Cost saving tip when ordering
larger bore cylinders.
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When ordering cylinders they are usually ordered with an air cushion, most
manufacturers supply them standard on bores less than 4 inch. When you get
to the larger bore cylinder cushions can become an expensive option. If you
are designing a fixture with a larger bore actuator you should make sure it
will actually be completing its full stroke and entering the cushion before
you order this option. You can order a rear cushion only because 99 percent of
the time the cylinder does utilize the entire return stroke but many times
the tooling will stop the forward stroke never allowing it to enter the air
cushion. A cushion option on a larger bore cylinder can be a significant
amount and if you have numerous cylinders on a fixture your savings could be
substantial.
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PROBLEM:
A common problem in many manufacturing plants is not enough volume of
compressed air to operate machinery properly. This problem is created either
by the compressor being too small to deliver the required volume or the
plant airlines being undersized and not allowing the available volume (SCFM)
through. |
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SOLUTION:
We stock small air storage tanks that can be mounted right at the machine,
this allows you to have stored air right at the machine. Many times this is
adequate to eliminate the problem. The compressor is able to fill the
storage tank between the machine cycles assuring the machine has an adequate
air supply. |
PROBLEM:
Most times factories have compressed air that does have moisture and some
contaminants in it. They experience high cost maintenance repairs on
delicate components that are operating on compressed air. The manufacturers
of these components void the warranties because of the dirty air and tell
them they must provide clean dry air. A refrigerant Air Dryer is a very
expensive item but it will clean up the air in the entire plant. A more cost
effective solution to this problem is to use one of our point of use AMG
moisture separators along with an appropriate particulate filter in front of
the delicate piece of equipment. |
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SOLUTION: A
refrigerant dryer could cost in the thousands of dollars range depending on the
compressor size, a point of use unit could cost a few hundred dollars. |
| PROBLEM:
Many times we have customers say for some reason we don’t seem to get
the same volume of air from our compressor as we use to, many times there is
a problem with the compressor and repairs are required. However many times
the problem is very simple to fix.
SOLUTION: The
thing many people forget to do is drain the water from the compressor tank
occasionally, as the water builds up in the tank it allows less available
volume of air.
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| PROBLEM:
Customer calls I need a new valve it is leaking.
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SOLUTION:
In 90 percent of these cases it is actually the actuator that is leaking
allowing the air to bypass the piston seal and constantly exhaust back
through the valve simulating a leaky valve. To check this take the tubing
off the end of the cylinder that is in the retracted state (the end that
should have no air pressure) if you have air coming out of the cylinder port
you know it is the cylinder, not the valve. |
PROBLEM:
You need to add another function to a
machine and you have used all the inputs and outputs on your PLC.
This can create a very expensive problem to fix, even if the control
box has room for additions you are faced with expensive wiring and
programming problems.
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SOLUTION:
Many times you can make additional machine
functions using pneumatic logic components in conjunction with your PLC.
These components can be mounted outside of the control box and can be
easily interfaced with the PLC. |
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PROBLEM:
Over the years we have had many
situations were a fixture has been built only to find the air
cylinder selected is not powerful enough to complete the task it was
selected for. This can be a major problem, most times to install a
larger cylinder requires expensive tooling changes to fit the new
cylinder in.
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SOLUTION:
When this happens many times a more cost
effective solution is to install one of our boosters to boost the air
pressure to the cylinder. Boosting the air pressure by 40 to 50 PSI can
make a tremendous difference on the force an air cylinder can generate. |
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