Tag: special line vac

Custom Pneumatic Conveyors for Unique Applications

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

EXAIR’s Line Vac Air Operated Conveyors provide an efficient method of converting ordinary pipe, hose or tubes into powerful in-line conveyors.  To accommodate the wide variety of unique problems manufacturers face, EXAIR has the ability to customize and tailor Line Vacs to different specifications.  Certain processes may require customizations like unique sizes, shapes and materials in order for the product to be a perfect fit for their system.  EXAIR will work in collaboration with the customer to fabricate the best possible Line Vac solution for easy and efficient conveyance.

I worked with a customer to design a special Line Vac.  They needed 3” ANSI 150# Flanges on a 3” PDVF Line Vac.  So, we had a special material with special ends to fit their specific need.  The PVDF with Hastelloy hardware was for chemical resistance, and the flanges would mount into their piping system.  As with many of our Line Vacs, we can turn a normal piping system into a conveyance system for waste, parts, or bulk materials.  For this customer, they needed a backup system for a fume hood.  With electrical vacuums and blowers, loss of power or motor failures can cause a momentary lapse in fume removal.  Since the chemical material that was used in the hood was dangerous, they needed a reliable source to extract the fumes.  Since any Line Vac does not have moving parts or require electricity, they are durable, reliable and require little to zero maintenance. The Line Vac only uses compressed air or gas to make them operate.  For this customer, they attached nitrogen to the special Line Vac to operate when there was a power failure to protect the workers in the area. 

For customers with space limitations, smaller sizes can be created while still offering the same quality of conveyance.  In situations where the Line Vac requires a specific flange mounting option, EXAIR can accommodate.  Applications requiring custom mounting holes, brackets or inlet positions are no problem to solve due to EXAIR’s in house manufacturing.  For applications where stock aluminum, or 303 and 316 stainless steel won’t work, alternate materials like PVDF, OVC or PTFE can be utilized.  Even in extreme environments, EXAIR can produce both heavy duty or high temperature iterations to handle even the toughest material or conditions.  Other details like the customer’s particular hose size, or pipe threading are specifications that EXAIR will have no problem accommodating.

EXAIR Line Vacs: For bulk material conveyance through lines from 3/8″ to 6″, in aluminum, 303SS, 316SS, or abrasion resistant hardened alloy, available from stock with the widest variety of connections in the industry.

Stock Line Vac models include standard, Heavy Duty, high temperature, Light Duty and Sanitary Flange.  All versions are able to be customized with different connections to meet customer’s specific needs.  All Line Vacs are CE compliant and OSHA safe.  For help solving any specific conveyance problems, please contact an Application Engineer. 

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

Customized for Your Process: Special Pneumatic Conveyors

Published on by codybiehleLeave a comment

For many, material conveyance is a necessary factor in their manufacturing and processing procedures. Much of the time our large array of different Line Vacs (air operated conveyors) can suit a large array of different conveying applications; but sometimes the stock item is just not the right fit for a specific application. Fortunately, since we manufacture everything here in Cincinnati, OH we have the flexibility to provide custom products throughout all of our 16 product lines. The Line Vac product line, even as large as it is, is a pretty common product for us to customize and manufacture. The following are a few examples of special Line Vacs that we have made in the past.

Liner Vacs connect to a hose, tube or pipe to create a powerful inline conveyor, powered by compressed air.

The Special Mini Line Vac:

This special was designed with barbed fittings for easier installation for a manufacturer of integrated circuit chips. It was used to remove microscopic debris. The small body and high vacuum flow made it a perfect fit for the confined working space.

Special Mini Line Vac

The PVDF Line Vac:

This 1 ½” flanged Line Vac was designed using PVDF to provide a superior chemical resistance. In this case the unit was going to be exposed to a chloride wash which will corrode all versions of steel including stainless steel. The QF Flanges were also added to provide easy disassembly when the Line Vac was scheduled for cleaning.

Special Flanged PVDF Line Vac

The Special Flanged Line Vac:

This next special Line Vac was used to convey a measured granulated material into a pouch. The funnel side was loaded with the pre-measured material and pushed into a mesh pouch when the air was activated.

Special Flanged Line Vac

Special Flanged Refumigation Line Vac:

This flanged Line Vac was used to retrofit existing machinery to remove acidic vapors resulting from surface etching of a silicon wafer. Where this would typically be a nice fit for a Stainless Steel Air Amplifier, the existing exhaust piping was lengthy with many bends that would have caused back pressure on any Air Amplifiers. In this case, they needed the additional force from the Line Vac to overcome this downstream resistance.

Special Flanged Line Vac

As you can see there isn’t much that we can’t do for you. The sky is the limit when it comes to thinking up of a custom-made solution for your application. Our Application Engineers are just the right folks to work with when considering a custom solution for your process. They have seen and heard many requests and past success stories, which can aid with any future solutions you may need. Whether it is for a blow off application using air knives, cooling application using vortex tubes, or of course conveyance application using a Line Vac.

If you have questions about our custom made Line Vac solutions or any of our engineered Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR or any Application Engineer.

Cody Biehle
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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EXAIR Line Vacs™ can be Customized for Your Application

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

Line Vacs can convey many things.

