Tag: swivel fitting

Steps to Find Compressed Air Leaks in your Facility

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

The Second Step to optimize your compressed air system is to Find and fix leaks in your compressed air system. The reason leaks are important to find and fix is because they can account for 20-30% of a compressors total output. A compressed air leak fixing process can save 10-20% of that lost volume.

6-steps-from-catalog

Unintentional leaks will result in increased maintenance issues and can be found in any part of a compressed air system. Leaks can be found at a poorly sealed fitting, quick disconnects and even right through old or poorly maintained supply piping. Good practice will be to develop an ongoing leak detection program.

The critical steps needed for an effective leak detection program are as follows:

  1. Get a foundation (baseline) for your compressed air use so you have something to compare once you begin eliminating leaks. This will allow you to quantify the savings.
  2. Estimate how much air you are currently losing to air leaks. This can be done by using one of two methods.
    • Load/Unload systems, where T= Time fully loaded and t=Time fully unloaded:
        • Leakage percent = T x 100
          ——
          (T + t)
    • Systems with other controls where V=cubic feet, P1 and P2=PSIG, and T=minutes
        • Leakage = V x (P1-P2) x 1.25
          ————–
          T x 14.7
  3. Know your cost of compressed air so you can provide effectiveness of the leak fixing process.
  4. Find, Document and Fix the leaks. Start by fixing the worst offenders, fix the largest leaks. Document both the leaks found and the leaks fixed which can help illustrate problem areas or repeat offenders, which could indicate other problems within the system.
  5. Compare the baseline to your final results.
  6. Repeat. We know you didn’t want to hear this but it will be necessary to continue an efficient compressed air system in your plant.

EXAIR has a tool to assist you in finding these leaks throughout your facility, the Ultrasonic Leak Detector. Check one of our other Blogs here, to see how it works!

Leak Detector

 

If you’d like to discuss how to get the most out of your compressed air system – or our products – give me a call.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer
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Upgrade Blowoff Applications with Engineered Products to Increase Safety and Efficiency

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

At EXAIR, it’s our business to make sure that you get the most out of your compressed air system.  We’ve got a Six Step plan to help you do just that, and one of those steps is the topic of today’s blog:

We have a couple of ways to help with step #1.  You can use a Digital Flowmeter to measure your total compressed air usage, and take advantage of our Efficiency Lab service to determine the consumption of individual compressed air devices that may be running up the total.  Based on our performance tests of those devices, we can recommend suitable EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products to replace them with, along with the expected reductions in air consumption & noise levels…quieter is always better too.

We’re going to skip right over Step #2…just for now…but if you can’t wait, click on the picture above for more on finding & fixing leaks.

Once you get our recommended replacements in (I mean, why wouldn’t you?), they’re going to be part of your compressed air system, so naturally, we want to make sure you get the most out of them as well.  Key considerations are suitable supply lines, and proper installation.

In the case of a Super Air Nozzle or Air Jet, these are oftentimes one and the same.  They’re all small enough, and lightweight enough, to be adequately supported by compressed air piping (assuming the piping is adequately supported,) metal tubing (via a compression fitting adapter,) or even mounting solutions like our Stay Set Hoses.

Just a few ideas for installing an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle

Sometimes, though, you need a firm, vibration-resistant mounting…that’s where we recommend our Swivel Fittings.  A hex retainer tightly locks the ball in position, but allows for easy repositioning when loosened.  They come in standard NPT sizes from 1″ NPT down to 1/8″ NPT, and we even have them for the M4, M5, and M6 metric threads for our Atto, Pico, and Nano Super Air Nozzles.

Typical threaded fittings are limited in the angles you can achieve. EXAIR Swivel Fittings provide 50° of adjustability.

Even a highly efficient blow off needs to be aimed well in order to do its job well.  If you’d like to discuss how to get the most out of your compressed air system – or our products – give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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The Case For EXAIR Swivel Fittings

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

One of the more common questions we get here in the Application Engineering department at EXAIR is…

“What’s the best angle to position a Super Air Nozzle?”

