Tag: relief valve

The True Cost of Downtime: Reliability Pays for Itself

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

When a piece of equipment goes down, the cost isn’t limited to the replacement part.

Production stops. Employees wait. Maintenance gets pulled away from other projects. Orders can fall behind. Scrap and quality issues can increase. And depending on the process, a few minutes of downtime can quickly become a very expensive problem.

That’s why reliability should be considered during the design process, not after equipment begins to fail.

Downtime Costs More Than You Think

A previous EXAIR application provides a great example.

At an aluminum rodding facility, material accumulating underneath conveyors required regular cleaning and contributed to premature conveyor component failures. The problem was costing the facility more than $85,000 per year in cleaning expenses and approximately 7,100 minutes of unscheduled downtime.

EXAIR Super Air Knives were installed to prevent the material from accumulating underneath the conveyors. The total implementation cost was approximately $16,000, with the cleaning-cost savings alone producing a payback of less than three months.

Once downtime and reduced conveyor maintenance were considered, the return was even faster.

That example highlights an important point:

The purchase price of equipment is only one part of its true cost.

What Does an Hour of Downtime Really Cost?

The answer will be different for every facility.

When production stops, consider everything happening around that machine:

  • Lost production and throughput
  • Maintenance labor
  • Operator downtime
  • Overtime required to catch back up
  • Replacement parts
  • Scrap or damaged product
  • Expedited shipping
  • Missed delivery dates
  • Reduced equipment life
  • Customer dissatisfaction

A $500 component failure can easily create thousands of dollars in losses when everything surrounding that failure is considered.

Design the Failure Points Out

One way engineers can improve reliability is by reducing the number of components that can fail in the first place.

Many EXAIR products operate using compressed air with no moving parts.

There are no electric motors at the point of use. No bearings to replace. No belts to break. No gears to lubricate.

This design principle is used throughout products such as Super Air Knives, Air Nozzles, Air Amplifiers, Vortex Tubes, Cabinet Coolers, Line Vacs and E-Vacs.

Fewer moving components mean fewer opportunities for mechanical wear and unexpected failure.

Look Beyond the Purchase Price

The lowest initial purchase price isn’t necessarily the lowest-cost solution.

When evaluating equipment, consider its total cost of ownership:

Purchase Price + Installation + Maintenance + Replacement Parts + Downtime + Lost Production

A solution that costs slightly more initially but operates reliably for years can quickly become the less expensive option.

EXAIR has previously demonstrated this concept when comparing Cabinet Coolers with traditional refrigerant-based enclosure air conditioners. With no moving parts in the cooling device, Cabinet Coolers eliminate many of the motors and mechanical components that require periodic maintenance or replacement.

Reliability Has an ROI

Preventing downtime isn’t simply a maintenance objective.

It’s a productivity strategy.

Every failure point you can eliminate helps protect production, maintenance resources, delivery schedules and ultimately your bottom line.

When evaluating your next blowoff, cooling, conveying or vacuum application, don’t just ask:

“What does this solution cost?”

Ask:

“What could it cost us when this solution stops working?”

Sometimes the best way to reduce the cost of downtime is to design the potential failure out of the process entirely.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
E: JordanShouse@exair.com
O: (513) 671‑3322
F: (513) 671‑3363
A: 11510 Goldcoast Dr Cincinnati OH 45249
www.exair.com

Find time on my calendar by scheduling a meeting here.

Designing for Reliability: The Advantage of No Moving Parts

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

In industrial environments, reliability often starts with simplicity. Every motor, bearing, belt, blade, or other moving part added to a system introduces another potential point of wear or failure. When engineers are designing equipment for long-term operation, one of the simplest ways to improve reliability is to reduce the number of moving parts.

That is a major advantage of EXAIR compressed air products.

Fewer Moving Parts, Fewer Failure Points

Traditional industrial equipment often relies on electric motors, fans, pumps, or mechanical components to create airflow, cooling, conveying, or vacuum. These solutions can work well, but they also introduce components that eventually require attention.

Bearings wear. Motors can overheat. Belts stretch or break. Filters clog. Mechanical components require lubrication and preventive maintenance.

Many EXAIR products accomplish similar industrial tasks using compressed air with no moving parts.

With no motor to burn out and no bearings or belts to replace, maintenance requirements can be dramatically reduced.

Reliability Across the Plant

The no-moving-parts design can be found throughout the EXAIR product line.

Super Air Knives and Air Nozzles provide engineered airflow for blow off, drying and cooling without fans or rotating blades.

