Tag: robot

3.2.1…Fight Robots FIGHT!

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

I have mentioned before that my undergrad degree is from the University of Cincinnati. The Combat Robotics Team was not a thing back then; in fact, robot fighting was still high-level and just coming around to the mainstream. Well, this past weekend, I had the chance to attend my first-ever PLANT at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub.

What is PLANT, you ask? It is a class of combat robots restricted to PLA, ABS, or PETG construction materials. The bots cannot weigh more than 1 pound and have some other guidelines generally set forth by SPARC. The teams generally design these bots as scaled-down versions of the bots they plan to build and take on larger battles. In addition, they must weigh no more than 1 pound. They are mostly 3D printed, and the benefit is that they are a cost savings to manufacture and then test against other similar-sized bots to try and see how a design may work out in a larger form.

Because these bots are all 3D printed, they can test complex geometries without the cost of the machining hours. This also helps them to see the value a complex part may add or helps them to come up with other methods to manufacture the product. The entire point is for them to test on a small scale with lower impact/risk, then scale up.

Super Air Knife installed

When talking with customers here at EXAIR about projects that may require long Super Air Knives to blow off an entire conveyor belt, we will often suggest doing a scaled test. Use a 12″ Super Air Knife to test an edge or a dedicated section of the belt. If a stock EXAIR product is tested, it can be returned within 30 days of the date of the order. This means you can take a small test section, with low risk, put it in place, and test it under production scenarios for nearly a month, and then contact us to let us know whether it works or not. Get a sales return order for the shorter length, and then scale up for the full demand of the application.

EXAIR’s offering a 30-day guarantee on stock products truly reduces the risk of testing out even a full-length Super Air Knife if you want to. This can sometimes give the decision makers the last little bit of confidence that EXAIR is the correct team to work with. If you want to discuss how we can help your production lines, contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno, MBA – CCASS Application Engineer

BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Video Blog: Starter Guide Series – Air Wipes

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

EXAIR manufactures two types of Air Wipes; the Standard Air Wipe™ and the Super Air Wipe™.  They are designed to blow an airstream in a concentric pattern around the outside of pipes, cables, extruded shapes, hoses and much more. The video below is a starter guide to the Air wipe product line.

If you would like to discuss  any of EXAIR’s safe, quiet & efficient compressed air products, I would enjoy hearing from you…give me a call or shoot me an email!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Helpful Tips For Air Wipe Usage

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Probably the most common application for EXAIR’s line of Air Wipes is blowing off continuous runs of pipe, hose, tube, wire, etc. The 360° converging air flow sweeps the entire circumference evenly, for efficient & quiet blow off, cooling, or drying. The split ring design means the operator doesn’t have to “thread” the product through the Air Wipe:

Split ring design eliminates the need for product “threading” through the Air Wipe.

Because of their 360° converging air flow, they’re also incredibly well-suited to another application: blowing off the end – or tip (to make the pun in the title work) – of an applicator.

  • A manufacturer of automated paint systems for the automotive industry fits spray heads to the ends of robotic arms to coat vehicle bodies. They install Model 2439 9″ Standard Air Wipes for the robots to periodically dip the spray heads through to clean off excess paint so it doesn’t drip inadvertently onto the surfaces that they’re putting a nice, even coating onto.
  • A custom furniture builder used a robotic system to apply glue to wood parts prior to fitting them together. A small amount of glue remained on the tip of the applicator, which would harden and build up over time, eventually getting to the point where not enough glue was applied. They periodically removed & cleaned the tips, but sometimes not before improperly glued products made it through production. They installed Model 2400 1/2″ Super Air Wipes for the robots to dip the applicator tips through to blow off the glue residue. This eliminates glue buildup and defective furniture parts.
  • A machine builder’s design incorporated robotic arms to dip two files in oil before using them to deburr parts, and wanted to stop oil from dripping off the file in between the oil dip and point of use. They installed two Model 2431 1″ Standard Air Wipes (one for each file) and set pressure regulators to remove excess oil while leaving enough to properly lubricate the file, and made the operation drip free.
  • A shop that repairs & tests diesel fuel injectors passes them through a Model 2432 2″ Standard Air Wipe by hand to blow off solvent after removing them from a cleaning tank, prior to reassembly & testing.

If you need to blow off parts from all sides, look no further than EXAIR Air Wipes. They come in sizes from 3/8″ to 11″, in stock. If you’d like to discuss your application or product selection, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Atomizing Nozzles have added benefits that can really help

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

When a customer says the words “Great”, I like to share.

A customer of EXAIR purchased an SR2010SS Atomizing Nozzle for a new project.  He requested the Siphon Feed design so that he did not require a liquid pump (reducing the price of the project).  He attached it to a robot arm to spray water for activating a chemical on a substrate.  With the No Drip Option, he could start/stop the spray with a solenoid valve without getting drips of water into unwanted areas.

nodrip_SR
Siphon Feed No Drip Atomizing Nozzle

 

In robotics, there is much programing to make sure that the arm moves accurately throughout the space. In this application, the degrees of freedom were tight; so, our customer created a solid mount to attach the Atomizing Spray Nozzle onto the robot arm.  After all the components were assembled for the project, they began preliminary runs.

With a deadline looming around an end-user visitation, they started to run parts through their system. They noticed that the solution required more water to activate.  They contacted EXAIR quickly for help.  I mentioned that if they required more water, they can change the Air and Liquid Cap to a larger size.  The first question that my customer asked was if we had them in stock.  The second question was if changing the air and liquid cap would require removing the Atomizing Nozzle.

The first question was simple. We stock over 10,000 items for same day delivery.  If the order comes in to us before 3 p.m. EST, we can ship same day.  For this customer we were able to overnight the parts.  The second question was answered with a video.  Being that he mounted the body to the robotic arm, the liquid and air cap could be removed easily with wrenches.  In our design of the atomizing nozzles, we can interchange up to 4 different sizes with a quick change to the liquid and air cap onto the same body.  Our customer was quite happy about that.  With little time to program the exact location of the movements, he did not want to remove the Atomizing Nozzle from the arm. We shipped him the 3 other sizes next day, and he was able to find the correct size to use before the visitation of his customer.

If you would like to know more about how our products and services can help you in a pinch, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR at 1-800-903-9247.

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