Click to see a close cutaway view of an Air Knife HeaderCompressed Air Blow-Off Spray Headers
For STEEL, ALUMINUM AND OTHER STRIP MILLS
Whisperblast compressed air blow-off nozzles use mill air efficiently and effectively for blow-off applications in both hot and cold mills for blowing-off loose scale, roll cleaning fluids and excess oil off strips as they fly-by at thousands of feet per minute!
If you need to "dry" your product or if you do not have enough compressed air available, you should consider our centrifugal blower air knife drying systems.
Our armored compressed air blow off headers are always custom made and engineered to fit into your mill.
Using blow off headers in conjunction with an air knife drying system usually alleviates steering problems caused by damming and squeegee rolls. In addition to increased throughput you can eliminate the TIME and EXPENSE of changing these rolls every few weeks!
There’s a huge difference between our compressed air nozzles and pinched pipe, flat sprays and "blow-off tips" often used by older mills. Our nozzles are designed for dispersing light fluids like air into a very tight, concentrated patterns which results in high impact. When these nozzles are installed at the proper height and attack angle and then protected from cobbles and wrecks, you increase the effectiveness and survivability of your blow-off applications.
Click to see a close cutaway view of an Air Knife Header
The outer protective "armor" isn’t always required depending upon where it’s installed, however they are often installed in difficult to reach places where survivability is a key issue.
As the name implies, "Whisperblast" nozzles are quiet, much more quiet than equivalently sized blow-off tips and nozzles designed for heavier fluids such as water. Most of the time your header will run at 85 PSI or less and operate at less than 90 decibels (in some cases considerably less). 500 - 600 SCFM of compressed air volume is all that is usually required for 70" of coverage. As a loose rule of thumb you can figure on about 20 SCFM of compressed air at 85 PSI for every 2" of coverage required.
Most headers are manufactured in a Chevron or "snow-plough style" to push fluids and foreign material off either side of the strip. In some cases we’ll supply diagonal style or other configurations as required by the application.
When you give us a call we’ll come visit your mill right before a downturn and when it goes down we’ll take additional measurements. Assuming we’re given permission we’ll also take pictures of the installation area if it looks like it will be a tight fit or if there are special factors to be considered. As a result of our visit (that will range from 30-90 minutes) you’ll receive a detailed proposal for a compressed air header made to fit your mill. The evaluation and proposal is free of charge and there's no obligation to proceed with our proposal. Our goal is to help you optimize use of limited resources, decrease rejected coils and improve the general working environment for mill workers.
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