Proper position on Super Air Knives

Vortex Tubes and Cabinet Coolers provide cold air for spot cooling and electrical enclosure cooling without refrigerants, compressors at the point of use, or moving components inside the cooling device.

Sub-zero air flow with no moving parts. 3400 Series Vortex Tubes from EXAIR.

Air Amplifiers entrain large volumes of surrounding air using a small amount of compressed air, providing high-volume airflow without an electric fan.

Model 120024 4″ Super Air Amplifiers are commonly used to exhaust welding smoke and fumes.

Line Vacs convert ordinary pipe or hose into a material conveying system without motors, bearings or mechanical pumps.

The Line Vac conveys scrap trim quickly and easily, and can be sized for most any product.

E-Vacs generate vacuum directly from compressed air with no moving components, making them well suited for applications where dependable vacuum generation is important.

Designing Maintenance Out of the Process

Maintenance teams spend a significant amount of time responding to equipment that has worn down, overheated, become contaminated, or simply reached the end of its service life.

Instead of asking, “How easy will this equipment be to maintain?”, engineers can sometimes ask a better question:

“Can we design the maintenance requirement out of the application?”

A compressed air product with no moving parts doesn’t eliminate every maintenance consideration. Compressed air still needs to be properly filtered and supplied at the appropriate pressure. But eliminating mechanical components can remove several common failure modes from the process entirely.

Reliability Isn’t Just About the Product

Unexpected equipment failure can mean much more than replacing a component. It can result in production downtime, lost product, emergency maintenance labor and missed delivery schedules.

That makes reliability a design consideration—not simply a maintenance consideration.

When evaluating a new blow off, cooling, conveying or vacuum application, consider not only whether a solution can perform the job today, but also what will be required to keep it performing years from now.

Sometimes the most reliable moving part is the one you never needed in the first place.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
E: JordanShouse@exair.com
O: (513) 671‑3322
F: (513) 671‑3363
A: 11510 Goldcoast Dr Cincinnati OH 45249
www.exair.com

Find time on my calendar by scheduling a meeting here.

The Importance Of Planned Maintenance

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a common phase that we’ve all heard. It’s also a recipe for disaster. Think about it:

  • Corrective maintenance is ALWAYS more expensive. An oil change in your car might set you back $50 and an hour or so, but when (not if) emulsified, contaminated oil causes your engine to seize, that’s a four (if not five) figure repair bill.
  • Corrective maintenance is also ALWAYS more inconvenient. “If you don’t schedule time for maintenance, your equipment will schedule it for you.” ’nuff said.

Anything with moving parts is going to live its best life if you maintain it properly, and your air compressor has a LOT of moving parts that are CONSTANTLY under a good deal of mechanical stress. Your compressor’s manufacturer almost certainly has a published list of recommended maintenance items, with a schedule of when they should be performed. While that list is going to vary, depending on the type of compressor you have, some of the more common items include:

  • Intake Filter: This is what removes environmental contamination from the air that the compressor is drawing in. When (not if) it gets dirty, your compressor works harder. That means higher power consumption, which means higher operating costs. It also means more heat is generated, which can wear machinery out WAY faster than it should.
  • Lubricating Oil: If your compressor is oil lubed, that oil needs to be changed periodically. The schedule for this is always going to be a certain number of hours of operation, or a certain period of time, whichever comes first. That first one is because the amount of particulate contamination is going to be roughly proportional to the amount of time the lubricated parts spend in motion. The latter is because oil just loses some of its critical lubricating properties over time.
  • Drive Equipment: The two main methods of connecting a motor to a compressor are direct drive shaft coupling, or a system of pulleys and belts. Making sure they stay aligned is critical to their operation. Depending on the nature of the drive, lubrication, tension, and physical condition are all important maintenance points as well.
  • Safety (Pressure Relief) Valve: This valve releases excess pressure if the pressure switch fails and the compressor keeps running. At the very least, this keeps your operating costs in line — the higher the discharge pressure, the higher the power consumption. And, worst case, it makes sure you don’t over pressurize the system. If your receiver tank blows up, that’s a bad day.
  • Receiver Tank Condensate Drain: While there are a number of automatic condensate drains available for industrial air compressors, many owners choose to manually drain condensate from the wet receiver. This should be done AT LEAST once a day, with some manufacturers recommending it more frequently than that. This is critical because standing water can corrode the tank from the inside over time. It can also lead to moisture carryover into the header, and it reduces the volume of available air storage in the tank.
  • Keep Clean To Keep Cool: Air compressors generate heat, both from the friction between the moving parts, and the compression itself (Gay-Lussac’s Law states that the pressure of a given mass of gas is directly proportional to its temperature as long as the volume is constant.) Some compressors are air cooled; others are water cooled. Whichever yours is, keep the heat transfer surfaces — like the fins on the air end housing (air cooled) or fins of the heat exchanger (water cooled) — clean & free of debris to maximize the heat transfer, keeping your compressor as cool as possible.

