Tag: reduce

Happy Earth Day 2019!

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Today marks the 49th annual Earth Day and it will be observed in over 193 countries.  For EXAIR, this year marks our 36th year helping compressed air users save compressed air energy and electrical resources.

It is also another year that we continue to focus on manufacturing our products with minimal impact and doing our part to help protect our planet. We are proud to manufacture efficient products, implement processes and programs throughout our facility to help use our resources wisely and recycle everything we possibly can. 

First and foremost, we manufacture and sell Intelligent Compressed Air Products that are specifically designed to reduce the use of compressed air throughout facilities.  On top of that, when you purchase an EXAIR product it will arrive in fully recyclable packaging and, in most cases, is made from a material that will be recyclable should it reach a point it is no longer useful.

Over the past years we continually look for improvement opportunities within our systems and processes. Recently we have made improvements to the efficiency of our computers and computer servers which require fewer Kilowatt hours (KWH) per day. We have further reduced our wastewater for reclamation by another 17%, and minimized our own compressed air use by 1 million cubic feet.

We use our very own Chip Trapper Systems in our manufacturing areas to extend the water soluble coolant life from 6 weeks per changeover to 6 months per changeover. Keeping our coolant clean allows us to minimize the total amount of wastewater we recycle each year. 

EXAIR recycles 100% of the metal scrap from our machining processes, which equates to 6.5 tons. Our cardboard and mixed paper products are also recycled 100%. Of the waste we place into our trash dumpsters – 80% is recycled and 20% is sent to the landfill.     

In total over the past year, EXAIR recycled 36.6 tons of paper and cardboard which equates to 80% of the solid waste we produce is recycled.  We focus on more ways to improve this percentage every year.

Another waste reducing factor that has proven to work out well for EXAIR is asking every customer if they accept digital invoices rather than requiring them to be printed and mailed.   Thanks to our wonderful customers we have been able to eliminate 91% of all printed and mailed invoices which helps to reduce our resources used as well as the amount of materials that are possibly turned into solid wastes at their facilities. This also prevents the gas and vehicles necessary to deliver all of these invoices by mail. 

On top of all the efforts above, we also continue to maintain RoHS compliance on all electronic products, as well as actively track our supply chains to ensure no Conflict Minerals are being sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

If you have any questions on how we can help your facility reduce their volume of compressed air or why we continue to reduce our wastes and increase our recycling efforts, contact us.

Happy Earth Day from EXAIR!

 

Image Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

The Value Of A Pressure Regulator At Every Point Of Use

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regulator
EXAIR Pressure Regulator

To understand the value of a having a Pressure Regulator at every point of use we should start with identifying the two types of Pressure Regulators, Direct Acting & Pilot Operated.  Direct Acting are the least expensive and most common (as shown above), however they may provide less control over the outlet pressure, especially if they are not sized properly.  However when sized properly they do an outstanding job.  Pilot Operated Regulators incorporate a smaller auxiliary regulator to supply the required system pressure to a large diaphragm located on the main valve that in turn regulates the pressure.  The Pilot Operated Regulators are more accurate and more expensive making them less attractive to purchase.  The focus of this Blog will be on the Direct Acting Pressure Regulator.

The Direct Acting Pressure Regulator is designed to maintain a constant and steady air pressure downstream to ensure whatever device is attached to it is operated at the minimum pressure required to achieve efficient operation.  If the end use is operated without a regulator or at a higher pressure than required, it result’s in increased air demand and energy use. To clarify this point, if you operate your compressed air system at 102 PSI it will cost you 1% more in electric costs than if the system was set to run at 100 PSI! Also noteworthy is that unregulated air demands consume about 1% more flow for every PSI of additional pressure.  Higher pressure levels can also increase equipment wear which results in higher maintenance costs and shorter equipment life.

Sizing of the Air Regulator is crucial, if it is too small to deliver the air volume required by the point of use it can cause a pressure drop in that line which is called “droop”.  Droop is defined as “the drop in pressure at the outlet of a pressure regulator, when a demand for compressed air occurs”.  One commonly used practice is to slightly oversize the pressure regulator to minimize droop.  Fortunately we at EXAIR specify the correct sized Air Regulator required to operate our devices so you will not experience the dreaded “droop”!

Standard Air Knife Kit
EXAIR Standard Air Knife Kit Which Incudes Shims, Properly Sized Pressure Regulator & Filter Separator

Another advantage to having a Pressure Regulator at every point of use is the flexibilty of making pressure adjustments to quickly change to varying production requirements.  Not every application will require a strong blast sometimes a gentle breeze will accomplish the task.  As an example one user of the EXAIR Super Air Knife employs it as an air curtain to prevent product contamination (strong blast) and another to dry different size parts (gentle breeze) coming down their conveyor.

