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 didnβt have parts available to replace the faulty controls on the two screw compressors β so they did […]
Air Preparation
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 […]
Global drinks manufacturer cuts air and inefficiencies
When a 40 bar turbo compressor situated within an internationally renowned British-based producer of soft drinks broke down, it was faced with two choices: repair or reconfigure. Choosing the latter, the producer found that the old proverb βas one door closes, another opensβ proved true. Founded in the late 1930s by an entrepreneurial chemist, Britvic […]
How can you use compressed air storage to reduce peaks?
A press operation used a pulse of compressed air for cleaning operations for 10 seconds, once every 10 minutes.Β The compressed air flow to the press during the cleaning was 400 cfm, a quite significant flow, and data logger measurements of the air compressors found that each time the blow happened, a 150-hp compressor would […]
4 best practices for providing dry air in a job shop
Contributed by Mike Kreklau, Technical Sales at Tsunami Compressed Air Solutions Downtime and inefficiency don’t have toΒ be your production line’s worst enemy. You want shop equipment that comes with no strings attached — no downtime and no maintenance. Maybe thatβs a pipe dream, but there are ways to fix many air-related symptoms of an inefficient […]
Compressed air fail: Sensor eye blowing
The operators at a lumber mill were having production problems in two of their machines.Β Annoyingly, critical sensing eyes were getting blocked by occasional pieces of bark as the logs went by.Β After enduring this for quite a while the maintenance department finally took matters into their own hands. The plant had a welding department, […]
A look at misfit compressed air tools
Are you still using open ended compressed air blowing?Β Are these blowers simply controlled by a ball valve?Β Did you know these tools can turn into dangerous uncontrolled projectiles if accidently dropped when the valve is wide open? They cause noise pollution and present a risk of eye injury when chips of debris are sent […]
How do you measure your compressed air’s air quality?
Many industrial sites measure their compressed air quality, or think they do.Β When asked to show the dew point of a system with refrigerated air dryers, the compressor operators will typically point to the air dryer display, not knowing that the reading is not really dew point, but the temperature within the air dryer itself.Β […]
Compressed air fail: Load sharing
A large foundry had four large 200-hp air compressors that were water-cooled and were having overheating problems.Β The units were capable of inlet modulation control,Β where the inlet valve of the compressor closes off the intake to control the output flow.Β Use of this control mode reduces the flow output of the compressors and the […]
Compressed air fail: Safety hazard
During a compressed air assessment, a service provider was reviewing the total capacity of the storage receivers for his report.Β Having adequate capacity helps make the compressors run more efficiently and saves energy.Β During his checks, he spotted a strange color on one receiver safety valve.Β On closer inspection, he noticed that the pressure relief […]
