I recently had the pleasure of talking with a CAGI Certified Compressed Air Systems Specialist, who was working with a client to improve energy efficiency in the use of their compressed air. One particular application that was particularly taxing on their system is the use of hose barb fittings (basically, an open blow device) to fold over a cardboard box flap on a packaging line.
We discussed the possibility of trying something out, but the client wanted to look at some data, showing what their expected savings could be. Hose barb fittings are quite common, and they DO focus the flow of a compressed air discharge into a forceful little blast, which is quite effective at folding a box flap.
The client’s main concern was the force applied. In truth, there’s no better way to maximize force than by discharging a compressed gas directly through an open ended device. Excessive force, however, isn’t the only way to solve an application like this, as I proved in a test in our Efficiency Lab. Here’s what happened:
- We use 1/4 NPT hose barbs to make our Model 900061 Compressed Air Supply Hoses, so I conveniently had one of their blow off devices on hand. My caller said the pressure gauge upstream of the fitting reads 45psig. I measured the compressed air consumption at 58.4 SCFM, and the sound level at 94 dBA.
- I tried three of our Flat Super Air Nozzles:
- Model 1122 2″ Flat Super Air Nozzle: 21.8 SCFM @80psig; 77dBA (published)
- Model HP1125 2″ High Power Flat Super Air Nozzle: 37 SCFM @80psig; 83dBA (published)
- Model HP1126 1″ High Power Flat Super Air Nozzle: 17.5 SCFM @80psig; 82dBA (published)
- All of them folded the box flap easily. The Model HP1125 folded it just as far as the hose did in the test I rigged, and with a 37% reduction in compressed air consumption. The others folded it very nearly as far, with 62% (Model 1122) and 70% (Model HP1126) reductions.
- Not to mention the drastic reduction in noise levels.
Lastly, I documented it all in a short video:
We field calls all the time from callers wanting to know how much force our Intelligent Compressed Air Products can generate. Applications like part ejection do indeed require a certain amount of force to, say, move an object in motion from a conveyor belt…that’s just physics. Most blow off applications (and folding over a flat box flap, for instance,) just need air flow…which engineered products from EXAIR Corporation can handle just fine, and at a fraction of the compressed air use & sound levels associated with open end blowing devices.
If you’d like to find out how EXAIR Corporation can help save you money on compressed air consumption, and ear plugs, give me a call.
Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Air! image courtesy of Barney Moss Creative Commons License
