Tag: Stainless Steel

How To Choose An Air Knife

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The EXAIR Super Air Knife has a prominent place near the front of our catalog, and THIRTEEN pages of photos, application details, performance data & specifications. It’s the most efficient and quietest product of its kind on the market, and our most diverse product offering in terms of size range, operational adjustability, materials of construction, and accessories available. For almost any general industrial air blow off application, the EXAIR Super Air Knife is the superior choice in terms of air usage, sound level, and capability.

EXAIR Super Air Knives come in a wide range of lengths, for a wide range of possibilities.
EXAIR Super Air Knives come in a wide range of lengths, for a wide range of possibilities.

As tireless champions of the causes of reducing air consumption and noise, we’re always going to promote these benefits of the Super Air Knife. Still, a caller asked me the other day, “Well, why do you still make the others?”…meaning, of course, our Standard and Full Flow Air Knives. Why, indeed:

*Given the same air supply pressure, the Standard Air Knife generates the highest force of our three styles. The amount of force applied isn’t always a prime consideration…if you think about one of the more “textbook” applications for an Air Knife, it doesn’t take a great amount of force to blow off dust and light debris from a conveyor belt…certainly this is a case where efficiency factors in: the lower air consumption of a Super Air Knife can pay for the cost difference between it and a Standard Air Knife in as little as three months of operation.

The Standard Air Knife has the highest force, for when it's needed.
The Standard Air Knife has the highest force, for when it’s needed.

Of course, if you’re blowing stubborn debris out of tight spaces, like gummy, greasy dirt that’s accumulating in the recesses of a finned tube heat exchanger, that extra force can make all the difference. No; the Standard Air Knife isn’t as efficient or quiet as the Super Air Knife, but it’s still a far cry better than a drilled pipe.

*While the Super Air Knife is pretty compact – you only need a few square inches of profile area to successfully mount it – the Full Flow Air Knife is even smaller, requiring not much more than one square inch of profile for mounting. With ports on the rear face (instead of the ends & bottom for the Super Air Knife,) they can fit in very tight quarters.

Low profile and lightweight, the Full Flow Air Knives are a great fit for tight quarters.
Low profile and lightweight, the Full Flow Air Knives are a great fit for tight quarters.

The Full Flow Air Knife is also the lightest weight for a given length. A 36” Aluminum Super Air Knife, for instance, weighs about 8lbs. The 36” Aluminum Full Flow Air Knife weighs less than 4lbs. Most of the time, 8lbs is a very manageable amount of mass to support, but there are situations where every ounce matters, and if yours is one of them, you’re looking at the Full Flow Air Knife all the way.

*The biggest (in the most literal sense) factor in Air Knife selection is, well…size. We make the Standard Air Knives in lengths to 48”, and the Full Flow Air Knives come as long as 36”. The Super Air Knives, however, are stocked in lengths from 3” to 108”, and can be coupled together for as long of an uninterrupted, steady, laminar air flow as you need.

At the end of the day, a majority of blow off applications can be handled just fine with any of our Air Knives. If you’d like to discuss your application and see which one is best for you, give us a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
(513)671-3322 local
(800)923-9247 toll free
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The Versatile Line Vac

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Of all the tools that I own, my cordless drill has to be just about my favorite. I’m remodeling a bathroom in my house right now, and last night I was setting the new toilet flange onto the new tile floor. I had to drill some holes for this through the new tile. I’d never done this before, and was definitely feeling some heartburn about it. Especially after finding out just how fragile and brittle ceramic tile is…I cracked two pieces, just trying to cut a hole for the heat & AC vent register. Luckily, that was BEFORE I mortared & grouted it in, so it wasn’t a big deal…they’re about a buck a piece, and I got five extra anyway.

I know how to do this...but I have no idea how to fix this.
I know how to do this                                                 but I have no idea how to fix this.

THIS one, though, was fully installed, and, despite all the internet videos I found & watched on how to install a tile floor, I haven’t yet had the need to find one that shows me how to replace a broken tile. And I don’t really want to, so I went slowly and carefully with the drill, using the special glass & tile bit that I bought. On my first hole, when I got the bit through the tile itself, I changed to a different (smaller) bit to pilot the screw hole through the subfloor. Then, I put a Phillip’s head bit in to drive the screw. It occurred to me that I was performing these three related but separate tasks, with the same tool…I just thought that was very cool.

Over the course of the last couple of days, I’ve talked to three different callers, with three different Line Vac applications:

HDLV

 

*One wants to use a Model 150200 2” Heavy Duty Line Vac to convey cement. They’re currently hauling the bags, by hand, up to a hopper, where they cut them open and dump them in.

 

Heavy Duty Threaded Line Vac

*One needs to move small springs, one at a time, from a hopper to an automated assembly turret machine.  The springs are 5/8″ in diameter, and they’ll be fed through a length of PVC pipe.  Our Model 151100 1″ NPT Heavy Duty Threaded Line Vac will be easily installed in the pipe line using standard threaded fittings, and the springs will pass through the 0.75″ throat nicely.

 

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*One has a auger-type chip conveyor that removes machining debris from a lathe, and it’s broken…again. They needed a Model 6066 3” Stainless Steel Line Vac, in a hurry, to use until they get their chip conveyor fixed. In fact, if it works, they may not fix the chip conveyor.

 

With a wide range of sizes and materials of construction, we've got your solution. Call us.
With a wide range of sizes and materials of construction, we’ve got your solution. Call us.

So, kind of like my cordless drill, our Line Vac Air Operated Conveyors have a variety of uses, right out of the box. If you have an application that you think a Line Vac may be able to solve, give me a call.  By the way, if you order one before the end of October, 2014we’ll give you a FREE 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle.  Really.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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EXAIR Receives Plant Engineering Product of the Year Awards

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

Every year EXAIR strives to meet our customer needs with new products. On a day to day basis we communicate with customers who voice problems for which we might or might not have a solution. When we can’t help a customer, we see that as an opportunity to grow our business and meet those customers needs. Over the last year we have released over 250 products to fill our customer’s requests. We submitted 4 of those products to Plant Engineering for voting by their readers for Product of the Year.

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The 2013 Product of the Year Awards – One silver and three gold!

All (4) products were recognized by Plant Engineering and their readers this year.

The awards received, the products and the categories were:

Gold Award – 1 Inch Flat Super Air Nozzle – Compressed Air

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Gold Award – Dual 316 Stainless Steel Cabinet Coolers – Electrical Controls

NEMA 4X Dual Steel

Gold Award – No Drip External Mix Atomizing Nozzles – Fluid Handling

nodrip_AF

Silver Award – Heavy Duty HEPA Vac – Environmental Health

HD HEPA

Over the next month, I will talk about each product and detail their features, benefits and applications. If you need help on any application, feel free to contact us.

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
Davewoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW

 

Submarines, Shipwrecks, Air Knives, and Corrosion

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Monday was a notable day in naval warfare history. On February 17th, 1864, the H.L. Hunley sank the USS Housatonic, a Union sloop that was blockading the harbor in Charleston, South Carolina, during the American Civil War. In doing so, the Hunley became the first combat submarine to sink a warship in battle. Unfortunately, they never returned.

Treasure hunters and archaeologists searched for the sunken vessel in the years following the war. Despite grand efforts, one even spurred by a $100,000 reward offer from legendary showman P.T. Barnum, the ship and crew were lost to history until 1995. So many people had mistakenly thought they’d found the wreckage that when underwater archaeologist Harry Pecorelli actually did find it, he radioed to his boat, “I don’t know what it is, but it is definitely not the Hunley.” Because of this, the preservation group, Friends Of The Hunley, have affectionately dubbed him “the first person to have never found the Hunley.”

In 2000, the intact ship was raised and placed in a specially built tank, where the conservation team immediately went to work. Because of her iron construction and age, this turned out to be an engineering (mechanical and chemical) feat like no other. Over the next four years, precision excavation efforts allowed the team to exhume the remains of the crew, and they were buried with full military honors in the spring of 2004. They still haven’t proven conclusively why the Hunley sank, but as restoration work continues, she may give up her final secrets yet, as long as they can keep corrosion at bay.

hunley in tank

The prevalent use of aggressive chemicals in certain manufacturing processes today can likewise take their toll on equipment made from materials that aren’t compatible for use in these environments. As advances have been made in the development of these chemicals, metallurgists and materials engineers have kept pace in the field of corrosion resistance. EXAIR has taken full advantage of these innovations by offering our Super Air Knives in a variety of materials that can stand up to just about whatever you can throw at them:

Two grades of Stainless Steel are available: Type 303 is well suited to mildly corrosive environments. Type 316 offers even better corrosion resistance, and is often specified in the food, pharmaceutical, and surgical product industries. Both are also good to 800°F (427°C).

PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride) Super Air Knives are resistant to harsh conditions where UV light, inorganic chemicals, solvents, ozone, weather, fungi, chlorinated hydrocarbons, strong acids, and/or salts are present. They are equipped with PTFE shims, 316SS pipe plugs, and Hastelloy C-276 hardware for superior performance in the most aggressive environments.  These are rated for temperatures up to 275°F (135°C).

Of course, if your application doesn’t concern any of these, our Super Air Knives in aircraft grade aluminum construction are perfect for general purpose applications in standard conditions. Just about wherever you need to install it, though, EXAIR has a Super Air Knife that is up to the task. Try us.

Russ Bowman
RussBowman@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_RB