’s Sound Level Meter, Model 9104, is an easy to use instrument that provides a digital readout of the sound level. They come with an NIST traceable calibration certificate and will allow you to determine what processes and areas are causing the most trouble.

SoundMeter_new_nist225

From there, EXAIR has a wide range of Intelligent Compressed Air Products® that are designed to reduce compressed air consumption as well as sound levels. For noisy blowoffs where you’re currently using an open-ended pipe or a loud cross-drilled nozzle, EXAIR’s Super Air Nozzles are the ideal solution. Not only will they pay for themselves over time due to compressed air savings, but your operators will thank you when they’re able to hear later on in life!!

Drilled pipe is another common culprit of high noise levels. Rather than purchasing an engineered solution, the idea is that a simple drilled pipe is just as effective right? Not at all!! Not only does a drilled pipe produce exceptionally high sound levels, but the amount of compressed air used is also very inefficient. EXAIR’s Super Air Knife is available in lengths ranging from 3”-108” and has a sound level of just 69 dBA at 80 PSIG. At this sound level, operators won’t even require hearing protection at all!

SAK vs drilled pipe
EXAIR’s Super Air Knife is the ideal solution for replacing noisy, inefficient drilled pipe

With all of these products available in stock, EXAIR has the tools you need to reduce sound level in your processes. If you’d like to talk to an Application Engineer about any applications that you feel could benefit from a sound reduction, give us a call.

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

Reduce Sound Level with EXAIR’s Flat Super Air Nozzles

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

2san_blowaway
EXAIR’s Flat Super Air Nozzles have been blowing away the competition since 2003.

The patented design of EXAIR’s 1” and 2” Flat Super Air Nozzles make them a highly efficient option when seeking a powerful, flat airflow. A precise air gap across the width of the nozzle provides a forceful stream of high velocity, laminar airflow without consuming high amounts of compressed air and also resulting in a greatly reduced sound level compared to some of the alternative flat nozzles available in the market.

EXAIR’s Flat Super Air Nozzles are safe, reliable, and efficient. Here on the EXAIR Blog we frequently discuss dead-end pressure as explained in OSHA Standard 1910.242(b). This directive states that the when compressed air is used for cleaning purposes, the dead-ended pressure must not exceed 30 psig. When pressures greater than this occur, there is potential for an air embolism.

EXAIR’s Flat Super Air Nozzles cannot be dead-ended, which allows us to operate at pressures well above the 30 psig limit. Some competition markets their nozzles as “Extremely Quiet”, but a deeper look into their performance specifications shows that the published sound level reading was taken at a pressure of 29 psig. They must use a pressure of 29 psig because the nozzles are not OSHA compliant at pressures exceeding 30 psig. For the same competitive nozzle, there is no path for air to escape if the nozzle were to be dead-ended or pressed up against the skin. At 29 psig, the nozzle simply isn’t very effective as it doesn’t provide enough force for most applications. This very same nozzle, when operated at 80 psig, actually has a sound level of 85 dBA.

2inNozzlehand_800x

EXAIR’s Model 1122 delivers more force, more efficiently, and at a sound level of just 77 dBA at 80 psig. Remember, sound levels are expressed in dBA as a logarithmic function. This represents a decrease in sound level by 60%! If you’re looking for a means of reducing sound level in your plant, EXAIR’s 1” and 2” Flat Super Air Nozzles are just what you need.

In addition to being very quiet EXAIR’s flat super air nozzles integrate a shim used to adjust the air gap, which changes the maximum airflow and force. Thicker shims will produce more force and flow, while a thinner shim would do just the opposite.Some applications require more force and some require less, which is not always achieved through simple pressure adjustments so the shims provide the flexibility needed for success.

They’re on the shelf in stock. With same day shipping on orders placed by 3:00 ET and an Unconditional 30-Day Guarantee, there’s no excuse to not give them a try!

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD