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Air
knife & Compressed
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| Drying | Shrinking | Compressed Air | Air Knife | Blowers | Gas Boosters | Process Heaters | Latex-testing | Vitavox |
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CASE STUDIES DRYING AND CLEANING STEEL GIRDERS Condor Structures Condor structures manufacture steel girders for use in construction industry. The raw material is stored outside in a yard and transferred onto a conveyor for processing and surface coating when required. During storage, the girders can get wet, covered in leaves and other deposits and these need to be removed before entering the factory. Hand cleaning had been the only option. A hot air knife placed each side of the conveyor removes surface moisture and surface deposits as it travels along the conveyor into the factory. Heat is used in this application to assist with the removal of ice and snow in winter.
One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Improved product finish after processing Air Knives AIR CURTAIN TO CONTAIN ABRASIVE DUST English Abrasive Company During the manufacture of abrasive paper, the abrasive material is
fed from a hopper onto the paper and adhesive. An air knife placed over the conveyor in between the hopper and the
sensor acts as an air curtain and acts as a barrier to prevent the
abrasive material from reaching the sensor. Improved environment for sensor to operate
Air Knives REMOVING EXCESS ADHESIVE FROM STRIP Bostik During the manufacture of self adhesive tapes, the PVC strip is passed through a bath of adhesive and the excess needs to be wiped off before continuing on to the next process. Compressed air produced a satisfactory result but was expensive to run. Air knives are placed on top and underneath the pvc strip to remove
the excess adhesive. These can be adjusted to produce the required
adhesive thickness. Reduced compressed air consumption
Air Knives DRYING ALUMINIUM FOIL Anocoil Aluminum foil is washed after an anodizing process and was dried using radiant heaters. This left moisture behind which produced staining when rolled onto a reel. Slowing the process down cured the problem but with an obvious loss in production. Air knives were fitted on either side of the foil prior to the radiant heaters to remove 98% of the water. The radiant heaters “flash off” any remaining moisture. Two 84/01 Side Channel Blowers, 9.2kW 30% increase in production (£40,000 per annum)
Air Knives DRYING BUCKET CONVEYORS Nerak Wiese Bucket conveyors in a food factory need to washed and dried after each production run. Washing can be done easily and quickly, however drying is normally left to evaporation with the conveyor left running. This may take several hours which is lost production time. Two air knives mounted above the conveyor blow the water out of the buckets in a much shorter time allowing production to continue quickly. One 492/3 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Reduced drying time
Air Knives REMOVING DEBRIS FROM A CONVEYOR Allied Metals Scrap metal travels along a mesh conveyor and the material is sorted to be reclaimed by further processing. The remaining material needs to be removed from the belt otherwise it builds up until a conveyor failure occurs. An air knife is placed across the conveyor after the reclamation process to blow the debris off and through the mesh belt keeping it clear. The waste is then collected and disposed of. One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Increased conveyor reliability
Air Knives Delta Cables After being formed, cutting fluid has to be removed and the tube dried
to prevent staining. A circular air knife placed at the exit of the forming tool strips
the cutting fluid from the surface to produce a dry tube. One 18/01 Side Channel Blower, 3.0kW Improved drying
Air Knives BNFL Graphite fuel rods after washing and rinsing need to be dried before being transferred to a storage area. Because of the radio-active nature of the product, no human contact is allowed and the process must be fully automatic. Fuel rods are passed through a circular air knife which removes 99% of the surface water. The rods are then passed through a drying oven to “flash off” the remaining moisture. One 18/01 Side Channel Blower, 2.2kW Fully automatic and safe drying method
Air Knives
Caterpillar– Skinningrove Steel bars were carrying excess water before they had been shot blasted. Main problem was this was affecting the shot blast system. Four Air Knives were placed before the shot blasting. One HV587 TurboFan, 15kW Improved productivity Air Knives
Caterpillar– Skinningrove Steel bars were carrying excess shot through into the factory after they had been shot blasted. Main problem was that shot was being lost and externally in the factory it was becoming very dirty. Two Air Knives were placed at the end of the shot blast tunnel. One 492/3 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Saved waste shot Air Knives McCalls Special Products Cutting oil used in the manufacture of threaded bar is carried along conveyors and drips onto the floor around the factory. This wastes oil which can be reused and is also a major safety hazard for those working around the conveyors. Manual labour was used to clean the bar by hand. By fitting a circular air knife just before the bar exits the machinery, all excess oil is removed and fed back into the storage tank. One 18/01 Side Channel Blower, 2.2 kW Removal of a major safety hazard
Air Knives DRYING AEROSOL CANS AFTER TESTING Gillette After filling, aerosol cans are passed through a hot water bath to test for leaks. The cans then need to be dried, particularly the tops which can contain pools of water which would be trapped once the cap had been applied. This causes rusting of the can during transit and storage and which causes customer complaints. Two air knives are mounted on either side of the conveyor to dry the sides of the cans and a longer air knife mounted across the top angled from one side of the conveyor to the other dries the top. Additional small air knives may be needed to dry particularly difficult cans as required. One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Improved drying
Air Knives COOLING CARPET BACKING The Gates Rubber Company During manufacture, carpet is passed through a bath of hot molten rubber at 200°C to provide a rubber backing which improves wear and comfort. Ambient air cooled the rubber before being wound onto a roll for transport and storage. Some adhesion occurred between layers on the roll particularly near the centre and resulted in a few feet of waste carpet on each roll. Two air knives blowing onto the rubber back of the carpet cooled it down below 100°C and prevented the layers from sticking together. One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW kW Faster production Air Knives Coca Cola (via Inta Can Services) Aluminium cans which are packed wet suffer from stress corrosion of the aluminium which causes cans to leak during transit. It also affects the cardboard crates into which the cans are packed which are weakened by the water. This creates rejects from customers and poor product appearance. Two Air knives placed on each side of the conveyor and three along the top strip the water from the can as it passes through the drying section. One 44/1 Side Channel Blower, 5.5 kW Reduced customer returns
Air Knives Bass After filling, beer kegs need to be labeled for traceability purposes
required by EEC regulation and for improved customer service. Air cannons mounted above the conveyor track blow off the water in the top cavity prior to the label being applied. One 492/3 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Improved drying
Air Knives BOTTLE DRYING (SLOW LINE) HP Bulmer After washing and filling, bottles on a production line were too wet to label satisfactorily. Surface moisture ruins the appearance of the label and affects the adhesion onto the bottle. It also affects the cardboard crates into which the bottles are packed and can encourage the growth of fungal spores. This means slow line speeds to allow some natural drying, poor product appearance and cases rejected by customers. One air knife fitted on either side of the conveyor belt strips the
water from the bottle. One 492/3 High Velocity Fan, 4.0 kW Improved drying
Air Knives COATING ICE CREAM WITH CHOCOLATE Allied Frozen Foods During the manufacture of choc ices, chocolate is fed over the product
to coat it. A single air knife blowing over the product removes excess chocolate producing an even coating and helps to cool the product. The excess is blown through to a recovery unit and is reused. One 428D High Velocity Fan, 1.5kW Improved product quality and appearance
Air Knives REMOVING EXCESS COOKING OIL FROM CROUTONS In the final stages of manufacture, croutons are removed from the
fryer and passed along a vibrating conveyor to remove as much oil as
possible. This was only partially successful and led to customer complaints
because: Croutons are sold by weight and excess oil increases the weight
Excess oil solidifies and spoils the crispness of the crouton By enclosing the vibrating conveyor and fitting a stainless steel air knife across the conveyor, twice the amount of oil was removed. One 492/3 High Velocity Fan, 4.0 kW Increased quantity of product in a given weight Air Knives
Birds Eye Walls During the manufacture of fish fingers, the batter mix is poured onto the fish and the excess needs to be removed to produce the correct appearance. Gravity alone does not produce an even layer and is wasteful of batter. An air knife mounted over the top of the conveyor is adjusted to give the correct thickness and appearance of product. The batter which has been removed can be collected and recycled. One 428G High Velocity Fan, 2.2kW Improved product quality and appearance
Air Knives
CRP Print and Packaging Glacene paper used in chocolate box linings etc has to be cooled and
dried after printing and prior to storage on a roll. An air knife mounted across the material prior to roll cools and dries the paper. Adjustment of the air flow allows the right result to be achieved without causing damage to the paper. One 428G High Velocity Fan, 2.2kW Improved product quality
Air Knives William Morrison supplied via Peel Engineering Onions covered in loose skin have poor appearance and they also cause contamination of package lines by leaving dead skins. Two Air Knives are fitted prior to existing suction/vacuum equipment to remove loose skin and push into vacuum process. One HV 492/3 blower-4kw Increased productivity Air Knives CLEANING A PEA GRADING SCREEN Fisher Frozen Foods Fisher Frozen Foods produce frozen vegetables for the major supermarket
chains. An air knife mounted on the outside of the drum clears the holes of “stuck” peas without damaging the stainless steel drum. One 84/01 Side Channel Blower, 11.0kW Reduced downtime
Air Knives DRYING PEAS BEFORE FREEZING Christain Salvaseen supplied via Unifab Garden peas are wet prior to freezing. This causes the peas to clump together when they are frozen. The water also causes problems by icing the conveyor belt up. A 2000 mm Air Knife is fitted over the conveyor belt immediately before the freezer. One HV 587 turbo blower-15kw Reduced downtime due to conveyor maintenance Air Knives Challice Foods After washing and filling, jars on a production line were too wet
to label satisfactorily. Air knives mounted either side of the conveyor strip the moisture from the jars prior to labelling and packing Two 492/3 High Velocity Fans, 4.0kW Improved drying
Air Knives REMOVING EXCESS SEEDS FROM SESAME BUNS Kara Foods Kara Foods produce buns for MacDonald’s for use their burgers. Sesame seeds are dropped onto the buns and the excess seeds need to be removed to give the right product appearance. An air knife placed on top of the conveyor is used to remove the excess
seeds. One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0 kW Improved product appearance
Air Knives
New Covent Garden Soup Cartons of soup have to be cooled as quickly as possible after hot
filling prior to entering a freezer. An air knife is placed over the top of the conveyor to remove most of the surface moisture from the cartons and conveyor just before entering the freezer. One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Improved drying performance
Air Knives Peel Engineering Sweetcorn is covered in debris etc prior to packing. It is very easy to damage if manually cleaned. The corn is travelling along roller conveyors. Two Air Knives are fitted above and two below the conveyor belt to gently remove the debris. Two HV 492/3 blowers-4kw Increased productivity Air Knives
Dunlop Rubber extrusion used in the manufacture of door and window seals is passed through a salt potassium nitrate bath to cure it and produce a gloss finish. salt adheres to the strip spoiling the appearance of the product and causing maintenance problems when it sticks to conveyor rollers. In addition, topping up the salt bath is a hazardous operation and needs to be kept to a minimum for safety reasons. Two air knives mounted above the conveyor blow the water out of the buckets in a much shorter time allowing production to continue quickly. One 18/01 Side Channel Blower, 2.2 kW Reduced salt usage
Air Knives
Guildford Europe After manufacture, car upholstery material has loose threads caught up in the fibre which need to be removed before delivery to the customer. An air knife placed over the material prior to being rolled up blows
the loose threads out of the material to produce an even finish. Improved product quality
Castle Cement A large gantry crane in a cement works is used to remove slag from the cement kilns. Dust builds up on the crane tracks causing premature failure of the crane wheels and unreliable operation. Two short air knives fitted close to the wheels remove cement dust from the tracks each time the crane is moved. One 575/1 High Velocity Fan, 0.55kW Increased life from crane wheels
Air Knives
British Gypsum During the manufacture of plasterboard, a plaster solution is dropped onto a layer of cardboard and the top layer of cardboard is then positioned over the top. In order to achieve the correct dimension and appearance of the plasterboard, the layer of plaster has to be of an even thickness before the top layer is applied. An air knife placed on top of the conveyor spreads the plaster solution to create an even thickness. The excess plaster solution can then be recycled and used again. One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Improved product appearance
Air Knives DRYING AND CLEANING STEEL GIRDERS Condor Structures Condor structures manufacture steel girders for use in construction industry. The raw material is stored outside in a yard and transferred onto a conveyor for processing and surface coating when required. During storage, the girders can get wet, covered in leaves and other deposits and these need to be removed before entering the factory. Hand cleaning had been the only option. One 492/2 High Velocity Fan, 4.0kW Cone Adaptors for the inlet and outlet of the heater Improved product
finish after processing Air Knives
Finishing Services After circuits have been etched onto the board it passes through various chemical baths and is then washed and rinsed. Air drying in racks is both wasteful of time and space and hinders productivity. Two air knives placed top and bottom on a mesh conveyor strips off water lodged in the channels and holes. The board is then passed through a heated chamber to “flash off” the final trace of moisture. Boards can then be transferred to the next stage of the manufacturing process immediately. One 428A High Velocity Fan, 1.1 kW Increased productivity
Air Knives
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