The simple (and perhaps a little snarky, but I swear that’s not intended) answer is…

“The angle it takes to get the results you need.”

But wait, there’s more…we’re not going to leave anybody hanging like that. Many blow off applications are going to be best served by a “sweep” of air, at a low angle. That will be ideal for removing a light layer of dust from a relatively flat and smooth surface. A bit larger angle, relative to the surface, may be necessary if you need some impingement force to dislodge sticky, clumpy, or mildly adhesive debris.  Rarely will you want to blow directly, at a perpendicular angle, to a material’s surface.  An exception to this might be if you’re trying to remove excess moisture from a porous and thin material, like a web fiber.

Regardless of what angle you need to aim your Super Air Nozzle, there are several ways to do it.  You can use a compression fitting them onto bendable copper tubing…just don’t bend it too much or too often.  We’ve got Stay Set Hoses that allow for quick & easy repositioning…they come in lengths from 6″ to 36″, and are in stock.

EXAIR Stay Set Hoses and Swivel Fittings are ideal for installation and positioning of your Super Air Nozzle.

If you want to hold it in place firmly and securely, you’re looking for a Swivel Fitting.  They’re available for almost all of our Super Air Nozzles, from the Atto to the 1″ NPT Model 1114 High Force Super Air Nozzle.  They offer 50° of total movement, and are made of Stainless Steel for durability in most any environment.

EXAIR Swivel Fittings have male NPT threads on one end, and female NPT on the other.  The smaller Swivels, for the Atto, Pico, and Nano Super Air Nozzles, have M4x0.5mm, M5x0.5mm, and M6x0.75mm female threads, respectively, in the ball of the swivel itself for direct threading of these small Super Air Nozzles.

EXAIR’s Swivel Fitting Family

Swivel Fittings can also be used with a host of other EXAIR products.  In addition to the Super Air Nozzles, for example, they’ve historically been very popular with our Air Amplifiers.  Here’s a short informational video showing just how versatile they are:

EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Products are made to be easy to install & operate.  This is our intent from Research & Development, to Shipping & Receiving.  If you have questions, give me a call.  I want you to get the most out of our products!

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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EXAIR’s Swivel Fittings Provide Precise Blowoff Positioning

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment
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EXAIR’s smaller Swivel Fittings for the Atto, Pico, and Nano Super Air Nozzles

Are you tired of having to scrounge around the production floor for the right fittings to precisely position your air nozzle? Not only is it a pain to try and find the correct fittings, extensions, etc. but once you do the position of the nozzle is hard to adjust. To alleviate this problem, EXAIR has designed a variety of different sized swivel fittings that allow you to precisely position the nozzle, then easily tighten and lock into place.

swivel comparison
Don’t waste time using various pipe fittings to position your nozzle, use an EXAIR Swivel Fitting

EXAIR’s Swivel Fittings are available in 9 different sizes, from as small as 1/8” NPT male x M4 x .5mm female and up to 1” NPT male x 1” NPT female. The smaller swivels (M4-M6) are constructed of 316 stainless steel and the swivels ranging from 1/8 NPT – 1” NPT are available in 303 stainless steel. The Swivel Fittings allow for movement of 25 degrees from the center axis for a total movement of 50 degrees. This permits correct placement of the blowing angle, helping to optimize the performance of your blowoff process. With no gaskets or seals to wear out, there’s no maintenance required to maintain optimum performance.

Swivel Fittings

Swivels can be used on any of our Air Nozzles up to 1” and can also be used with the Adjustable and Super Air Amplifiers. By simply adding a “W” suffix to the part number, the correctly sized swivel fitting will be added to your order. For example, an 1122W would be one of our 2” Flat Super Air Nozzles with a ¼ NPT male x ¼ NPT female Swivel Fitting included. Stop wasting time trying to find the proper fittings and positioning for your blowoff nozzles! Contact an Application Engineer and get some of EXAIR’s Swivel Fittings on order today, available from stock.

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