EXAIR products are highly engineered and are so efficient that they can be operated at lower pressures and still provide exceptional performance!  This save’s you money considering compressed air on the average cost’s .25 cents per 1000 SCFM.

Super Air Knife Performance
EXAIR Super Air Knife Performance Specifications At 5 Different Pressures.

If you would like to discuss Air Regulators or quiet and efficient compressed air devices, I would enjoy hearing from you…give me a call.

Steve Harrison
Application Engineer
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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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I think we have all heard the mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – a phrase that is thought to have originated back in 70’s when environmental protection became a governmental policy.

We at EXAIR can help your company follow this important principle and help to keep your costs down as well.

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Reduce – Reduce the number of times you change out your coolant, reduce your wastewater. Our Reversible Drum VAcs and Chip Trappers help keep your coolant clean by providing a simple and effective method to remove and/or strain your coolant.

Also, remember this – they are VERY hard to break or ruin. If you have one of our liquid handling Reversible Drum Vacs or Chip Trapper units, and the performance isn’t quite as you remember it to be, give us a call.   We can help to trouble shoot and narrow in on the root cause.  Most of the time, it is a simple fix, such as a air leak or a change to the air supply system that has caused a drop in performance. If we have eliminated all of those possible causes, we can offer the RDVREFURB option. Simply send in your Reversible Drum Vac pump unit, and we will do a free evaluation. Then we’ll let you know what we find, and provide a quote for the repair.  The repair typically involves a thorough cleaning, replacement of a few basic parts, and then setting and testing to original factory specification.  Because the unit has no moving parts, there isn’t much that can break down or go wrong.  Don’t throw away that unit, REDUCE the amount of waste you create.

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Reuse – Maybe you have a Super Air Knife in storage that is not in use, and you come up with a need, but the Knife doesn’t quite match the application.  We can provide new custom shim to change the air flow pattern.  Perhaps you have a 24″ Super Air Knife, but the new application requires only 18″ of airflow.  You can send the knife in and we can clean it up and install a new custom shim to provide the exact airflow pattern that meets your requirements.  Or, we can send the new shim directly to you for your team to install. Don’t let the unused product lie around, REUSE it for another process or application.

Super Air Knife

Recycle – If for what ever reason a product has been deemed to be no-longer viable and cannot be reused, the time comes to dispose of it.  We hope that you would take the time to recycle it properly. With materials of construction including brass, aluminum and type 303 and type 316 stainless steels, most EXAIR products can be RECYCLED as common metals and you may even get a little money back!

To discuss your processes and how an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product can provide a beneficial service, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our other Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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Photo Credit – “Recycling” by Andy Arthur is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Safety – When You Least Expect It You Need it Most

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The cold weather kept me indoors this weekend and I conceded to being a couch potato in front of the TV. One of the shows I watched was the lumberjack competitions – and let me tell you, those guys are crazy. Standing on a board wedged into a notch in the side of a tree, up 40 feet in the air and swinging an ax is just not safe. But, that was the way it was done in the early days before mandated safety rules.

Afterward, I watched a little news only to see hundreds of motorists stranded in their cars due to inclement weather. Folks were on their way home from work and ended up sleeping in their cars. I know it is recommended that you carry an emergency kit in your car but I never gave it any thought it would be needed it in the city. Then I was jolted from my couch when the smoke alarms went off. I forgot about my buffalo wings in the oven. Wow! What if I had left the house?

In the workplace, compressed air safety should be a top priority. Open compressed air lines are extremely noisy and can cause permanent hearing loss which is addressed  OSHA Standard 29 CFR – 1910.95 (a) regarding the allowable noise exposure. High pressure compressed air can pierce the skin and enter the blood stream, causing a dangerous blood embolism – this is why OSHA has standard CFR 1910.242(b), 30 PSI maximum dead end pressure for compressed air blow off.

One of the main issues with regulating all of your compressed air lines to less than thirty psig is, thirty psig does not provide a very effective blow off.  With EXAIR’s  engineered nozzles the air can be kept at higher line pressure and still meet or exceed the OSHA standard. Higher pressure equate to higher velocity and more force upon your application. Because of this, we can solve the application, keep compressed air to a minimum, and keep safety a top priority.

Air Nozzle and Safety Air Gun

EXAIR nozzles are safe, provide very effective blow off, and reduce compressed air consumption. By design they produce output flow up to 25 times the compressed air consumed. For more information or help with your application call our application engineers at 1-800-903-9247

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