Despite years of warnings — and the development of OSHA standards — there are still many dangerous compressed air blow wands in service at facilities throughout the world. Countless injuries and even deaths could have been prevented if safer devices were used or the blowing eliminated altogether. Fig. 1 shows a wand used to clean […]
Equipment
VMAC releases its 2022 “State Of The Mobile Compressed Air Industry Report”
The 2022 edition of VMAC’s State of The Mobile Compressed Air Industry Report has been released, sharing fascinating insights from mobile air users. “We are pleased to release VMAC’s latest research on the mobile compressed air industry,” said Tod Gilbert, President of VMAC Global Technology Inc. “There is a lot of uncertainty with global events […]
Using compressed air hoses safely
Compressed air is often disregarded as a common utility in factories, but risks are high with pressurized air running through pneumatic hoses. Learn how to use these tools safely. Contributed by Mindy Schoeff, Marketing Communications Manager and Ron Hibbler, Applications Manager, Proportion-Air Compressed air is nearly ubiquitous in factories. It’s part of the power behind everything […]
Are electropneumatic controllers suitable for vacuum applications?
Both electropneumatic pressure regulators and flow control valves can be utilized in controlling vacuum systems. By using an electropneumatic pressure regulator, the designer develops a system which the suction force of the vacuum cup can be precisely controlled. The function of the electropneumatic flow control remains the same when controlling the flow of air in […]
Can electropneumatic controllers control force, tension, and torque?
Contributed by Justin Fluegel An electro-pneumatic pressure regulator is an ideal option to control the force, tension, or torque within a system. The pressure within a system directly correlates to the amount of force available to the actuator — lower pressure results in a lower force and vice versa. For the controller to regulate the […]
A leak detection fail!
A recent question received by email: I need some help from you regarding air leak calculation. We just purchased a new air leak detector that calculates leakage flow. We have high air leakage in our LPG bottling plant and our leak detector showed a flow of 9130.2 L/S. If we convert this to CFM then it will total […]
Festo develops innovative aluminum pneumatic tubing for welding cells
Festo’s PM aluminum pneumatic tubing offers a weld-spatter resistant solution in welding cells that by every consideration outperforms both laminated and steel pneumatic tubing. Festo PM tubing is ideal for new welding cells as well as for cost-and-time efficient retrofit solutions for existing systems. PM aluminum tubing can be located closer to the welding process […]
Emerson introduces valve system with integrated open platform communications
Emerson has announced that its Aventics Series Advanced Valve (AV) valve system with Advanced Electronic System (AES) Profinet and Ethernet/IP is now available with preinstalled Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) functionality, making it the first and only valve system to offer this directly integrated capability. The AES helps users solve interoperability challenges and […]
Compressed air fail: Frankenstein controls
By Ron Marshall A wood products manufacturer decided to save money by hiring a small service company to maintain its compressors. The company had minimal experience in repairing compressors, but agreed to do the job. The company didn’t have parts available to replace the faulty controls on the two screw compressors — so they did […]
Compressed air fail: The mystery filter
By Ron Marshall A building products company had a compressed air system that featured one large 1,500-cfm compressor and three smaller ones. The compressed air flow had grown to a point where the large compressor could only be turned off during shutdown periods; when it was turned off, the plant pressure would collapse. The large […]