Do you have operators climbing steps to dump bags of material into hoppers?  Do you need a faster way to remove scrap from a process?  Do you have budgetary constraints in trying to move material from point A to point B?  Do you want to get rid of your bulky, loud blower conveying system?   If you answered yes to any of these, EXAIR may have a simple solution.  We manufacture an air-operated conveyor that does not have any moving parts, a very compact design, and a high throughput capacity.  They can attach easily to standard hoses, pipes, or sanitary flanges to convert your piping system into a powerful conveying system.   EXAIR manufactures these air-operated conveyors and trademarks them as Line Vacs™.

If you wish to read about our different Line Vacs that we stock, I wrote a blog that has an overview of this product line, and you can find it HERE.  We offer them in a variety of materials, sizes, and connection types.  But in the blog, I will tell you how EXAIR can manufacture special types of Line Vacs for specific applications.

One of our quickest turnarounds for a special Line Vac is when we can change the cap or body connection type to be dissimilar.  EXAIR offers a slip-on connection for hoses and a threaded connection for pipe.  In some instances, customers want to connect a hose to one end while attaching a pipe to the other.  Without needing to find special connectors, EXAIR can deliver this to you in one day.  Here are some other specials that EXAIR has manufactured over the years to solve specific issues for our customers.

This Stainless Steel Line Vac with flanges was used to fit an ASME flange connection to an existing machine.  We have used this same type of connection for our special Air Amplifiers which has a higher exhaust rate, but with the many bends in the exhaust piping and higher back pressure, the Line Vac’s performance could handle it much better.  This application was for removing acidic vapors resulting from surface etching in the silicon industry.

In addition to making Line Vacs with various connections, we can also manufacture Line Vacs from special materials.  In this instance, the flanged Line Vac was manufactured out of PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride) due to its superior corrosive resistance.  It was manufactured with special QF vacuum flanges which allowed for easy assembly and disassembly for cleaning purposes.  This Line Vac would be regularly exposed to a chloride wash that would corrode even stainless steel.

Here is a special Miniature Line Vac that was manufactured with barb fittings.  It was designed for an integrated circuit chip manufacturer where they can attach a tube to remove the collected material.  Its small overall footprint made it ideal for applications requiring confined work spaces.  For this application, it was used to remove microscopic contamination during the chip making process.  It has also been used by other manufacturers to clear small drilled holes from liquid and chips.

This next special Line Vac was used to fill small packets of fine salt or sugar.  The funnel shape helped to capture the material from a hopper above.  A feed tube in the hopper would move the material from the hopper to the special Line Vac, then into the packets.  An additional feature that the Line Vac provided was the vacuum pressure.  It was able to keep the gravity tube clear and allow for a continuous flow, even if the powder got moist.

As you can see, EXAIR is not limited to the products that we have on our website or in our catalog.  We can alter, change, or create special products to fit your application.  EXAIR has been manufacturing Intelligent Compressed Air products since 1983, so we know a few things.  Whether you are an OEM or an end-user, if you need a special design to coat, clean, cool, convey, or conserve, you can speak with an Application Engineer.  We will be happy to hear from you.

John Ball
Application Engineer

Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Custom Products Designed Just for Your Application

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

Because EXAIR designs and manufactures our own products, if you need something a little different we can probably help. This is true throughout our entire product line, the following examples are of our Line Vac products.

Do you have an application that may not be best served by one of our stock Line Vac products? While we have quite a variety of both materials, sizes, and connection types sometimes a special application requires a special solution. For this reason,  EXAIR manufactures special Line Vacs suited EXACTLY for the type of application or environment that it’ll be operating in.

This special Miniature Line Vac was manufactured with barb fittings and designed for a manufacturer of integrated circuit chips. It was used to remove microscopic debris during the chip making process. It’s small overall footprint makes it ideal for applications requiring tight mounting conditions. It has also been used by other manufacturers to vacuum liquid and chips from small drilled holes. While the Line Vac isn’t typically suitable for liquids, the higher vacuum level associated with the smaller Line Vacs makes it a possibility.

ldlvspec1

This next special Line Vac was used to convey fine powders or granulated materials from a hopper. While this is a pretty straight-forward application for a standard Line Vac, their material could sometimes be moist which would pack the tube and restrict the flow of material. The funnel-shaped design created a suction on the existing tube that permitted a continuous product flow.

ldlvspec5

This flanged Line Vac was used to retrofit existing machinery to remove acidic vapors resulting from surface etching of a silicon wafer. Where this would typically be a nice fit for a Stainless Steel Air Amplifier, the existing exhaust piping was lengthy with many bends that would have caused back pressure on any Air Amplifiers. In this case, they needed the high velocity airflow from the directed nozzles of the Line Vac to overcome this downstream resistance.

ldlvspec3

In addition to making Line Vacs in different shapes and sizes, we can also use special materials. In this instance, the special flanged Line Vac was manufactured out of PVDF (Polyvinylidene Flouride) due to its superior corrosive resistance. The Line Vac would be regularly exposed to a chloride wash that would corrode even stainless steel. It was also manufactured with special QF flanges to allow for easy assembly and removal of the conveying hoses for cleaning purposes.

ldlvspec4

As you can see the sky is the limit when it comes to potential styles of Line Vacs. Don’t think just because you don’t find something you need in the catalog that EXAIR can’t do it! We’ll create special manufactured products for just about anything that you can find in the catalog, not just the Line Vacs. Whether it’s custom-length Super Air Knives or special Air Amplifiers we can make it happen. Reach out to an Application Engineer today for help designing a solution, just for YOU!

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD