Tag: technology

Dad, Are You Serious!

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slideIn support of those who used slide rules, comptometers, and bumper jacks…
My son was helping me clean out the basement when we came across my old slide rule. He asked what it was so I demonstrated how it worked. He looked at me with a blank stare and said ” Dad are you serious! Why not just use a calculator!” I told him because calculators were not around until the early 70’s. Then all they could do is add, subtract, multiply, and divide.

To preserve the legacy of the trusty slide rule, I challenged him to a math problem. He would use the calculator and would I used the slide rule. I won because it took fewer motions than it does with tapping a multitude of buttons on the calculator.

As an engineer, I embrace all new technology. Admittedly though, old technology is not totally useless and should not be regarded as irrelevant. Most new technology is spawned from the old. Wind power is as old as Don Quixote. Today’s wind turbines are simply a more efficient design in harnessing wind to generate electricity. Amateur Radio was a popular way to talk around the world. With the advent of the internet and cellphones  the novelty has waned. That’s not to say Ham Radio should be mothballed. In the case of a natural disaster, or if the internet would be  hacked by enemy forces, a pool of people with radio transmission skills will be called upon.

So in summary, new may be better but it does not make old useless. Preserve the old and glean from it new and improved technologies.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax (513) 671-3363
Web: http://www.exair.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair

Dude, Where’s My Air Pressure?

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

The question comes up every so often. “I have 10 BARG plant pressure, but can only get 2 BARG pressure on the gauge at your Chip Vac.  What is the problem?”

We call the problem “pressure drop”. And pressure drop is attributed to many things. All of them have to do with the delivery of the compressed air supply up to the point of use or product.  In this case, the product was EXAIR’s 5 Gallon Chip Vac Model 6193-5. We found that actually having a pressure gauge installed right at the inlet of the Chip Vac vacuum generating part itself help greatly for the customer to realize the nature of their problem. The sources of such problems are usually to do with the diameter of the compressed air line feeding the “device” being too small. You will probably note in the photo that the customer has installed a 6 mm inside diameter line with a quick connect fitting. Upon further questioning of the customer, this supply line was 10 meters (33 ft) long. The Chip Vac requires 33 SCFM @ 80 PSIG (934 SCFM @ 5.5 BARG) to operate as advertised. Note this is the requirement at the inlet. Where you measure pressure in a compressed air system is of utmost importance. And for any compressed air consuming device, that value is going to be as used at the inlet, not at the wall or wherever the compressed air drop may be located.

Once the customer was able to increase to a 12 mm ID line and cut the length down to about 5 meters, the Chip Vac performed as intended. This was because it was no longer starving for compressed air through the smaller line.

We notice that many customers will try to get away with using too small a diameter of compressed air line. Perhaps it is what they had on hand or it was cheap to get. The problem is they end up shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to performance of the product connected out at the point of use.

By taking the time to practice proper plumbing technique, one can save themselves a lot of headache when setting up any pneumatic equipment. Of course, if you need advice on what the proper line size needs to be for any given installation, give us a call. We’ll be glad to assist you.

Neal Raker, Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

American Machine Tools – Yesterday and Today

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Early Bullard Machine

I just came back from the IMTS show where I saw lots of machine tools and new innovations. Having been in the industry for 40 years, I could not help but think of all the company names that I was familiar with over the years that are no longer the stars of the show. Names like Blanchard, Bliss, Bullard, Le Blonde, Kearney & Trecker, Acme Gridley have been become more or less memories of Americana.What is most interesting to me is the history of these companies and their founders. Do a little research on the internet and you will find their founders were innovators and entrepreneurs who gave birth to the term “Yankee Ingenuity” The machine tool industry is what propelled the American economy. And with unfettered freedom to pursue and develop an idea, America became the world’s leading economy.

Some companies may have come and gone, but American exceptionalism still persists despite all the social and political discourse. This was quite evident from all the exhibits at the show. I witnessed vision systems that control the process to perfection, tool bits of exotic materials improving machinability, laser cutters capable of cutting the shell of an egg without breaking it. It was obvious to me, that with american ingenuity, what were challenges are now opportunities.

Modern Bullard Machine

We at EXAIR would like the opportunity to assist you with your compressed air challenges. Give one of our application engineers a call 1-800-903-9247 and experience what we can do for you.

Joe Panfalone
Application Engineer
Phone (513) 671-3322
Fax   (513) 671-3363
Web: www.exair.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/exair_jp
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/exair

I’m a geek and I know it.

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

More than once since I have known my wife she has given me a look as if to say, I can’t believe I know someone as geeky as you.  (Ok, maybe it’s been too many times to count.)  Last week I was able to get comic books into my blog, I’m pretty sure I have mentioned video games, and even building computers.  While I don’t consider myself as big of a geek as some of my friends are, the fact is I am a geek.

I am ok with this and I am sure once my daughter is at the right age she will not be ok with it.  The fact is that technology, and engineering catch my interest.  I can read a tech manual for my motorcycle a lot faster and with more enjoyment than I can any fictional novel.  This is also one of the many reasons I became an engineer.

This is yet another reason why I enjoy my job here at EXAIR so much, I’m constantly learning from our customers how their products and processes are done so that I can help them better their process.  This always intrigues me because not only are the customers learning from me how to implement the EXAIR product lines but at the same time I am learning new processes and how things are made so that I can then help other customers in the future with similar applications.

It’s an infinite loop of learning for me here at EXAIR.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF