A manufacturer of high speed industrial machinery makes a sorting machine for seeds. There’s a clear plastic cover for operators to see the seeds as they pass through the machine. Many seeds are dense enough to move right on through, but some lower density seeds (canola, lettuce, and flax seed, specifically) bounce around a bit, and even the slight static charge that builds up as they move through causes them to cling to the inside of that viewing window.
This was a great fit for our Model 8406 6″ Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife Kit…”fit” being the operative word. While the Super Ion Air Knives are more efficient and quieter, there simply wasn’t very much room at all for mounting inside, so the smaller profile of the Standard Ion Air Knife made all the difference in the world. Also, since they just need static dissipation of such a small area, and not much flow at all is required to blow off these lightweight seeds, the differences in compressed air consumption and sound level were not very much at all.
Profile-wise, a Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife takes up less than half the space of a Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife.
Recently, I was working with a customer looking for a Premium Reversible Drum Vac and wanted it shipped to the Northwest Territories of Canada – which we could do! It got me to thinking, what are the farthest US state and territory locations EXAIR has shipped to in the North, South, West and East directions. I ‘scoured’ the records and came up with these.
Furthest North- We have shipped to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Most recently, believe it or not, we shipped a NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler to an Oil and Natural Gas Exploration Company. Goes to show that even the coldest environments still have the need to provide cool, clean, dry air to cool and protect electronics in electrical enclosures.
Furthest South – We have shipped to the US Territory of Puerto Rico, city of Santa Isabel. An Aerospace company needed a strong, laminar blast of air and utilized a 6″ Stainless Steel Air Knife. An Air Knife offers a quiet, efficient way to clean, dry or cool parts, webs, or conveyors.
Furthest West- We have shipped to the US Territory of Guam. The local University ordered a model 1111-4 Super Air Nozzle Cluster, for a good strong blast of air flow for a cleaning operation. The model 1111-4 delivers 3.2 lbs of force, at just 82 dBA of sound. A safe and efficient nozzle for blowoff operations.
Furthest East- We have shipped to Eastport, Maine. The customer in Eastport ordered a Line Vac and a section of Conveyance Hose. The Line Vac is a great tool for conveying large volumes of material over long distances, through a standard hose or tube. The compact design features large throat diameters for maximum throughput capability.
It was interesting to look back and see all the places that EXAIR has shipped. We have customers from all over the globe. If you are outside the of 50 US States and Canada, we have a dedicated team of International Application Engineers that will work with you to select the best EXAIR product for your process and application, and direct you to your local International Distributor.
If you would like to talk about 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.
EXAIR manufactures the line of air knives known as the Super Air Knife. We pride ourselves on the wide array of material types and lengths that we offer, all from stock.
The Super Air Knife is the latest generation of engineered air knife that dramatically reduces compressed air usage and noise when compared to other blowoffs. It is a very efficient way to clean, dry, or cool parts, webs, or conveyors. It delivers a sheet of laminar air flow across the entire length, with a smooth and consistent delivery of air.
In order meet process environments that may be hot or corrosive in nature, EXAIR offers the Super Air Knife in four standard materials. The materials for stock air knives are aluminum, Type 303 stainless steel, Type 316 stainless steel, and PVDF (Polyvinylidene Fluoride.) Aluminum is well suited for a wide variety of environments where corrosion or contamination is not a factor. Type 303 stainless steel is a very common grade of stainless steel, and is good for mildly corrosive environments up to 400 °F. Type 316 stainless steel offers excellent corrosion resistance, better strength properties, and resists pitting. It can handle temperatures up to 800°F. Lastly, the PVDF air knives offer many benefits including resistance to UV light, inorganic chemicals, solvents, ozone, acids, weak bases and salts and can withstand temperatures up to 275°F. If there is a certain material required, EXAIR can also do custom Super Air Knives and have done them in PVC and other plastics. Check out this write up about a very unique custom material Super Air Knife that we made.
Not only is there a wide offering of materials of construction to meet the process needs, the Super Air Knives are available in many lengths to fit into the space available. From stock, we offer Super Air Knives in these lengths-
If a special length knife is needed, or one longer than the 108″, the Super Air Knives can be coupled utilizing the stocked Air Knife Coupling Kit to join multiple air knives as needed. If space is an issue, and certain length that is not stocked is needed, just give us a call – we can manufacture them to your specifications, to the exact length that you need. It takes just a few days and then the Super Air Knife of exactly the proper length will be on its way.
If you have questions about the Super Air Knives, or would like to talk about 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.
Intelligent Use of Compressed Air – Most industrial facilities have at least one air compressor. The compressor is used to power anything from pneumatic tools, air powered equipment, compressed air cylinders, blowoffs and many more types of operations. Improper use of compressed air can lead to unnecessary energy costs, high noise levels and dangerous exposure of personnel to high pressure air.
The EXAIR Super Air Knife uses only 1/3 of the compressed air of typical blowoffs.
Long Super Air Knife with Plumbing Kit Installed and using the model 9060 Universal Air Knife Mounting Kit to Blowoff Laser Cutting Debris
By taking advantage of the Super Air Knife’s highly efficient design and the action of air entertainment, the Super Air Knife draws in large amounts of surrounding free outside air into the air stream. The result is a strong powerful air flow made up of a small amount of compressed air and a large amount of ambient air.
Compressed air flows through an inlet (1) into the plenum chamber of the Super Air Knife. The flow is directed to a precise slotted orifice. As the primary airflow exits the thin slotted nozzle (2), it follows a flat surface that directs the airflow in a perfectly straight line. This creates a uniform sheet of air across the entire length of the Super Air Knife. Velocity loss is minimized and force is maximized as room air (3) is entrained into the primary air stream at a ratio of 40:1. The result is a well defined sheet of laminar airflow with hard-hitting force and minimal wind shear is delivered.
By using a Super Air Knife – and the advantage of the high amplification via air entertainment – for part blowoff, cooling, or drying you can reduce energy costs, reduce noise levels, and eliminate harmful dead end pressures. Other air knives typically entrain surrounding air at a ratio of 30:1 or less.
EXAIR offers the Super Air Knife with materials of construction of aluminum, Types 303 and 316 Stainless Steel, and PVDF to cover a wide variety of application temperatures and environments. Other materials may be possible, pending review by our Product Design Engineers. The Super Air Knives are offered as the knife only, as part of a full kit, which also includes a shim set, auto drain filter separator, and pressure regulator. The Super Air Knife can be fitted with Plumbing Kits and/or Electronic Flow Control making installation easier and help to save on air usage.
If you have questions about Super Air Knives, or would like to talk about any EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Product, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.
