Tag: sonic air knife

Buy 1, Get 40 Free

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

Buy one, get one free is a phrase many of us are familiar with. Most of the time it is a good thing; we all like free stuff. What would you say to buy one, get 30 free? Or even 40 free? That’s not far off how our Air Knives perform. They entrain large volumes of ambient air, so for every 1 SCFM of compressed air you are paying for, you are getting 30–40 SCFM of additional free ambient entrained air.

So how are our Air Knives able to do this? We explain this phenomenon in more detail in this blog here, but in summary, a Super Air Knife takes advantage of the Venturi Effect. Named after Giovanni Venturi, who found out that when you increase the speed of a fluid through an orifice, the surrounding fluid will move along with it. This creates a region of low pressure, and the faster the speed, the lower the pressure. With low pressure, the air around rushes in to fill that gap and join the airstream. The quantity of ambient air that gets ‘pulled’ into the airstream is entrained air, or free air.

The engineered surface of the Super Air Knife is designed to minimize as much loss in air speed as possible, which maximizes the amount of free air that is being entrained. The ratio between free air and compressed air used is called the amplification ratio. Super Air Knives have an amplification ratio of 40:1, with our Standard Air Knives having an amplification ratio of 30:1. For comparison, a pipe with holes drilled will have an amplification ratio of between 2:1 and 5:1. As you can see, with a Super Air Knife you are getting a much better deal on your compressed air usage.

This additional free air adds more mass, which allows the Super Air Knife to do more work. You will get a harder hitting force than a comparable product while using less compressed air. This makes Super Air Knives especially good for cooling and drying applications, where moving large volumes of air is ideal.

EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products such as (left to right) the Air Wipe, Super Air Knife, Super Air Nozzle, and Air Amplifier are engineered to entrain enormous amounts of air from the surrounding environment.

It’s not just our Air Knives that take advantage of the Venturi effect to produce large amplification ratios. Many of our products are designed with efficiency in mind, including our Air Amplifiers, Air Wipes, and Air Nozzles and Jets, to name a few. If you would like to discuss how an EXAIR engineered compressed air product can amplify your process, then give us a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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From Field to Market: How EXAIR Helps Streamline Vegetable Processing

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

Homonyms are words that are pronounced and spelled the same but have different meanings.  In this blog, I will cover the word lettuce.  One meaning is the leafy vegetable and the other is money.  And I like to save both.  I have an agriculture application that I would like to share where EXAIR was able to supply different products to help save lettuce. 

PowerStream Liquid Nozzle

When vegetables come from the field, they need to be cleaned and packaged for delivery to grocery stores.  The first thing that they need to do is to wash the leaves to remove dirt, compost, and bugs.  They had drilled pipes to spray water onto the leaves, using a lot of water. They were looking to do it more economically. The vegetable packing house purchased the EXAIR PowerStream Liquid Nozzles, model DL8075SS, to do the washing.  These stainless steel nozzles were mounted on a manifold to spray water onto the lettuce leaves.  With the PowerStream nozzles, we can break the water into smaller droplet sizes to increase coverage and reduce water requirements.  Thus, saving money.

The next step would be to dry the lettuce.  They were using a blower-powered air knife, but they could not remove all the insects as it was not powerful enough.  Also, by blowing hotter air which was created by the blower, lettuce would start to brown much quicker.  To improve, they purchased a model 110036SS Stainless Steel Super Air Knife.  The Super Air Knife is an efficient, powerful way to blow compressed air.  With a 40:1 amplification ratio, it will draw in 40-parts of ambient air to 1-part compressed air.  From our Super Air Knife, we blow ambient temperature air, add mass to give a much higher force to remove the water and the insects, and save on compressed air consumption. 

To reduce spoilage, you must have the proper equipment.  For this company, they were able to improve their process to increase production.  And by utilizing less water and less compressed air, they were able to increase profit.  If you would like to improve your processes in packing houses, EXAIR has a variety of products that can help you.  You can contact an Application Engineer to discuss.  For the company above, more lettuce out the door meant more lettuce in their pockets. 

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

Photo of Vegetables by akadarcee.  Pixabay content license.

Super Ion Air Knife Overview

Published on by jasonkirbyLeave a comment
A collection of industrial electronic components including a sensor, cables, mounting brackets, a pressure gauge, and a control box.
Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife Kit

Static electricity is a prevalent issue in various manufacturing settings, manifesting in several ways, such as shocking workers, causing materials to adhere, tear, or jam, and interfering with sensitive electronic devices. If you have experienced static problems in your workplace or home, you may have observed that these issues are more pronounced in colder, drier conditions. This phenomenon occurs because lower humidity levels reduce the amount of water vapor in the air, which is essential for dissipating electrical charges. Consequently, with diminished moisture, the potential for higher electrical charges increases.

