Saturday 30 April 2016

Atomizing Spray Nozzles


A Model AN1010SS Narrow Angle Atomizing Nozzle is used to mark strips of steel before they leave the mill.
A Model AN1010SS Internal Mix Narrow Angle Round Pattern Atomizing Nozzle is used to mark strips of steel before they leave the mill.
Siphon Fed Liquid Atomizing Nozzles
A Model SR1010SS Siphon Fed RoundPattern Atomizing Nozzle is used to supply a cooling mist for a drilling operation.
External Mix Liquid Atomizing Nozzles
Model EB1030SS External Mix Wide Angle Flat Fan Pattern Atomizing Nozzles are used to give a final sanitary rinse prior to labeling wine bottles.
EXAIR’s atomizing spray nozzles atomize fluids(most commonly water) in a range of spray patterns for a variety of uses. They combine liquid and compressed air to create a mist of atomized liquid that can be easily adjusted to meet the needs of your application. All models use stainless steel construction for durability and corrosion resistance.
EXAIR's atomizing nozzles are available in 3 basic families:

Internal Mix:

Internal mix nozzles mix the liquid and water inside the air cap and produce the finest atomization. Internal mix nozzles can be used on liquids with aviscosity up to 300 cp. Both air and liquid sides are pressure fed. >More

External Mix:

External mix nozzles have the highest flow rates and allow the air and liquid flows to be adjusted independently. These nozzles are best where precise liquid flow is needed. External mix nozzles can be used on liquids with a viscosity above 300 cp. Both air and liquid sides are pressure fed.>More

Siphon Fed:

Siphon fed nozzles require no liquid pressure and can be used with gravity fed liquids or lift liquids from a siphon height as much as 36 inches (91cm). Siphon fed nozzles can be used on liquids with a viscosity up to 200 cp>More

Friday 29 April 2016

Tiny Engineered Nozzle Saves 91 SCFM for Engine Block Blow-Off


Drilled pipe
Air Box with homemade nozzles
Above, you see a photo of what our customer calls an “air box”. It is aptly named as it consists of approximately 65 homemade nozzles, connected to a large plenum, which are able to be aimed in a variety of directions to blow out the numerous holes that are machined into the bottom of an aluminum engine block.
The engine (1024x621)
Engine Block with multiple holes to be blown out
Each of the nozzles above were hand-made for the air box fixture with an internal hole diameter of 1.6 mm. and which produced a force of about 50 grams with 6 BARG inlet pressure. The goal of reviewing the application was to see what if any EXAIR nozzles could replace these custom-made units to produce an air savings and thus cost savings for operating their fixture.
1108ss_profile
Model 1108SS Super Air Nozzle
After determining that the existing nozzles consumed 4.1 SCFM @ 6 BARG inlet pressure, I was able to make a comparison to the Super Air Nozzles that make up the smaller end of our flow range. In comparing these nozzles, I was able to determine that the Atto Super Air Nozzle, model 1108SS consumes 2.69 SCFM @ 6 BARG and produces 61 grams of force per nozzle.
The calculated air savings between the existing nozzle and the EXAIR Super Air Nozzle was about 34%. That’s a savings of 1.4 SCFM per nozzle. In terms of sheer air volume, that’s not a lot, BUT when you multiply that up over 65 nozzles, total air savings is 91 SCFM. That is close to saving the full output of a 25 HP air compressor!
And so, if you run out the cost to operate a 25 HP air compressor for a year’s worth of production, the savings becomes quite clear that by simply swapping out these homemade nozzles for an engineered solution with EXAIR Super Air Nozzles, the customer can achieve their goal for reduction in air use. Not to mention a significant reduction in the noise level for the application as well as enhanced safety with OSHA compliant nozzles.
Do you have a blowing application that could benefit from the same kind of simple, swapping of nozzles to bring your production costs down? Give us a call and let us know about your application. We would be happy to discuss with you and provide a similar comparison to determine how much air you could save!

Thursday 28 April 2016

Line Vacs Save Your Time, Your Backs – and Your Money

Line Vacs Save Your Time, Your Backs – and Your Money

A major manufacturer of machined products used portable electric vacuums to remove chips and coolant from their machines. These electric vacs continually broke down due to clogging, coolant getting into the electric motors, vacuum hose deterioration, etc…all of which caused down time and lost production. They were failing pretty consistently after about 3 months of use.
Electric Vacuums are prone to clogging, wearing out, and motor failure.
Electric Vacuums are prone to clogging, wearing out, and motor failure.
The tanks needed to be emptied on a regular basis as well, meaning the machine operator had to stop what he was doing (which makes the company money) and spend 10-15 minutes emptying out the tank (which does NOT make the company money,) three times per shift, on average. Additionally, the tanks could weigh up to 100lbs when full, so it was no small chore. Although this company reported no injuries (yet,) a common first line in a LOT of workplace back injury reports start out with: “While attempting to lift a 100 pound _____” You get the idea.
After hearing about the EXAIR Line Vac and calling to Exair to discuss, they decided to try a couple ofModel 6064 2″ 303SS Line Vacs. These were mounted near the machine with a short section of suction hose to reach inside, with a discharge hose taking the chips & coolant to the disposal bin. So, with a little help from EXAIR, they’ve saved:
*TIME: Machine operators never have to leave their workstations to lug the heavy tanks across the shop for emptying, meaning no work stoppages.
*BACKS: Because they don’t have to worry about those heavy tanks anymore, they’ve eliminated the risk of lifting-related injuries.
A Line Vac and two pieces of hose are all you need for a durable, easy to use, no maintenance, reliable vacuum conveyor.
A Line Vac and two pieces of hose are all you need for a durable, easy to use, no maintenance, reliable vacuum conveyor.
The first two Line Vacs worked out so well for them, they were able to justify adding them to the other eight machines in their facility. These are operated intermittently, so there’s not a drastic impact on their compressed air system demand. It’s a win-win-win…win.
If you’d like to find out how EXAIR’s engineered compressed air products can produce “wins” for you,give me a call. We ARE keeping score.
Vivek Engineers,
#22, 1st. Floor, 1st. Cross,
Adj. IIMB Compound, Bilekahalli Industrial Area,
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560 076.
Ph : 080 -  3297 0358, 4170 1145
TeleFax : 080- 2648 1309.
E- mail : p.lochan@vivekengineers.net
URL : www.vivekengineers.net

Wednesday 27 April 2016

Super Air Knives Are Perfect Solution For Electroplating Application

image1
The products on this rack need to be blown off before heat treating
 The application needed a system for blowing water from different components on racks (shown above) used during electroplating.  After blow off, these components go through a heat drying process, and it is critical to have as much of the water removed as possible.
Given the width of the rack and the need for even blow off across the full width, the most suitable solution is a pair of Super Air Knives.  The video above shows the dipping process of the rack and components, and this is where the end user wants to install their blow off.
Our recommendation was to mount one Super Air Knife on either side of the rack, across the width. The airflow aimed downward toward the dip tank at a 45 degree angle was also our recommendation.  This will create a complete blow off for the rack and the parts on it, while redirecting the water back into the tank below.  And, these racks have a right to left measurement of 60″, making our stock length 60″ Super Air Knife an ideal candidate for this application.
The consistency and repeatability of the Super Air  Knife provide a unique solution opportunity for this application.  If you have a similar application or application need, contact an Vivekengineers Application Engineer, we’ll be happy to help.
Vivek Engineers,
#22, 1st. Floor, 1st. Cross,
Adj. IIMB Compound, Bilekahalli Industrial Area,
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560 076.
Ph : 080 -  3297 0358, 4170 1145
TeleFax : 080- 2648 1309.
E- mail : sales@vivekengineers.net
URL : www.vivekengineers.net
CONTACT PERSONS :
Mr. Durga Madhab Praharaj - Sales & Opearations Manager.
Mob : 097404 39220. E -mail : durga@vivekengineers.net

Monday 25 April 2016

Standard Air Knife

Super Air Knife

Standard Air Knife

Hard hitting curtain of air for web, sheet and part blowoff.





What Is The Standard Air Knife?

A noiseless, energy competent way to clean, dry or cool parts, webs or conveyors. They provide a compact and efficient means to dry, clean and cool materials. Standard Air knives operate by entraining the surrounding air along with the compressed air utilizing the “coanda” effect essentially converting energy which would normally be lost as noise and pressure drop into useful flow. The standard Air Knife uses a small amount of compressed air as power source & draws in large volumes of surrounding air to produce a high flow, high velocity curtain of air for blow off.

Air Knives Perform Drying Cycle of Parts Washer

Why the Standard Air Knife?

Amplification ratios (entrained air to compressed air) of 30:1 are achieved with the Standard Air Knife, compared to 3:1 for drilled or slotted pipe. Air savings of 40% to 90% are possible when replacing these "homemade" blowoff devices. Pay-back is normally measured in weeks, not months or years.

The Standard Air Knife dramatically reduces "wind shear" by gradually introducing the entrained air to the ejected compressed air. Noise level is typically cut in half. The result is a high velocity, high volume sheet of air with reduced noise level and air consumption.
Drilled pipe or open jets, by contrast, provide minimal air amplification. They also produce unacceptably high noise levels as the compressed air shears into the still air.

(3) Model 2012 12" (305mm) Standard Air Knives
perform the drying cycle in this parts washer.





Saturday 23 April 2016

Static Eliminators Solve Multiple Label Printing Issues

Recently, Exair's Application Engineer visited a local customer to look at a specific application. This company prints over 146,000 different labels on plastic film, paper and foil. They called because they were seeing several different static related issues during printing and stacking processes.
On their first application, involving a 60″ wide sheeter, they were having an issue with irregularities as the sheet travels over several rollers where it enters the print head of the machine, then is cut and stacked. At the time of the visit, they were using a competitor’s product after the printer but those products were not effectively removing the static. We were able to determine they were not working by using  our Digital Static Meter which told us there was still a 2.7 kV charge after the treatment area. He recommended the customer replace the ineffective units with our 60″ Ionizing Bar. The Ionizing Bar produces a bulk of positive and negative ions to eliminate the surface static of an object when mounted within 2″ of the surface of the material. The bar features a mounting flange that would allow the customer to use the existing bracket for easy installation.
Ionizing Bars Work
Ionizing Bars – available from 3″ – 108″.
The second machine we looked at was a 42″ 3-sheet press. Our readings ranged from 4.2 kV on the top sheet, 1.4 kV middle sheet and 9.9 kV on the bottom sheet going into the press/print head and around 15.6 kV at the discharge. This unit also had another anti-static device taped in place but was clearly no longer operational. He again recommend the Ionizing Bar for this application as well. After speaking with the operator, he was saying he was also seeing an issue with the sheets lifting and trying to separate as they were being stacked. To remedy this problem He recommended using ourSuper Ion Air Knife at low pressure to blow ionized air from behind the sheet to help it float onto the stack and remove static at the same time. The Super Ion Air Knife is our Super Air Knife with theIonizing Bar attached and is capable of dissipating 5kV in less than half a second.
Super Ion Air Knife
Super Ion Air Knife provides laminar sheet of ionized air across the length of the knife.
Lastly, we looked at their smaller sheeting machine and on this unit we were seeing around 3.5 kV as they stack was fed into the feeder and 7-8kV at the end stacker. At the beginning of the process we noticed the customer was using an air blowoff on each side of the sheet stack to assist with lifting and getting some separation between the sheets for the mechanical lifter to feed the machine. At this area they were experiencing some issues as occasionally the lifter would pick up more than 1 sheet and cause a jam which shut the system down. It turns out the airflow across the sheets was actually generating a slight static charge as we were seeing higher readings around 4.2 kV. Since they were already using air, He recommended replacing these blowoffs with our Ion Air Jet. This would aid in reducing the static and result in a more effective separation between the sheets allowing for a cleaner lift. For the sheet itself, we would recommended the Ionizing Bar if they were able to mount within 2″ or the Super Ion Air Knife for further mounting distance.
NEW Ion Air Jet
Ion Air Jet produces concentrated ionized airflow.

We realize we can’t look at every customer’s process but any photos or videos you could share of your application, we would gladly review and make a possible recommendation. Please contact one of our application engineers for assistance.

Friday 22 April 2016

Chip Trapper

Chip Trapper



Filter the chips out of your used coolant and cutting oils! 



Vacuums in the liquid with solids,pumps out only the liquid!



What Is The Chip Trapper?

The new Chip Trapper (patent pending) offers a fast, easy way to clean chips, swarf and shavings out of used coolants and other liquids. The Chip Trapper vacuums the coolant or liquid that is filled with debris and traps all the solids in a reusable filter bag. Only the liquid pumps back out. It is ideal for use on machines with sumps, parts washers, tanks and storage containers of contaminated liquids.

The Chip Trapper uses EXAIR's compressed air powered Reversible Drum Vac (included) that can fill or empty a 55 gallon drum in less than two minutes. Simply set the Reversible Drum Vac pump and directional flow control valve on top of the drum to "fill" for it to quickly vacuum the liquid with solids. Once the sump, pit or tank is empty, set the pump and directional valve to "empty" for it to pump out clean coolant/liquid. All the chips and other solids are trapped inside the reusable filter bag of the Chip Trapper.

Why The Chip Trapper?

A sudden lack of coolant flow in a machining operation will likely damage the part and expensive tooling. Machine tools commonly discharge some chips and shavings into the coolant sump. As the chips accumulate and mound up, the coolant flow used to flood the part and tooling becomes restricted. Some high pressure coolant systems sound an audible alarm and abruptly shut down the machine when low coolant flow occurs. This results in downtime to fix the problem and clear the alarm. That isn't the case with standard machines where immediate damage can occur if the operator fails to spot the lack of coolant. Regular cleaning of the coolant sump with the Chip Trapper can quickly eliminate this very costly problem.

Thursday 21 April 2016

Digital Flowmeter

Digital Flowmeter











What Is The Digital Flowmeter?

EXAIR’s Digital Flow meter is an effortless way to observe compressed air consumption & waste. The exact amount of compressed air being used downstream is accurately shown on the digital display. Identifying costly leaks or inefficient air products makes it possible to save thousands of dollars per year in compressed air waste.

Why the Digital Flowmeter?

The LED display on the Digital Flowmeter directly indicates the SCFM of airflow through that pipe (other flowmeters require the reading to be multiplied by a specific conversion factor to be accurate).EXAIR’s Digital Flowmeter has two models available for use on schedule 40 iron pipe- one designed for 1”& the other for 2”.Calibration is done on each Digital Flowmeter for the specific pipe size it is mounted to.
The design of the Digital Flowmeter is made for permanent mounting to the pipe. The user is required to drill two 3/16” diameter holes through the pipe using the drill bit & locating fixture. The two flow sensing probes of the flow meter are inserted in these holes. Once the clamp is tightened the unit seals to the pipe. There is no requirement of cutting, welding, adjustments or calibration.
Vivek Engineers,
#22, 1st. Floor, 1st. Cross,
Adj. IIMB Compound, Bilekahalli Industrial Area,
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560 076.
Ph : 080 -  3297 0358, 4170 1145
TeleFax : 080- 2648 1309.
E- mail : sales@vivekengineers.net
URL : www.vivekengineers.net
CONTACT PERSONS :
Mr. Durga Madhab Praharaj - Sales & Opearations Manager.
Mob : 097404 39220. E -mail : durga@vivekengineers.net

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Removing Static From Beer Cans

IMG-20160401-WA0003_blur
Years ago when Professor Penurious roamed the halls of EXAIR, he used to brew his own beer at home.  Exair people remember asking him about it and having him give me way more information than anyone except a real beer manufacturer would have wanted.  Thankfully for Exair, a real beer manufacturer contacted  recently about an application need.
When They saw the domain extension of the e-mail inquiry They flashed back to everything Professor Penurious had mentioned, only to find it was more information than They still needed.  The application at hand needed no help with brewing the beer, but they did need help removing static from their beer cans before filling.  The end user hoped to rinse the cans in static eliminating ions to release dust and particles from the cans prior to filling.
Rinsing items in a “bath” of ions can be very effective to remove a static charge, especially if the static eliminator is positioned in the right location.  For the application shown above, and most others, the best location is at the last possible point before the static is causing a disturbance to the process.  Reason being, we want to eliminate the static, but don’t want to leave the door open to building more static before we’ve completed our critical process.
In this application, the installation location is just before the cans are filled (not shown in this image) because the root cause of their problem was dust and small particulate collecting on the cans before filling.  Using a series of Super Ion Air Knives we can create an ionizing rinse and blow off to clear the debris from the cans prior to being filled.
SIAKsheeter3x2
Visual representation of the ion flow from a Super Ion Air Knife
To create the ionizing rinse, Super Ion Air Knives are positioned on each side of the product, and on the top of the product so that even coverage is guaranteed.  Positive and negative ions generated from the Ion Bars of the Super Ion Air Knives are directed toward the surfaces with static charge, balancing the charge to near zero.  The even and laminar airflow from the Super Ion Air Knives then blows away any debris previously adhered to the product due to static.
If you have a similar application and think an EXAIR product can help, give us a call/email/chat request.  We’ll be happy to help.
Vivek Engineers,
#22, 1st. Floor, 1st. Cross,
Adj. IIMB Compound, Bilekahalli Industrial Area,
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560 076.
Ph : 080 -  3297 0358, 4170 1145
TeleFax : 080- 2648 1309.
E- mail : sales@vivekengineers.net
URL : www.vivekengineers.net

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Customer Uses Chip Trapper to Recover Boron Carbide from Slurry for Disposal


boron carbideCT
In this short story, our customer operates multiple water jet cutting machines. They have slurry buckets stationed at each machine. When the slurry bucket becomes full, they want to empty the bucket and dispose of the slurry.
The customer wanted to use the model 6198 Chip Trapper to perform the function of filtering the Boron Carbide from the water component of the slurry. Boron Carbide is a very hard material used for making armor plating for everything from bullet proof vests to tank armor. Being such a hard material, the abrasive factor is really high. They were concerned about the abrasive nature of the material and contacted me to check and see if this material would present a problem for our system. Turns out that the Chip Trapper will operate just fine without any degrading of performance. The reason is that there are no moving parts that could be worn by the abrasive material moving through. In fact, the abrasive material never comes into contact with the pump of the Chip Trapper. The slurry is directed straight into a 5 micron filtering bag where the solids are pulled out. The remaining water is pumped out of the Chip Trapper into a water treatment system for proper disposal.
The customer did have a few questions regarding what was included with model 6198 Chip Trapper. The answer is basically, everything you would need to get the unit assembled and operational is included with the Chip Vac. The only input required from the customer is the compressed air utility which is in reasonable supply for this customer’s facility.
The customer placed their order with me directly and asked for a tracking number which was sent followed by the invoice which he needed to expense his credit card purchase.
If you have an application where you need to vacuum up an abrasive solid that is mixed in with water or some other non-flammable fluid, give the Chip Trapper consideration. You will be glad you did.

Monday 18 April 2016

Remove Irritants in the Work Place

Saving Money and Compressed Air
Save Money, Reduce Noise, and Minimize Compressed Air Use
We are having a mild winter in Cincinnati, Ohio, and even though the poison ivy seems dead, you can still catch it. My sweetheart was collecting brush, and in two days, she broke out.  She had a rash on her arms, legs, face, and stomach.  And if you ever had poison ivy, you know how itchy it is.  The problem is that if you itch it, you can spread it.
It started me to think of things that are a nuisance in manufacturing, like noise exposure to personnel and wasted costs within processes. The Intelligent Compressed Air Products by EXAIR can reduce noise levels and electrical costs.  One very simple exercise would be to locate all your open pipes that use compressed air.  They can be located on machines to blow off debris and even on the end of air guns.  For every open type pipe, place an EXAIR Super Air Nozzle on the end of it.  You will notice very quickly that the noise level is reduced.  It can drop the noise by as much as 40 decibels.  The other thing that you will notice is your monthly electric bill.  By adding our Super Air Nozzles to the end of your inefficient blow off pipes, you can be saving over $1,000/year for every open type pipe.
If you have poison ivy, I would suggest calamine lotion or here are some additional tips. If you have high noise levels and high energy costs, then I would suggest EXAIR products.  You can discuss how EXAIR can save you money and reduce your noise level by contacting one of the Application Engineers at EXAIR.

Saturday 16 April 2016

Plumbing Kits Simplify Air Knife Installation


Incorrect plumbing is an all too common problem we deal with on a regular basis here at EXAIR. Many times we receive calls from a customer saying that their Air Knife isn’t producing a high velocity or they are seeing an uneven airflow. In fact we have written many blogs touching on this subject, such as the one I posted a few weeks ago titled, Proper Air Supply & Installation Provides Best Performance or the one titled Typical Compressed Air Plumbing Mistakes by our International Application Engineer John Ball.
Using undersized supply lines can cause excessive pressure drops because they aren’t able to carry the volume of air necessary to properly supply the compressed air device. We commonly reference trying to supply water to a fire hose with a garden hose, it is the same principle. Using restrictive fittings, like quick disconnects, will also contribute to this effect as the ID of the fitting is much smaller than the NPT connection size. Example: Say you are seeing 80-100 PSIG upstream of  an air knife at the pressure gauge, by the time the air passes through a quick disconnect or small ID line and fitting, the actual pressure being delivered to the unit will be much less, possibly as low as 20-30 PSIG depending on the installation. One way to measure the actual pressure being delivered to the air knife would be to install a pipe tee with a pressure gauge right at the inlet of the air knife.
All of our products are shipped with an installation guide referencing the proper recommended pipe sizes for various lengths of supply pipe. When dealing with our Air Knives, since we offer lengths up to 108″, you need to plumb air to multiple inlets for knives that are 24″ and larger. To simplify the installation process, we offer our Air Knife Plumbing Kits. The Plumbing Kits include properly sized nitrile/PVC compressed air hose and brass fittings for our aluminum units. In addition, we now offer 316ss pipe and fittings for our stainless steel and PVDF Super Air Knives for applications requiring superior corrosion resistance. Using the plumbing kits eliminates pressure loss and the need for searching for the proper fittings or possibly using incorrect pipe size.
Aluminum Plumbing Kit
Plumbing Kit for aluminum Super Air Knife

please follow www.vivekengineers.net
SS Plumbing Kit
Plumbing Kit for Stainless Steel and PVDF Super Air Knife

Friday 15 April 2016

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Keeps the Controls for Hot Processes Cool


IMG_20160329_103754
The photo above depicts an autoclave with its computer control panel situated just above the opening. This particular customer uses their autoclave to process fish in a very controlled manner so they do not damage the meat while processing. The problem is that the controls for such equipment become overheated due to the simple process of the machinery to which they are attached. There are also critical times during the processing when the door is opened and heat as well as steam in this case waft out and up into the control box above, thus heating the components inside to a level that can cause intermittent or permanent failure.
Autoclaves are pressure chambers used within industrial processes needing higher temperatures and pressures than ambient air. They are only one example of machinery that associates the use of electronics on or near the heated portion of the “machine”. Other such examples are ovens, furnaces, steam turbines, metal casting machines, injection molding machines, extrusion lines and web processing lines.
Cabinet Cooler in steel mill
This Cabinet Cooler is installed above a hot steel processing line.
The thing that makes these kinds of applications sometimes difficult is the original decisions taken by the designer to locate the control panel in what they feel is the most appropriate and convenient place on the machine for the operators. However, as the photo above demonstrates, the heat generated by the process is sometimes the last consideration when trying to package everything in a nice, tidy package as well as to keep the machine foot-print of an already large item to be as small as possible. I’m working with the mindset that having a remote mounted control cabinet to keep the sensitive electronics away from the heat source would be the ideal situation. But as we all know, ideal isn’t always and most likely will not be what you are left to deal with.
So, when confronted with a similar situation, what is a controls engineer to do? That’s where EXAIR Cabinet Cooler systemcomes into play. EXAIR makes Cabinet Coolers to keep the temperature of those sensitive electronics down at a reasonable operating level for issues such as high process heat load as given above, or perhaps it is just a really hot summer and you are in a facility without air conditioning. We manufacture Cabinet Cooler Systems in NEMA 124 and 4X configurations to cover a wide variety of application variables.
In the application above, we have recommended our Model 4825SS (NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler System, 1700 Btu/hr., with thermostat control). The customer’s calculated heat load was approximately 600 Btu/hr. according to the data they provided. When I made the recommendation, I did take into account the periods where the heat will be billowing out of the autoclave as well, thus the reason for the recommendation of a unit one size larger than I would normally recommend. Not to worry though. The included thermostat control will maintain the cabinet temperature at 95°F (35°C) at all times without wasting precious compressed air.

Thursday 14 April 2016

Cooling with an Adjustable Spot Cooler

A window manufacturer contacted to Exair about a cooling application. The company made double pane windows, and the process was assembling two panes of glass separated by a seal that is glued in place.  The adhesive is very similar to hot melt glue.  It is sticky and very hot.  The heat from the adhesive was causing the seals, which were precut to the length of the window, to become flexible and stretchy.  As the laborers were laying the seal, they would have extra material, which would have to be cut.  The excessive heat also made it difficult for the seal to lay flat between the windows.  This would cause a visual defect as well as additional labor time for each window.  They were looking at a way to cool the glue enough to allow the laborers to assemble the window as soon as it came out of the adhesive machine without any issues.
The adhesive was laid in a groove with a raised section just above the surface of the window frame. This was to ensure contact with the seal.  The parts were moving roughly 1 foot/second (30cm/second).  When the product came out, the adhesive was at 260 deg. F (127 deg. C).  For this type of cooling application, I suggested the Adjustable Spot Cooler, model 3825.
Adjustable Spot Cooler
Adjustable Spot Cooler

The reason for the Adjustable Spot Cooler was because of the need for change in cooling capacity. Cooling is relative, and it depends on the difference in temperature as well as flow rate.  So, if the ambient temperature is cool as during the winter time or very hot during the summer times, the cooling rate will need to change.  The Adjustable Spot Cooler has the ability to change the cooling temperature with a turn of a knob.  With the addition of two generators that come with this kit, generators provide control of the incoming air volume and can be switched out to provide more or less cooling capacity. It also has a magnetic base to make mounting easy by placing the unit on the adhesive machine at the required location.
The window manufacturer was able to adapt the Adjustable Spot Cooler to his application and solved both of their issues. Productivity increased and the defects decreased.  Another problem solved by EXAIR products.  If you run into issues with productivity or defects in your application, you can discuss them with one of our Application Engineers.
Vivek Engineers,
#22, 1st. Floor, 1st. Cross,
Adj. IIMB Compound, Bilekahalli Industrial Area,
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560 076.
Ph : 080 -  3297 0358, 4170 1145
TeleFax : 080- 2648 1309.
E- mail : sales@vivekengineers.net
URL : www.vivekengineers.net
CONTACT PERSONS :
Mr. Durga Madhab Praharaj - Sales & Opearations Manager.
Mob : 097404 39220. E -mail : durga@vivekengineers.net

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Super Air Amplifier Removes Unwanted Scrap Material

IMG_20160406_104509
EXAIR Super Air Amplifier used for scrap material removal

IMG_20160406_104425
An image of the complete setup in this application
In this application the Super Air Amplifiers are used in an automotive manufacturing facility to direct scrap material from car doors into the large bags below each station.  The scrap material is lightweight and proves to be problematic if not fed into a contained system.
IMG_20160406_104533
The bags where the scrap material is collected
This particular customer was in need of some assistance to duplicate their existing setup, shown in the photos above, into four more workstations.  So, they reached out to us to confirm the model number of the units (which have been “working perfectly”) based on dimensions.
Snip of dims
Dimensions of the units in place; used to determine model number
Using the provided dimensions I was able to confirm the model number is 120022, our 2” Super Air Amplifier.  After confirming this I was able to provide a quotation for the requested Super Air Amplifiers, available to ship from stock.
If you have a similar application or think an EXAIR product may be able to help solve an application problem in your facility, contact to Vivekengineers's Application Engineer(Indian distributor).