Again, these are just some of the more common maintenance items for an air compressor. If you want yours to live its best life, keep up with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Oftentimes, maintenance records are required for warranty consideration, should something fail. If you have questions about getting the most out of your compressed air system, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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6 Basic Steps for Good Air Compressor Maintenance (And When to Do Them)

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

A production equipment mechanic with the 76th Maintenance Group, takes meter readings of the oil pressure and temperature, cooling water temperature and the output temperature on one of two 1,750 horsepower compressors. (Air Force photo by Ron Mullan)

In one of my previous jobs, I was responsible for the operation of the facility.  One of my biggest responsibilities was the air compressor because it supplied pressurized air though out the facility to feed the pneumatic systems.  Like with many industries, the compressor system is the life blood of the company.  If the compressor fails, the whole facility will stop.  In this blog, I will share some preventative maintenance items and schedules for your air compressors.

Because the cost to make compressed air is so expensive, compressed air systems are considered to be a fourth utility.  And with any important investment, you would like to keep it operating as long and efficiently as possible.  To do this, it is recommended to get your air compressor a “checkup” every so often.  I will cover some important items to check as well as a recommended schedule for checking.  Depending on the size of your air compressors, some items may or may not apply.

1. Intake filter:  The intake filter is used to clean the air that is being drawn into the air compressor.  Particles can damage the air pump mechanisms, so it is important to have the proper filtration level.  But, as the intake filter builds up with debris, the pressure drop will increase.  If they are not properly monitored and cleaned, the air flow will be restricted.  This can cause the motors to operate harder and hotter as well as reduce the efficiency of the air compressor.

2. Compressor Oil:  This would be for flooded screws and reciprocating compressors that use oil to operate the air pump.  Most systems will have an oil sight gauge to verify proper levels.  In larger systems, the oil can be checked for acidity which will tell you the level at which the oil is breaking down.  The oil, like in your car, has to be changed after so many hours of operation.  This is critical to keep the air pump running smoothly without service interruptions.

3. Belts and Couplings:  These items transmit the power from the motor to the air pump.  Check their alignment, condition, and tension (belts only) as specified by the manufacturer.  You should have spares on hand in case of any failures.

4. Air/Oil Separators:  This filter removes as much oil from the compressed air before it travels downstream.  It returns the oil back to the sump of the air compressor.  If the Air/Oil Separator builds too much pressure drop or gets damaged, excess oil will travel downstream.  Not only will the air pump lose the required oil level, but it will also affect the performance of downstream parts like your air dryer and after cooler.

5. Internal filters:  Some air compressors will come with an attached refrigerated air dryer.   With these types of air compressors, they will place coalescing filters to remove any residual oil.  These filters should be checked for pressure drop.  If the pressure drop gets too high, then it will rob your compressed air system of air pressure.  Some filters come with a pressure drop indicator which can help you to determine the life of the internal filter element.

6. Unloader valve:  When an air compressor unloads, this valve will help to remove any compressed air that is trapped in the cavity of the air pump.  So, when the air compressor restarts, it does not have to “work” against this “trapped” air pressure.  If they do not fully unload, the air compressor will have to work much harder to restart, wasting energy.

Preventative maintenance is very important, and checks need to be performed periodically.  As for a schedule, I created a rough sequence to verify, change, or clean certain items that are important to your air compressor.  You can also check with your local compressor representative for a more detailed maintenance schedule.

Daily:

  • After stopping, remove any condensate from the receiver tank.
  • Check oil level.

Monthly:

  • Inspect cooling fins on air pump. Clean if necessary
  • Inspect oil cooler. Clean if necessary

Quarterly:

  • Inspect the inlet air filter. Clean or replace if necessary.
  • Check the belt for tension and cracks. Tighten or replace.
  • Check differential pressure indicators on outlet compressed air filters.

Yearly:

  • Replace Air Inlet Filter
  • Replace the air-oil separator
  • Test safety valves and unloader valve
  • Replace compressed air filters
  • Change oil
  • Grease bearings if required

Keeping your air compressor running optimally is very important for pneumatic operations and energy savings.  I shared some important information above to assist.  Another area to check would be your pneumatic system downstream of the air compressor.  EXAIR manufactures engineered products that can reduce air consumption rates.  You can contact an Application Engineer to discuss further on how we can save you energy, money, and your air compressor.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb