Tag: supersonic air knife

Ask Your Application Engineer If An EXAIR Air Knife Is Right For You

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Right on schedule with the change in temperature as summer turns to fall, I woke up with a scratchy throat, runny nose, and a bit of fatigue this morning. I weighed my options for relief in the medicine cabinet: pain reliever/fever reducers, over-the-counter cold & flu medication that add cough suppressants, expectorants, and decongestants to the mix, homeopathic remedies with zinc, echinacea, all natural immune boosters, and a jar of honey for my tea or bourbon, depending on the time of day…and my mood. If my symptoms worsen, I can get tested for the flu or COVID, and may be prescribed antiviral medication. In any case, rest and hydration will likely be important factors in my recovery.

Much like my medicine cabinet, the Air Knives section of the EXAIR catalog has a selection of remedies for problems that can be addressed by a curtain of air. If the curtain of air needed is 36″ or less, we can consider any of the three styles of Air Knife we make: Super, Standard, or Full Flow. If it has to be more than that, the Full Flow Air Knives are out (36″ is their max length) but Standard Air Knives come in lengths up to 48″. Super Air Knives give us the most range here; they come in lengths up to 108″, and can actually be coupled together to provide uninterrupted curtains of flow in whatever length is needed.

Super Air Knives (left) come in lengths up to 108″, Standard Air Knives (middle) up to 48″, and Full Flow Air Knives (right) up to 36″.

Standard and Full Flow Air Knives come in aluminum or 303SS. Aluminum is lightweight and suitable for general purpose applications where high heat and corrosive elements are not a factor. Aluminum Air Knives are rated to 180°F. Type 303 Stainless Steel is suitable for mildly corrosive environments, and is rated to 800°F ambient temperatures.

Super Air Knives are available in aluminum and 303SS, as well as 316SS and PVDF. Type 316 Stainless Steel is stronger and more corrosion resistant than Type 303, and offers superior resistance to certain pitting, which makes it the best choice for food, pharmaceutical, and surgical product manufacturers. PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) Super Air Knives have Hastelloy C276 hardware and PTFE Shims. They provide superior corrosion resistance in more aggressive situations than Stainless Steel can like, like in electroplating, solar cell and lithium ion battery manufacturing, strong acid & caustic chemical handling, etc.

The first Air Knife developed by EXAIR was the Standard Air Knife (formerly known as the EXAIR Knife) and are still quiet and efficient alternatives to drilled pipes, manifolds with open-ended blowing nozzles, and blower-powered air knives. They use a Coanda profile (more on that in a minute) which causes the airflow to turn 90° from where it exits the linear nozzle formed by the shim between the cap & body. This primary air stream entrains surrounding air from the environment, resulting in a total developed airflow that’s 30 time greater than the compressed air consumption of the Air Knife. This entrainment creates a low velocity boundary layer, which reduces the sound level, but there still is some wind shear produced along the Coanda profile.

Because of the end ports in the relatively small profile of the body, there’s 1/2″ on each end where there’s no flow. Since we identify them by the length of the air curtain they generate, Standard Air Knives are physically 1″ longer than their published length (a Model 2012 12″ Aluminum Standard Air Knife has an overall length of 13″, a Model 2018SS 18″ 303SS Standard Air Knife is actually 19″ long, etc.) Full Flow Air Knives use a Coanda profile as well, but they have rear ports, so there’s full flow (as advertised) from end to end. Here’s more on how the Standard and Full Flow Air Knives work:

Compressed air flows through the inlet (1) to the Full Flow (left) or Standard (right) Air Knife, into the internal plenum. It then discharges through a thin gap (2), adhering to the Coanda profile (3) which directs it down the face of the Air Knife. The precision engineered & finished surfaces optimize entrainment of air (4) from the surrounding environment.

The latest, and greatest generation of engineered Air Knife in EXAIR’s arsenal is the Super Air Knife. As detailed above, they offer the most choices in length & materials. They’re also the most efficient, and quietest. Because the airflow exits straight from the linear nozzle formed by the shim gap between the body & cap, with no wind shear, the low velocity boundary layer produced by the entrainment of surrounding air means the sound level (with an 80psig inlet pressure) is a remarkably low 69dBA at a distance of three feet. Any style (Standard, Full Flow, or Super) Air Knife will perform just fine in just about any application that requires a curtain of airflow. If noise level, and/or operating cost, are on your mind, though, the Super Air Knife is certainly worth considering. With just a few details about the application, we can calculate the difference in operating cost for all three models of a given length, and provide you with the ROI (return on investment) for the Super Air Knife. If you’d like to find out more, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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The Hidden Costs of Inferior Compressed Air Products

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

Compressed air is one of the most versatile utilities in industry. It’s used for everything from part drying and debris removal to cooling and conveying. But not all compressed air products are created equal. Too often, I come across shops and plants relying on drilled pipes, open tubes, or cheap plastic nozzles to get the job done. On the surface, these might seem like quick and inexpensive fixes. In reality, they end up costing much more in wasted energy, unnecessary noise, and lost productivity.

Let’s start with drilled pipes and open-ended blow offs, since they’re some of the most common culprits. At first glance, they look like an easy solution. Just drill a few holes, hook up compressed air, and let it blast away. The problem is they waste a tremendous amount of air. They’re also extremely loud, often well above OSHA’s permissible noise levels outlined in 1910.95(a). In many cases, the sound exposure can reach levels that require hearing protection just to operate nearby. Beyond that, drilled holes create a dead-end pressure condition that violates OSHA 1910.242(b), which states that compressed air used for cleaning must be regulated to 30 PSIG if dead-ended. This is a serious safety concern that’s often overlooked until an injury or compliance audit brings it to light (or even worse, an OSHA inspection).

