Skip to main content

Compressed air is used in industry not only as a drive technology, but also often for cooling, drying or cleaning products. A side channel blower with air knife provides an energy-efficient, easy-to-install alternative.

Using compressed air to cool, dry or clean products is a rather expensive solution in terms of energy consumption. An air knife can also be used for these applications with less energy. This is a cylindrical tube with a smooth outlet slot that, due to its specific design and aerodynamics, carries a very evenly directed, non-turbulent airflow to the product being treated. By tailoring the design, an optimal solution can be created for each application.

AIRKNIFE

Dovac in Zevenhuizen promotes the industrial use of air knives as an alternative to compressed air. The company specializes in vacuum and blower technology, supplying vacuum pumps, blowers and accessories. The supplied air knives, also known as “air knives,” produce a laminar airflow suitable for drying, cooling or cleaning a variety of parts and products. This airflow also sucks ambient air with it, further increasing the effectiveness of the air knife. A popular application is blowing cars dry at the car wash.

LOW PRESSURE, HIGH EFFICIENCY

An air knife operates with relatively low input pressure. This is much more energy efficient, and therefore cheaper, than (high-pressure) compressed air reduced to low pressure. The sizing of the exit slot compared to the cylindrical tube is critical for obtaining uniform, efficient airflow along the entire length of the air knife. Dovac has calculation methods for determining the correct combination of exit velocity, air blade length and blower type.

dovac blower met luchtmes

SIDE CHANNEL BLOWER

The trading company combines an air blade with its own brand of side channel blower (or regenerative blower).
“We have had our blowers produced by the same manufacturer for 20 years,” says owner Ferry Jansen. “The blower is designed for high efficiency, low maintenance and low noise, which means energy consumption is much lower than with a blower system working with compressed air. On top of that, a blower with air knife is a local solution, while compressed air requires more infrastructure and long pipelines.”

CLEAN AND MAINTENANCE-FREE

His company offers a complete solution: blower, air knife, intake filter and mounting components. “Our air knives deliver clean, oil-free, dry air, are easy to assemble and safe to use because of the low operating pressure.” An additional advantage is that an air knife has no moving parts, making it maintenance-free in that respect. Contamination of air filter and air gap is, of course, a concern. The air knives are available in various lengths up to a maximum of three meters, made of aluminum or stainless steel.

AIR KNIVES MULTIFUNCTIONAL

The combination air knife-blower is used in a variety of industries, from metal and plastics, galvanic and food industries to agriculture, horticulture and medical clinics and laboratories. Examples of applications include chip removal, rapid cooling of injection molded parts, streak-free coating of doors and dry blowing of products that should not stick to a conveyor belt (such as paste), be labeled or glued. A version with air cannon can be used more focused on a smaller product and/or aerate galvanic baths. In short, air knives are suitable for many applications.