Earth Overshoot Day and the Need for Efficiency

| August 17, 2018

No matter your industry, using resources efficiently is an important part of successful and fiscally responsible operation, but in the case of industrial or manufacturing facilities that rely heavily on compressed air, efficient resource use isn’t just a goal, it’s a necessity, both for the facility and the environment.

A recent U.S. Department of Energy survey revealed that in a typical industrial facility, around 10% of the consumed electricity is used to generate compressed air, but in some cases, up to 30% of consumed electricity is used for compressed air generation. When so much energy is at stake, waste cannot be tolerated, especially when efficiency goals must be met, but it’s important to remember that efficiency doesn’t only impact your bottom line. Compressed air inefficiency sometime has a much bigger impact than anticipated.

 

A Much Bigger Impact

As some of you may already know, 2018’s Earth Overshoot Day was on August 1. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, Earth Overshoot Day is the point in the year at which our demand for natural resources exceeds what our planet can renew. This year, Overshoot Day occurred on August 1, just 7 months into the year. To put that into perspective, when Overshoot Day was first conceived in 1970, it occurred on December 29, just 2 days shy of a fully sustainable year. Over the last several decades, Overshoot Day has steadily occurred earlier in the year, until culminating in this year’s Overshoot Day, which is the earliest it has ever been.

Seeing numbers like this can be unnerving, even paralyzing, but it’s important to remember that there are steps we can take every day to minimize environmental impact. In the case of facilities that utilize compressed air, minimizing environmental impact and saving money go hand-in-hand.

 

Increasing Efficiency

Inefficient compressed air use is among the most common ways manufacturing and other industrial facilities lose money. Take for example, a small 100 HP air compressor. An air compressor this size uses enough energy to sustain 1,800 people on any given day. Unfortunately, a typical system loses about 20% of produced compressed air. So even a 100 HP compressor ends up wasting enough energy to sustain 300 people, senselessly costing your company thousands of dollars and throwing away valuable energy.

At Airtec, we specialize in creating custom solutions designed to help save money through efficient compressed air use. By proposing efficient solutions and introducing high-quality products wherever they are necessary, we are able to ensure that your system functions at its peak, all while reducing both energy consumption and negative global impact.

With Airtec, good for the environment and good for your bottom line aren’t mutually exclusive. Get started saving your valuable compressed air today! Call or email us for a quote, and learn more about how you can achieve compressed air efficiency.

How Much Does a Compressed Air Leak Cost?

| August 6, 2018

Air. It’s free, right? We have become so acustomed to living surrounded by the mixture of gasses we call atmosphere we often forget it’s there.

But atmospheric air alone is not a productive force. Factories and other productive facilities around the globe use the atmosphere to do work for us – but first, it must be compressed.

A recent survey by the U.S. Department of Energy showed that for a typical industrial facility, approximately 10% of the electricity consumed is for generating compressed air. For some facilities, compressed air generation may account for 30% or more of the electricity consumed.

But the cost of compressed air is not only the energy we use to produce it, we must account for running costs such as maintenance and the cost of the equipment itself.

The cost of compressed air according to the DoE.

So, how much does compressed air cost?

It’s generally agreed that compressed air has a cost of roughly $0.25 dollars per every 1,000 cubic feet that are produced.

That means a tiny leak of just 4 scfm can cost close to $500 dollars every year!

So how much is leakage costing your facility?

Give us a call and to see if a leak detection survey is a good fit for you, or maybe our Ultrasonic Leak Detector can help you locate and fix costly leaks.

Contact us to find out how we can help you reduce running costs by optimizing your compressed air system and eliminating waste due to leakage.

Heavy Duty Air Conveying

| July 30, 2018

Within the manufacturing industry, the need for efficient transportation of certain materials from one part of the line to the other cannot be ignored. Efficient material transportation can create a new level of manufacturing productivity, removing unnecessary steps and reducing waste of resources.

Line vacs are among the best and fastest ways ways to move materials from place to the other, but sometimes, the volume of materials is too large or the materials in use are much too heavy to be effectively transported with a standard line vac. Exair recognized this problem and, as with their other solutions, went above and beyond in creating a product that meets needs and exceeds expectations!

Transport Heavy Materials Greater Distances with the Exair Heavy Duty Line Vac

At Airtec, we’re constantly impressed by the dedication to quality and innovation exhibited by Exair. Exair products have proven themselves time and time again to be standard-setters for compressed air efficiency. The Exair Heavy Duty Line Vacs are no exception.

Designed for even the most rugged industrial application, Exair’s Heavy Duty Line Vacs boast a hardened alloy construction that prevents wear-and-tear even when transporting heavy and abrasive materials like shot blast, tumbling media, or metal fittings. These Line Vacs utilize large throat diameters that make it possible to convey more material over greater horizontal and vertical distances. The Heavy Duty Conveyor is a true powerhouse, with conveying rate about twice that of the average air powered conveyor

Like other air conveyors, the Exair Heavy Duty Line Vacs eject a small amount of compressed air through directed nozzles into the throat, producing a vacuum on one end and high-output flows on the other with an instantaneous response. The conveying rate can be easily controlled with a simple pressure regulator, and no moving parts or electricity ensures that operation is nearly maintenance free!

The Exair Heavy Duty Line Vac is available in seven sizes, up to 3 inches (76mm), all of which fit popular hose and tube diameters. If common pipes are being used for conveying, the Threaded Heavy Duty Line Vac is also available. Like other Exair products, all Heavy Duty Line Vacs are CE compliant and meet all OSHA pressure requirements.

Airtec’s Efficient Solutions

At Airtec, we make it our mission to use efficient compressed air to help manufacturers save time and money all throughout the line. We work hard to craft solutions for our clients that meet their specific needs.

We recommend Exair’s Heavy Duty Line Vac because it ensures that materials can be transported without wasting valuable compressed air, and due to its rugged design, it is unlikely to break down or wear out.

If you are interest in the Heavy Duty Line Vac or other efficient compressed air solutions, please feel free to contact us and find out how your system can become both more cost-effective and more reliable.

Airmatics: Industry 4.0 and IIoT

| June 25, 2018

A connected air compressor system for the industry of the future.

It is said that humanity is on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution. 

The first industrial revolution was kicked off by the introduction of the steam engine, a clever device designed to create mechanical energy through the use of water vapour. The second industrial revolution was ushered by new technologies like electricity and new concepts like the industrial production line. Then, a third industrial revolution came about when electronic systems, like the PLC, and information technologies were introduced in the late 1960’s that could help further the automation of production.

Today, a fourth industrial revolution is looming with the introduction of “cyber-physical” systems that exist both in the real world and in cyberspace.

Airmatics - Industry 4.0 for Air Compressors

Image: Industry 4.0 in Air Compressors – Wikimedia Commons.

The “industrial internet of things”, or IIoT for short, is a vision of a very near future where all physical industrial devices and machinery are interconnected through the internet cloud.

Adding connectivity to your Air Compressors can help you reduce the risk of downtime, plan better maintenance and be more energy efficient.

Cloud Services for your compressed air system – Introducing Airmatics.

Logo for Airmatics - Industry 4.0 IIoT Compressor Platform

Airmatics is an off the shelf solution to help you prepare your compressed air system for the connected industry.

The CMC Airmatics Airtag Module

The CMC Airmatics Airtag Module

Airmatics is an Air compressor IIoT platform

What benefits does connectivity have?

  • Data collected by the system will allow for better decisions on maintenance and operation.
  • Allow for direct communication between your compressor and our service team. Remotely Troubleshoot your system.
  • Get real time alarms and feedback directly from your machines.

How does it work?

Pay a single purchase and installation fee and get free data and monitoring for 10 years!

Buy an Airmatics kit for each of your compressors, follow our simple instructions and get your compressor connected in a heartbeat.

Talk with a compressed air expert to learn more!

What You Can Do About Leaks

| May 20, 2018

How to increase efficiency on your entire system by eliminating leaks.

Whether you’re working in a machine shop or as a technician in a large-scale manufacturing plant, compressed air is one of the most valuable tools at your disposal. When used efficiently, compressed air is a reliable energy that keeps your equipment operating consistently, even under heavy workloads.

At Airtec, we have decades of experience to our names, and we like to use that experience to help companies achieve high levels of efficiency on their compressed air systems. Just one of the ways we can do that is by targeting problems that commonly appear within a compressed air system.

Like any heavy-use equipment, wear-and-tear is going to occur. In a compressed air system, wear-and-tear commonly manifests as leaks. Leakage is one of the biggest problems in any compressed air system, costing companies a significant amount of wasted energy. In fact, losing 20-30% of produced compressed air to leaks is not uncommon. So what can you do about it?

Detecting Costly Leaks

Unfortunately, the 20-30% of lost compressed air never occurs in a single place. Leakage tends to accumulate from hundreds of sources all throughout the system. Leaks are most typically found in manifolds, hoses, couplings, threads, nipples, and other connections where compressed air can create space over time.

So, now you have general idea of where to start looking! But as you know, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of connections in different areas of your compressed air system. How are you supposed to find these leaks in a noisy environment?

Sometimes, the largest leaks can create the most waste and can generally be heard from several feet away. If you can hear the hissing from a leak, that means that the leak is fairly severe and should be dealt with as soon as possible!!

What can you do?

While large leaks are a significant source of inefficiency, most compressed air is going to be lost in smaller leaks that can’t be heard or seen. For these leaks, you have a few different options:

  1. You can spray the area in question with water and soap and watch carefully for bubbles
  2. You can purchase an ultrasonic leak detection device that can detect leaks in a noisy environment.
  3. Call us! We specialize in detecting, identifying and classifying leaks from largest to smallest. We can then prepare a report to let you know how much energy you can save by repairing them

At Airtec, we take compressed air efficiency seriously, and we want nothing more than to help you reduce energy cost on your system. Please feel free to drop us a line with any questions you may have!

Safely Transporting Materials with Exair’s Sanitary Air Conveyor

| April 11, 2018

Convey materials through your system without concern of contamination.

Every single time Exair announces a new product, we can’t help but be impressed with their dedication to innovation and quality. No matter how small or simple the part is, Exair finds a way to improve upon it, allowing for increased efficiency and durability. We at Airtec are proud to work with Exair, and we are always excited when get to announce a new Exair product!

Air ConveyorClean Air Conveyor

Within industries like food or pharmaceuticals, keeping the line as clean as possible is important in order to maintain health and safety standards. When components or products are conveyed from one place to another, the method of conveying can easily become susceptible to contamination.

The Sanitary Flange Air Conveyor is the perfect way to convey materials that require extra precaution against contaminants. The ISO 2852-compatible sanitary flanges limit areas where bacteria can grow, preventing the growth of anything that might compromise your product. Additionally, Exair’s Sanitary Air Conveyor is composed of type 316 stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant and therefore more hygienic.

The Inner Workings

Air conveyors are an extremely efficient way to transport materials. Air conveyors eject a small amount of compressed air, producing a vacuum on one end and high output flows on the other. Materials enter the tube and travel to their destination, where they’re expelled. Response is instantaneous, and compressed air pressure regulation provides infinite control of the conveying rate.

Air conveyors are versatile tools with many practical applications, such as material conveying, part transfer, fiber tensioning, scrap trim removal and filling operations. The Sanitary Flange air conveyor differs from traditional air conveyors in that it is able to convert flanged piping systems into a powerful conveyor for products, parts, scrap, trim and many other bulk materials, creating a clean air flow in the process.

As with all Exair air conveyors, the Sanitary Air Conveyor is CE compliant, meets all OSHA pressure requirements, and is completely ready to ship from stock. They are available in 1-1/2 inch, 2 inch, 2-1/2 inch and 3 inch flange sizes. The Sanitary Air Conveyor starts at $1095.

Other Exair Air Conveyors

If your line doesn’t require the high quality air needed in food and pharmaceuticals, Exair offers several other air conveyor families that can fit hose, tube or threaded pipe. Many different sizes are available, ranging from 3/8 inch hose or 3/8 NPT threads to hose and pipe sizes up to 5 inches. Many other materials are available, including aluminum, type 303 stainless steel, and type 316 stainless steel. Additionally, a Heavy Duty Air Conveyor is available in hardened alloy for abrasion resistance and maximum conveying power.

At Airtec, we help people reach new heights of efficiency every single day using products like Exair’s Sanitary Air Conveyor. No matter the scale of your system, we can find the perfect solution for you. Call or email us today!

Keeping Your Cabinet Cool

| March 9, 2018

Start preparing for the coming warmer months by investing in a Cabinet Cooler

When you think of manufacturing lines, one word that probably comes to mind is “rugged”. Able to steadily and consistently churn out product after product, the longevity of a manufacturing system is often one of its greatest qualities, and protecting this longevity is certain to be a high priority.

There are many ways you can protect the more precise instrumentation present within your system against general wear and tear, but protecting against something as unpredictable and unrelenting as changing weather is a definite challenge! With the summer months upon us, now is the time to prepare your system for the heat, and there’s no better way to do that than with a Cabinet Cooler.

What Does a Cabinet Cooler Do?

Exair Cabinet Cooler Cabinet Coolers actually have two functions that they can bring to your system. They can stop your cabinets from overheating and causing permanent damage to precision instruments, and they can prevent contaminants like moisture or dust from building up, preserving delicate sensors and equipment. However, their primary function is keeping your system cool.

When electronics get too hot (over 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees Fahrenheit), electronics will begin to malfunction. Electronic malfunction can cause everything from major production difficulties to damage to the electronic components themselves, both of which can lead to costly downtime as well as expensive replacement parts.

With summer arriving soon, the importance of preparing your system can’t be overstated. By strategically installing cabinet coolers in your system, you won’t have to worry about overheating your electronics.

How Does a Cabinet Cooler Work?

Cabinet Coolers are extremely efficient in the operating, as they only require a flow of compressed air to function. Cabinet coolers take a flow of compressed air and use a vortex tube to supercool some of the air while expelling any hot air present within. After the air is cooled within the vortex, the cold air flows into the cabinet via a bulkhead on the cabinet cooler, where it can be routed wherever cold air is needed.

Cabinet coolers come with several different features, depending on their purpose. Some cabinet coolers include options for digital thermometers and solenoid valves for precise control and others are a bit more minimal. Whatever your need, we’ll help you find the perfect cooler for your system.

How We Can Help

At Airtec, we want nothing more than to bring efficiency to manufacturing and machinery systems worldwide. Compressed air tools have proven themselves time and time again as the perfect vehicle for efficiency, as they can be used in so many applications for so many purposes. We use our decades of expertise to create efficient solutions to fit systems for systems of all shapes and sizes, and we have the knowledge needed to uncover the perfect location for a cabinet cooler in your system. Feel free to call or email us and find out how efficient use of air compression can benefit you.

Exair’s No Drip Spray Nozzle

| March 2, 2018

Exair Helps You Conserve Valuable Resources and Increase Performance All at Once!

Spray nozzles are used for a wide variety of different tasks in different manufacturing contexts. In one, nozzles might be used to spray products down with water, and in another, they’ll be used to cover products with expensive chemical coatings or paint. Regardless of how they are used, leaky spray nozzles can be a major waste of resources. Even when the nozzles are only spraying water, enough wasted water eventually adds up.

In addition to waste of resources, leaky spray nozzles can create many other problems. Drips can ruin the appearance of painted or coated finishes or negatively affect product function on sealing or mating surfaces.

Building a Better Manufacturing System

Whenever Exair releases a new product, we can’t help but be pretty excited! Time after time, Exair demonstrates their dedication to quality and innovation, and the new No Drip Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzles are no exception. EXAIRs patented 1/4 NPT No Drip Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzle atomizes fluid and sprays at a right angle to the nozzle orientation. The right-angle orientation allows spray to be placed precisely where it is needed, even when the mounting and work areas are limited or cramped. The No Drip Nozzle otherwise functions as a spray nozzle should, but this nozzle has the added benefit of positively stopping liquid flow when compressed air is shut off.

EXAIR’s No Drip Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzles are available in five patterns: narrow-angle round pattern, wide-angle round pattern, flat fan pattern, deflected flat fan pattern and 360° hollow circular pattern. They are perfect for pressure fed applications that don’t require independent air and liquid control. Internal Mix, External Mix, No Drip External Mix, Siphon Fed and No Drip Siphon Fed are also available in 1/4 NPT or 1/2 NPT.

As with other Exair products, the No Drip Spray Nozzles are versatile components. Some of the applications the nozzles can be used in include painting, coating, rinsing, cooling, quenching, wetting (moistening), and humidification and dust control. The compact Atomizing Nozzles are fully adjustable, so you can easily minimize air and liquid consumption. Liquid and air caps are completely interchangeable, and all No Drip liquid nozzles are CE compliant and conflict mineral free.

Why We Do What We Do

At Airtec Global, our goal is to create efficient solutions for systems of all sizes and applications, and we enjoy highlighting the best in new technologies and products to help us achieve that goal. Because we only focus on only high quality products, you can be sure that any solution we suggest for your system is going to be one that saves you money in the long run, whether through decreased maintenance costs or decreased energy and resource expenditures. Contact us today to find out we can help you increase the functionality, durability, and efficiency of your system.

Exair Unveils the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife

| January 22, 2018

Exair Gen4 Super Air Knife

Increase Surface Cleanliness, Product Quality, and System Performance with One Simple Installation

As rugged and as production lines often are, they can quickly become temperamental when introduced to too much foreign matter. Foreign matter can be anything from dust pulled in by way of static electricity to fragments of recently refined products to simple condensation, all of which will likely be introduced into any given production line at some point. Over time, enough particle buildup can lead to a great deal of system inefficiency, even causing costly downtime or damage to expensive system components.

Keeping Your System Up and Running

At Airtec, one of our primary goals is to help you use compressed air to achieve new levels of efficiency, so when we hear about new and extraordinary products that can help us accomplish this goal, we jump at the chance of telling you about them.

Once again, Exair has improved upon their already formidable designs and taken the next step in using air compression to increase production efficiency. The Exair Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife is the perfect way to clean up any system, reducing static and clearing systems of all manner of debris. With the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife, you can increase production speeds, product quality, and overall system efficiency.

What Makes the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife Special

In our last blog, we explored the importance of static elimination as well as the dangers of static buildup. Exair’s new Air Knife, among other things, functions as an additional safeguard against static buildup. The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife uses a specialized stream of air to launch static-eliminating ions toward its target, reducing static electricity at low inlet pressures at a rate 34% higher than its competitors. The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife seamlessly incorporates Exair’s previous designs to minimize compressed air use by inducing surrounding airflow at an incredible ratio of 40:1. The unique amplified airflow eliminates static charges in less than a half second, and air volume and velocity can be controlled and fine-tuned from a “breeze” to a “blast,” allowing you to place it as needed.

All of the Gen4 products have undergone independent lab tests to certify they meet the rigorous safety, health and environmental standards of the USA, European Union and Canada, attaining CE and UL marks. They are fully RoHS compliant and include a metal armored high voltage cable to protect against abrasion and cuts, integrated ground connection, and electromagnetic shielding. The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife is available in sizes ranging from 3 inches to 108 inches long.

Our Role

At Airtec, we work hard to show the world the power of efficient compressed air, and one of the most important ways we can help is by providing only the highest quality product recommendations. We make recommendations on a specific set of criteria geared toward help you increase efficiency, save money, and build a better overall system. The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife is just one simple, cost-effective way to help you bring new levels of efficiency and reliability to your production line. Contact us today and find out more about the valuable asset that is efficient compressed air.

Exair’s Improved Static Elimination

| December 31, 2017

Pneumatic Connections

Keep Dust and Other Particles from Entering Your System

Whether operating in a large scale manufacturing facility, a small machine shop, or a facility that requires extreme quality control and precision, foreign particles can pose a risk for compression systems of all shapes and sizes. Particles come in the form of anything from simply the dust in the air to tiny fragments of the products or machinery and can cause clogs, jams, and even damage to more precise instruments.

The EXAIR Gen4 Ionizing Point

At Airtec, we are dedicated to bringing efficiency to air compression systems worldwide, so we like to use only the best tools for the job. EXAIR’s Gen4 Ionizing Point is nothing short of the best tool for the job. The Gen4 Ionizing Point is a compact and shock-free tool that allows for the total removal of static electricity problems in specific small spaces. It protects sensors, eliminates incorrect readings from sensitive electronics caused by static buildup, keeps powder-filling nozzles clog-free, and prevents any jamming, tearing, or dust attraction in delicate operations such as slitting, winding, rewinding, ink jetting and silk screening. Some of the design features include the metal armored high voltage cable which protects against abrasion, cuts and other damage, a replaceable emitter point, a fully integrated ground connection and electromagnetic shielding.

In addition to its functionality, the Gen4 Ionizing Point is an incredibly safe and durable tool. It has been independently tested in laboratories to ensure that it meets the rigorous health, safety, and environmental standard of the USA, the EU, and Canada that are required in order to achieve CE and UL marks, and it is completely RoHS compliant.

Why Static Elimination

Buildup of static electricity is a very common problem for compressed air machinery. It can range from a minor nuisance to the cause of massive production problems, but regardless of the level of inconvenience, static is a persistent difficulty that can be very easily removed. EXAIR’s Gen4 Ionizing Point removes static by delivering a high concentration of positive and negative ions that neutralizes static electricity without even requiring compressed air.

By removing static electricity from the equation, you don’t have to worry about constantly clearing small pipe clogs, cleaning dust that has collected from the air and deposited within your compression system, or in some cases, recalibrating your entire system due to malfunctioning electronics that could have been protected by a static eliminator. The Gen4 Ionizing Point is an extremely affordable way to improve your compression system and safeguard it against the dangers of static electricity.

How We Can Help

At Airtec, we work hard to increase air compression efficiency for systems of all shapes and sizes. When we hear about a new product that can increase efficiency, we want to make sure that you are the first to know about it. As a proud EXAIR supplier, we couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities that come with the Gen4 Ionizing Point in removing static electricity and further improving air compression systems.

Contact Us Today!