These wasteful and loud modular plastic tube blow offs…

Cheap nozzles and modular coolant hoses being used for compressed air fall into the same trap. They’re not designed to handle the pressures and flows involved in compressed air applications. This means poor performance, higher operating costs, and, in many cases, premature failure. It’s not unusual to see these hoses break down or simply pop off, creating unsafe conditions on the floor. What seemed like a cost-saving shortcut turns into downtime, frustration, and more expense down the road. The high consumption of these devices also leads to pressure drops elsewhere in your compressed air system.

This is where engineered solutions from EXAIR make the difference. Every nozzle, air knife, and air gun is designed with efficiency and safety at the forefront. Engineered nozzles, for example, reduce compressed air consumption while maintaining or even amplifying force. They also dramatically reduce noise levels, often bringing them into full OSHA compliance. Products like the Super Air Knife provide uniform airflow across an entire length while using a fraction of the air compared to drilled pipes.

In a previous blog, we shared an example where a customer was using a ¾” drilled pipe for blowoff on their production line. By replacing it with a 12” Super Air Knife, they reduced their compressed air consumption by over 80 SCFM. At their energy rate, this translated into more than $5,000 in annual savings, with a payback period of just a few months. Not only did they cut their energy bill, but they also eliminated an OSHA noise hazard and brought their system into compliance with dead-end pressure regulations.

When you factor in the rising costs of energy, the difference is not small. Inefficient or inferior products consume more compressed air than necessary, which means compressors work harder, energy bills rise, and maintenance intervals shorten. On the other hand, using an engineered solution is an investment that pays itself back quickly, often in months (or days) rather than years.

With engineered EXAIR products, you’ll improve efficiency, cut costs, reduce noise, and create a safer workplace. The short-term convenience of “cheap and easy” rarely holds up against the long-term benefits of doing it right the first time.

Tyler Daniel, CCASS

Application Engineer/Intl Trade

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

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Let’s Build A Blowoff System!

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR makes a wide variety of Intelligent Compressed Air Products that can be used for blowoff applications. The first step is to consider what size, and shape, the airflow pattern needs to be. If it’s a smooth, flat surface, our Air Knives are ideal for that. If a more directed, focused stream of air is required, we have Air Nozzles, Air Jets, and Air Amplifiers. And if it’s for statically charged debris, we can put Ionizers on Air Knives (Super Ion Air Knives), Air Nozzles (Intellistat Ion Air Nozzles), Air Jets (Gen4 Ion Air Jets) and Air Amplifiers (Gen4 Ion Air Cannons.)

If you navigate the EXAIR website to our Blowoff Kits, you’ll see that we can provide a number of our quiet, safe, and efficient Air Nozzles with Magnetic Bases and/or Stay Set Hoses for a quick & easy Blowoff System. In addition to the half dozen or so systems that are specifically called out, you can also put together your own setup that best suits your application. Here’s how:

Example: Model 1100-9412 is two Super Air Nozzles on a Dual Outlet Magnetic Base with 12″ Stay Set Hoses.

If you’d like to discuss a blowoff application – regardless of size or shape – give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Who Wants to Save on Compressed Air?

Published on by Al WooffittLeave a comment

At EXAIR we pride ourselves on helping our customers optimize their compressed air usage. Our intelligent compressed air products are engineered to be quiet and efficient, saving you on compressed air consumption. This is just one of the six steps that we recommend in order to optimize your compressed air system.

The first step we would recommend is to measure your air consumption. If you are going to attempt to reduce air consumption in your facility, it is necessary to know what is using it. If you know the consumption of your compressed air-operated products, you can make note of this. A more comprehensive solution would be to install some of our Digital Flowmeters in branch lines in your facility. The flow data provided by this will help you narrow down the high consumption areas and processes.

The second step we would suggest is to find and fix leaks. Our Ultrasonic Leak Detector is perfect for this. According to the Compressed Air and Gas Institute, leaks should not exceed 5-10% of your system’s air supply (we would obviously want 0%, but realistically this is unachievable). However, it is not uncommon to see leaks account for over 30% of many facilities’ compressed air supply being lost through leakage. That’s a potential for a 25% gain in compressed air supply!

The third step would be to upgrade your blowoff, cooling and drying operations using engineered compressed air products. All of EXAIR’s products, like our Super Air Knives, or Super Air Nozzles, are designed with efficiency in mind. Upgrading to an efficient EXAIR product is going to reduce your consumption, sometimes dramatically so!

The fourth step is to turn off your compressed air when not in use. This may sound obvious, but it is not uncommon for compressed air products to be left running continuously. We offer many solutions here, from a simple ball valve (found in many of our Drum Vac Kits), to a solenoid valve (found in our Cabinet Cooler Systems), to our Electronic Flow Controllers – combining a solenoid valve and photoelectric sensor.

The fifth step would be to use intermediate storage near the point of use. If you are controlling your compressed air usage through the use of valves and controls, then your consumption won’t be constant. This fluctuation in demand can be evened out with the use of secondary storage, like our Model 9500-60 Receiver Tank. This will ensure you have the volume and pressure when and where you need it.

Finally, our sixth step is to control the operating pressure. More specifically, to reduce the pressure to the minimum required to get the job done. Simply installing a pressure regulator at the point of use will lead to big savings.

If you would like to start optimizing your compressed air system, then give me a call!

Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer

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