Tuesday 12 April 2016

Super Air Knife Replaces Homemade Manifold

Exair recently worked on an application with a manufacturer who was having issues with their labeling process. The sticker label is applied to the side of their container by a print roller and then passes by a 6” homemade manifold system with 3 nozzles to help permanently affix it n(see below). They were experiencing irregularities/air bubbles in the label and realized they were getting an uneven airflow which was stronger at each end nozzle but the middle nozzle had very little flow. They were operating at around 80 PSIG and previously tried to lower the pressure but the label would start peeling off. If they increased the pressure they were experiencing tearing and ripping in certain areas of the label. Another issue was the loud noise level. They were having to stop the line and turn off the air so an operator could manually replace the label. They emailed to Exair's person a picture of the manifold and asked if EXAIR could improve their process.
Homemade Manifold
After reviewing the picture and further discussing their application, we recommended using one of our6” Aluminum Super Air KnivesThe Super Air Knife , with a 40:1 amplification rate (surrounding ambient air to compressed air), provides a high velocity laminar sheet of airflow the entire length of the knife. By continuing to operate at 80 PSIG, the Super Air Knife will produce a velocity of 11,800 feet per minute (6” away from target object) and consume only 17.4 SCFM (2.9 SCFM per inch of knife) with a low noise level of only 69 dBA.
SAK
By replacing the manifold, the customer was able to improve their process, decrease their air consumption and increase their personnel’s safety.
If you are experiencing a similar issue or need help with a different compressed air application, please give us a call.

Monday 11 April 2016

EXAIR Cabinet Cooler Keeps the Controls for Hot Processes 

IMG_20160329_103754
The photo above depicts an autoclave with its computer control panel situated just above the opening. This particular customer uses their autoclave to process fish in a very controlled manner so they do not damage the meat while processing. The problem is that the controls for such equipment become overheated due to the simple process of the machinery to which they are attached. There are also critical times during the processing when the door is opened and heat as well as steam in this case waft out and up into the control box above, thus heating the components inside to a level that can cause intermittent or permanent failure.
Autoclaves are pressure chambers used within industrial processes needing higher temperatures and pressures than ambient air. They are only one example of machinery that associates the use of electronics on or near the heated portion of the “machine”. Other such examples are ovens, furnaces, steam turbines, metal casting machines, injection molding machines, extrusion lines and web processing lines.
Cabinet Cooler in steel mill
This Cabinet Cooler is installed above a hot steel processing line.
The thing that makes these kinds of applications sometimes difficult is the original decisions taken by the designer to locate the control panel in what they feel is the most appropriate and convenient place on the machine for the operators. However, as the photo above demonstrates, the heat generated by the process is sometimes the last consideration when trying to package everything in a nice, tidy package as well as to keep the machine foot-print of an already large item to be as small as possible. I’m working with the mindset that having a remote mounted control cabinet to keep the sensitive electronics away from the heat source would be the ideal situation. But as we all know, ideal isn’t always and most likely will not be what you are left to deal with.
So, when confronted with a similar situation, what is a controls engineer to do? That’s where EXAIR Cabinet Cooler systemcomes into play. EXAIR makes Cabinet Coolers to keep the temperature of those sensitive electronics down at a reasonable operating level for issues such as high process heat load as given above, or perhaps it is just a really hot summer and you are in a facility without air conditioning. We manufacture Cabinet Cooler Systems in NEMA 124 and 4X configurations to cover a wide variety of application variables.
In the application above, we have recommended our Model 4825SS (NEMA 4X Cabinet Cooler System, 1700 Btu/hr., with thermostat control). The customer’s calculated heat load was approximately 600 Btu/hr. according to the data they provided. When I made the recommendation, I did take into account the periods where the heat will be billowing out of the autoclave as well, thus the reason for the recommendation of a unit one size larger than I would normally recommend. Not to worry though. The included thermostat control will maintain the cabinet temperature at 95°F (35°C) at all times without wasting precious compressed air.
If you have an application where computer controls for a hot process are overheating on you, kindly consider contacting one of our Application Engineers .

Vivek Engineers,
#22, 1st. Floor, 1st. Cross,
Adj. IIMB Compound, Bilekahalli Industrial Area,
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560 076.
Ph : 080 -  3297 0358, 4170 1145
TeleFax : 080- 2648 1309.
E- mail : sales@vivekengineers.net
URL : www.vivekengineers.net
CONTACT PERSONS :
Mr. Durga Madhab Praharaj - Sales & Opearations Manager.
Mob : 097404 39220. E -mail : durga@vivekengineers.net