Our Gen4 Super Ion Air Knives are a central element of this promotion, engineered to effectively remove static electricity from a variety of surfaces, such as plastics, webs, and sheet materials. By employing a laminar airflow, these air knives efficiently eliminate static, dust, and other contaminants from surfaces.

EXAIR Super Ion Air Knife

This cutting-edge technology not only accelerates production rates but also enhances product quality and guarantees exceptional surface cleanliness. The integration of these air knives into your processes can lead to significant improvements in operational efficiency.

The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife effectively disperses static-eliminating ions over a distance of up to 20 feet, with adjustable airflow that ranges from a powerful blast to a gentle breeze. This device operates without shock and features no moving parts, ensuring reliability and ease of maintenance. It requires only 3.7 SCFM of compressed air per foot at a pressure of 5 PSIG, making it an efficient choice for various applications.

A Super Ion Air Knife used for static control in various applications, featuring a long, flat design with a control panel at the top and a book or printed material positioned in the front.
Available in lengths from 3″ to 108″, the Super Ion Air Knife dissipates even high static charges quickly.

In addition to its functional benefits, the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife operates at a remarkably low sound level of 50 dBA, which is suitable for most environments. This combination of performance and quiet operation makes it an ideal solution for effectively managing static electricity in diverse settings.

If you have any questions about Gen4 Super Ion Air Knives, or anything regarding EXAIR and our products, please do not hesitate to reach out. We would love to hear from you!

Jason Kirby
Application Engineer
Email: jasonkirby@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jk

Vortex Tubes For Spot Cooling Processes

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

EXAIR’s Vortex Tubes are a great product for many cooling applications. When supplied with a clean and moisture-free source of compressed air, they will generate two streams of airflow, one hot and one cold. They are a low-cost and reliable solution, capable of producing temperatures ranging from -50°F to +260°F. We have flow rates from 2 SCFM to 150 SCFM, producing refrigeration over 10,000btu/hr.

We also have several other product lines that are great for cooling, like our Air Knives or Air Amplifiers. So, why would you choose a Vortex Tube? Our Air Knives and Amplifiers cool primarily by moving large volumes of ambient air. If you have a 400°F part that needs cooling to under 100°F, then hitting it with large amounts of 70°F ambient air is going to rapidly bring the temperature down. This does mean that there is a limit to how low of a temperature you can achieve with these products; our Air Knives and Amplifiers won’t be able to cool below ambient temperatures. Our Vortex Tubes, on the other hand, with temperatures as low as -50°F, can provide much more powerful cooling and targeted cooling.

Now you have determined that a Vortex Tube is right for you, you’ll need to decide between our two different series: 32XX and 34XX. The difference between the two model types comes down to the Cold Fraction, which is determined by where the Control Valve is positioned. When you open the Control Valve (by turning it counterclockwise, as shown by the blue arrow in the photo to the right), it decreases the Cold Fraction, which leads to a reduced flow and a significant drop in temperature in the cold air discharge. Conversely, closing the Control Valve (by turning it clockwise, indicated by the red arrow) boosts the cold air flow, but causes a smaller temperature drop. This ability to adjust is crucial for the Vortex Tube’s flexibility.

 You can set the Cold Fraction as low as 20%, which means that a small portion (20% to be precise) of the supply air is sent to the cold end, resulting in a significant temperature drop. On the flip side, you can crank it up to 80%, meaning that most of the supply air heads to the cold end, but the temperature drop won’t be as drastic. Our 34XX Series Vortex Tubes are designed for cold fractions between 20–50 %, while the 32XX Series caters to 50–80 % Cold Fractions.

So how do you select the right model for you? To determine this, you need to know what temperature and flow will best serve your application. For most situations, the ~20°F produced by an 80% cold fraction is sufficiently cold. At this cold fraction, you will get the most flow (80% of the inlet supplied). Applications like welding or brazing benefit from higher flows. When your starting temperature is hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit, there is little difference in blowing -20°F air vs +20°F. What you need is more volume to strip away the heat as quickly as possible. In this instance, a 32XX series is the way to go.

If you need lower flow, or to achieve freezing temperatures, then the 34XX series would be the best choice. A chocolate maker took advantage of the lower flow rates offered by this type of Vortex Tube as they didn’t want the airflow to disturb the surface of the chocolate as it cooled, affecting the finish. The greater temperature drop allowed for rapid cooling without reducing quality.

Vortex Tubes can produce higher levels of noise than our Knives and Amplifiers, so we would always recommend using hot and cold mufflers with them. This will ensure they stay within OSHA sound standards. And just like with all EXAIR products, it’s a good idea to use a pressure regulator with a gauge right where you’re using it. This is especially crucial for Vortex Tubes if you want to get an accurate temperature.

Whatever your cooling application, our Vortex Tubes will likely be able to help. If you would like to discuss it, please give us a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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Twitter: @EXAIR_AW