Tag: scrap removal

Light Duty Line Vac For Paper Trim Removal

Published on by Leave a comment

Today I worked with a customer that manufactures a wide variety of material handling equipment including coil unwinders.  The engineer was calling because there was a special project for a coil unwinder that could handle a waste piece of paper trim.  As the metal coil is being unwound for delivery to a metal processing machine, the protective paper is pulled off and was to be collected into a waste receptacle for easy handling and disposal/recycling.  The engineer was hoping to replicate an existing system that used a hybrid blower system, with an extra compressed air nozzle, but in a simpler form.

Coil Unwinder

We proposed the use of the 4″ Light Duty Line Vac– shown below.130400The Light Duty Line Vacs offer an effective way to convey small and light materials a short distance. Like the standard Line Vac, the Light Duty Line Vac converts an ordinary hose or tube into a  conveyor for scrap, trim, and bulk materials.

When the process involves moving low volumes of materials over short distances, the Light Duty Line Vac is a great choice. The simplified (2) piece design offers effective conveying at a lower cost. As an added plus, the compressed air consumption is lowered to levels commensurate with handling the lighter materials, at lower volumes and short distances.  Using a pressure regulator to control the supply air allows for tuning of the transfer rate, and keeps air usage to the minimum amount needed.

The Light Duty Line Vacs are available with inlet/outlet diameters from 3/4″ up to 6″.  With no moving parts, maintenance free operation is assured.

ldlvsz
Light Duty Line Vacs – Available in 3/4″, 1″, 1.25″, 1.5″, 2″, 3″, 4″ and 6″ Diameters. All in Stock!

For other larger materials, higher transfer rates, corrosive environments, or abrasive materials, take a look at the other EXAIR Line Vac offerings including the aluminum, 303 and 316 stainless standard Line Vacs, the aluminum, 303 and 316 stainless steel Threaded Line Vacs, high temperature models, standard and threaded Heavy Duty Line Vacs, and lastly the new Sanitary Flanged 316 stainless steel type.

If you would like to talk about Light Duty Line Vacs or any of the EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

Send me an email
Find us on the Web 
Like us on Facebook
Twitter: @EXAIR_BB

EXAIR Products Are No Strangers To The Assembly Line

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Although most folks think of Henry Ford as the inventor of the assembly line, there’s evidence that “division of labor” was practiced in ancient China, where metal products were mass produced by skilled workers performing a specific evolution and then passing it on to another person for the next step. In fact, Oldsmobile’s assembly line actually predates Ford’s by a few years, but a host of innovations by Henry Ford and his team of engineers reduced the assembly time of a Model T from a day and a half, to an hour and a half. Maybe that’s why he gets so much credit for it.

Through the 20th Century, technological advances continued to revolutionize the process. Automation and robotics have allowed a combination of speed & precision that would have impressed even Henry Ford. The guy was a genius, so he would have caught on pretty quick, I’m sure. If you hadn’t guessed, it, yeah; I’m a big fan.

In addition to all the technological marvels on display, our visit to The Henry Ford museum also allowed my brother and me a cool photo-op with our all-time favorite vehicle.

EXAIR products are used for a variety of applications on assembly lines…blow off, static elimination, painting/coating, and even cleanup. I had the pleasure of assisting a user with that last one recently.

Turns out, they make automobile windows, and in the process of handling the glass windows, the metal & plastic frame pieces, the rubber seals, the protective tape, etc., they end up with a LOT of scrap as these parts go down their assembly conveyor. According to this caller, it looked like “New Year’s Eve at the end of every shift” when they stopped to clean up. By installing EXAIR Model 130200 2″ Light Duty Line Vacs at strategic locations, they’re able to pick up almost all of the debris from the whole process.

EXAIR Light Duty Line Vacs come in sizes from 3/4″ to 6″ to accommodate a wide variety of conveyance needs.

If you’d like to find out more about how EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products can make an impact in your facility…safety, noise, efficiency, or otherwise…give us a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
Find us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Super Ion Air Knife Removes Foil Dots In Lid Cutting Operation

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

I recently received an inquiry from a food manufacturer about a packaging line they were having issues with.  The plant fills continuous rows of thermo-formed cups which is then sealed with a single foil lid. Once sealed, a machine cuts the row to separate the cups, which creates small scrap pieces of foil. After the cutting operation, they try to collect as much of the waste trim as possible but some small pieces of foil, they call “dots”, cling to the surface of the cup and cutter due to static charge.  The company installed a vacuum collection hood in this area, to try and help keep the foil pieces or any dust from falling onto the cup during the process. While this did help somewhat, some dots would remain and eventually fall off further down the line, making small piles that needed to be manually cleaned to avoid potential jams, which slowed down their production cycle.

The cups are filled and separated on a 44″ wide, mesh-screen conveyor with individual lanes to process multiple rows of cups. After being cut, the cups are moved to the inspection area and then packaged for shipment.  I recommended they mount a 48″ Super Ion Air Knife above and below the cups and direct the airflow to the end where the vacuum collection hood is located. The idea is, as the ions eliminate the charge, the small foil dots will release and the laminar airflow would keep the parts moving toward the vacuum hood, thus removing all foil trim and preventing any piling of trim further down the production line.

The Super Ion Air Knife produces a sheet of ionized air capable of dissipating 5 kV in just a fraction of a second!

EXAIR offers a wide selection of Static Eliminators for use in a variety of industrial processes. If you are experiencing static concerns in a particular area or to discuss a specific process, please contact an application engineer for assistance.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN