Today, I wanted to share one of the many tools that we utilize here in the EXAIR Efficiency Lab. The video will show how a Glass Rotameter is used and works under both compressed air and atmospheric air volumetric flows. If you want to see how your products flow, give us a call, and we will set up an EXAIR Efficiency Lab for you.
Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF
I don’t want to sound “preachy,” but I’m a stickler for using the right tool for the job. Case in point: just the other day, I noticed (OK; my wife told me about) a loose drawer handle. I went to my toolbox in the garage to get a flat-head screwdriver, even though the drawer in question had a selection of butter knives, any one of which could have been used to tighten that screw.
I can trace this, without doubt or hesitation, to my service in the US Navy, under the direction of Senior Chief Cooper. Proper tool selection & use was VERY important to him. He stressed the issues of safety, quality, and performance, but if that didn’t work, he’d make his point with an offer to demonstrate the use of a specific tool (a ball peen hammer) on a sensitive part of your anatomy (it’s exactly the part you’re thinking of.) At that point, it would have been unwise (and unsafe) to question whether that was a proper use of the tool or not.
Choose wisely.
Likewise, there are safety, quality, and performance issues associated with compressed air blow offs. At EXAIR, we’re ALL sticklers about this, and we get calls all the time to discuss ways to get more out of compressed air systems by using the right products. Here’s a “textbook” example:
A hose manufacturer contacted me to find out more about our Air Wipes, and how they might be a better fit for their various cleaning & drying applications (spoiler alert: they are.) The blow offs they were using were made of modular hose, designed (and very successfully used) for coolant spraying in machine tools.
The selection process was two-fold: they purchased one Model 2401 1″ Super Air Wipe to verify performance, and they sent in some of their modular hose assemblies for Efficiency Lab testing. The first part was just as important as the second because, no matter how much air they were going to save (another spoiler alert: it was significant,) it wouldn’t matter if it didn’t get the job done. At the station shown above, the Super Air Wipe resulted in superior performance, and a compressed air cost savings of over $400.00 annually. For that one station. Based on that, they outfitted TWENTY FIVE stations with engineered product sized for their different hoses, using our Model 2400 (1/2″), 2401 (1″), 2402 (2″) and 2403 (3″) Super Air Wipes.
If you’d like to find out how using the right product for the job can help your operation, give me a call.
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
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Today, I want to take the opportunity to highlight some features on EXAIR’s website. EXAIR provides a website for technical information on products, point of sale and research on compressed air topics in general. For instance, if you would like to know, How a Vortex Tube Works, the Droplet Size of our Atomizing Spray Nozzles, or a Blow Off Comparison between a compressed air powered air knife and blower system, follow the links above and navigate to the topic that interests you on our website.
Our knowledge base features the CAD Library, Case Study Library, and Application Database. The Air Data Library is invaluable to any engineer specifying a compressed air piping system. It also features a great article for calculating air consumption at various inlet pressure. One of my favorite features though is the Air Savings Calculator.
The Air Savings Calculator allows you to calculate the cost of compressed air for various devices. The cost of compressed air for high usage device like open blow offs, drilled pipes and uncontrolled compressed air devices can add up quickly. With the air savings calculator, you can quickly find out how much those (8) 1/16″ inner diameter 18″ long open pipes are costing you per year ($2,016 if you are operating at 80 PSIG).
Some of the material that we make available to our visitors we request that you register on the site. The registration is a simple process to complete. Why would you want to take the time to give us you information? First, registering on EXAIR’s site gives access to our library of product applications for the last thirty years EXAIR has tracked how our products have been used to help our customers solve their industrial needs. Second, EXAIR members are granted access to CAD models in 2D and 3D of our products. The 3D models can easily import into AutoCAD Inventor®, Solidworks®, or PRO Engineer®. These models will allow you to easily import EXAIR products into your design to verify the fit and mounting in complex systems. Third, EXAIR Case Study library offers detailed analysis of economics, safety, and utility savings of using EXAIR products.
Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
@EXAIR_DW
DaveWoerner@EXAIR.com
