Tag: swivel nozzle

Tag Teams

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

Some of the perks with my job are the ways we create solutions.  And with this solution, we had to create a “Tag Team” to meet the criteria.  We have a customer that has a long conveyor line that travels outdoors from a quarry to the facility.  The issue was with snow.  With the amount of snow that we have been getting this winter in the northern regions, they had to try and keep their product free from snow and ice.  Most of the time, the snow could be easily displaced with our Super Air Knives.  But, when the temperature increased; the snow became wet and heavy.  This would cause the wet snow to stick and roll up into small snow balls.  With the speed that the conveyor was traveling, the Super Air Knives needed help.

 

Knife and Nozzle (Tag Team)
Knife and Nozzle (Tag Team)

In analyzing a solution, we could increase the shim thickness to increase the force.  But when the temperature decreased and the snow was light and fluffy, the excess compressed air would be wasted.   We decided to add High Power 2” Flat nozzles with the Flexible Stay Set Hoses.  They were positioned at different angles to break the wet snow into smaller forms.  Then the Super Air Knives would clear the finer snow off the product.  If the temperature decreased and the wet snow was not an issue, the High Power 2” Flat Nozzles could be shut off.  This kept the conveyor running as well as saving compressed air during the cold season.  In some applications, we may have to combine EXAIR products to solve a problem.  If you ever feel that your compressed air application seems difficult, just tag one of our Application Engineers to team up and find a solution.

John Ball
Application Engineer
johnball@exair.com
twitter.com/exair_jb

 

Gold Lambo, Gold iPhone, Gold Nozzle??

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment
Gold Lambo
Gold Lamborghini
Gold iPhone
Gold iPhone
Gold Nozzle
Gold EXAIR nozzle

Wait – gold nozzle?  That was my thought when I received the photo above showing what appears to be our 1100SST nozzle, but of a slightly different variety.

While I recognized the model number immediately, it was a bit strange to see one in such a color.  Then, I opened up the next photo attached to the email to see the “gold” air gun as well.

Gold nozzle and gun

It was plain to see that some sort of camera setting or lighting had brought about the abnormality, but it was interesting to consider (just for a second) that a gold version of our nozzles was out there floating around. (This is a somewhat similar situation to the, now infamous, dress).

And, even though EXAIR nozzles aren’t made of gold, they’ve still won gold awards as a Plant Engineering Product of the Year.  So, EXAIR customers are still getting gold even when the nozzles are made of stainless steel (or aluminum… or PEEK plastic… or brass…).

If you have an application that may benefit from an award winning nozzle design, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Golden Lambo image courtesy of durdaneta.  Creative Commons License
24ct Gold & Swarovski iPhone 5 image courtesy of Ashe Gold Elements.  Creative Commons License

Painting a clear picture

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

While we are waiting for the new addition to our family, we started making plans to move our first son into the second bedroom, his current playroom. We asked him what colors he wanted and without hesitation he rattled off….. “I want blue on the bottom, gray on the top and black in the middle” (chair rail). My wife and I cringed at the black chair rail and offered maybe a charcoal gray? or maybe just white? but these were NOT going to be options. The boy knows what he wants, “Dad, I am going to be a big brother now so I need a big boy room”.

We headed out to the local home improvement store to get some paint samples. Our son stood in amazement (confusion) as he gazed at the hundreds of different shades of blues and grays. He took one card after another until his hands were full and that’s about the time a store employee noticed his struggle and offered some assistance. The paint company provides the store with a touchscreen where you can design a room , complete with a chair rail and compare the different paint codes to see the various combinations together. This saved us a huge amount of time as our son was able to match up the colors he wanted, avoiding the potential for multiple trips back and forth to the store and eliminated wasting several gallons of paint.

This got me thinking…. Here at EXAIR, we receive calls from customers who are looking to replace their wasteful, loud and unsafe open pipe blowoffs with one our engineered air nozzles. All of EXAIR’s Air Nozzles and Jets meet the OSHA Standard 1910.42(b) for 30 psi dead end pressure (cannot be dead ended) and OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a) for allowable noise exposure levels. Since we offer so many different nozzles, it can sometimes be confusing, but EXAIR has you taken care of with our Air Nozzles and Jets and High Force Air Nozzles Comparison Chart(s). The charts are sorted by compressed air consumption (when operating at 80 PSIG) and provides the nozzle Model #, material of construction, inlet size, air consumption, force and sound level, making it easy to match to your existing setup.

Air Nozzles and Jets Comparison Chart
Air Nozzles and Jets Comparison Chart

 

High Force Air Nozzles
High Force Air Nozzles Comparison Chart

Of course, if you are still unsure, you can always contact an Application Engineer for assistance.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

Nano Super Air Nozzle Removes Coolant From Die Casting

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

We take quite a few calls from customers looking for a nozzle that will provide more force than the current open ended pipe they are currently using. While we do offer nozzles that range in force from 2.0 ounces up to 23 lbs., sometimes force isn’t as important as is having a high velocity, depending on the application.

I recently worked with a customer who was wanting to blow machining coolant out of a blind hole in their aluminum die casting application. O the bottom of the part is an M10 tapped hole, 32mm deep and is running on a conveyor system that indexes to different stations. As the part indexes and goes over a transition, they were using an 1/8” open pipe, to blow up into the blind hole to remove coolant and any remaining debris hung up in the threads of the hole. While the open pipe was doing the job, they were needing a more efficient alternative with a small footprint to fit the application.

I recommended using our Model # 1110SS-NPT Nano Super Air Nozzle. The Nano Super Air Nozzle, produces 8.1 ounces force but also provides a high velocity, focused air stream. Compared to the open pipe, the unit consumes about 1/8 of the compressed air or only 8.3 SCFM @ 80 PSIG. (See below chart).

open blow air consumption
Inefficient Homemade Blowoffs

All of our nozzles take advantage of the Coanda effect to entrain the surrounding air, up to 25 times or more. The result is a high velocity, forceful airstream that requires a minimal amount of compressed air. As well as being OSHA compliant for 30 psi dead end pressure (cannot be dead ended) per Standard CFR 1910.242(b) and meeting the allowable noise exposure limits per Standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a).

If you have an application where you are needing to replace the unsafe, inefficient blowoffs in your facility, please contact an Application Engineer at 1-800-903-9247.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN