A lot of research has been done towards mitigating the harmful effects of exposure to industrial processes for workers. Of particular concern to researchers is air quality in industrial environments. As researchers’ knowledge of how humans respond to contact with the byproducts of industrial products and processes becomes more complete, the importance of limiting that contact becomes more Continue reading
Blower image courtesy of National Turbine Corporation.
Blowers make an important contribution to the quality of American manufactured products. Does that seem like a stretch? Consider the following. One of the reasons why the United States has come to distinguish itself as a manufacturing superpower is the quality of its products. Products manufactured in the United States have a reputation for quality craftsmanship, and they set the standard against which manufactured products from other countries are measured. There are many reasons why Continue reading
Regenerative blower image courtesy of Ametek.
There are a lot of reasons why regenerative blowers are valuable utilities for their users. No one benefit is necessarily more meaningful or significant than another, but one of the most easily recognizable benefits of these blowers is their low level of required monitoring and Continue reading
Air blower image courtesy of Tuthill Vacuum and Blower Systems.
If you were to drive through an industrial park in any given city, it’s likely that eventually you’d see a collection of one or two inverted silos suspended above a loading bay. Those silos would be connected to a few metal tubes, which would run away from the inverted silo and either into a building or into other silos. Nearby the tangle of tubing and the silos would be some rectangular equipment and maybe a control panel. What you’re looking at is a pneumatic conveyor system, a conveyance system that uses pressurized air to move powdered objects, granulated materials and Continue reading
“High velocity fan” is one of those terms that can be ascribed to many products despite meaning something specific. Here’s the definition of a high-velocity fan. A high velocity fan is a fan whose blades or impellers rotate or spin at high velocities. This is not a very useful definition, so it’s no surprise that the term “high-velocity fan” is used to describe a lot of different products that are very different from each other. Let’s Continue reading
Centrifugal blowers are go-to utilities in applications that require the use of an industrial-strength air blower. Centrifugal blowers are popular in such contexts because of their capacity for generating high-pressure air flow and because of their efficiency. A centrifugal blower’s efficiency is a consequence of its construction. As opposed to fans with exposed, radial fan blades, centrifugal blower blades are Continue reading
What’s the difference between a radial fan and an axial fan? Let’s start with the easier of the two subjects. The word “axial” evokes something that is arranged around an axis. Axial fans are so named because they feature fans with blades that are attached to a center axle. These kinds of blades spin around that axle like hands on a clock, and they are among the fan varieties whose identity as fans is often the most Continue reading
Belt driven or direct drive? That is the blower construction question. What are the advantages of belt driven blowers over direct drive blowers, if any? Let’s quickly review the difference. Direct drive blowers are blowers in which the motor that controls the rotation of fan blades is connected directly to the rotor shaft or fan axle. This means that the fan blades will spin at the same speed as the motor’s rotation. A belt driven blower features a motor that is not directly connected to Continue reading
Industry makes extensive use of blowers. There are just a lot of applications in which the use of machines that can move air or other gasses in large volumes is necessary. Some of the simplest industrial blowers are ventilation and exhaust fans. These helpful tools are used to clear workplaces of unpleasant or harmful fumes that can be hazardous to workers. These tools bring workplaces into compliance with labor and worker safety laws as well as contribute to improved worker comfort and Continue reading
There’s an ongoing debate within industry about what kind of exhaust fan configuration is best: belt drive or direct drive. If you do some research, you’re likely to find that the debate boils down to two factors: individual preference and who you ask. Naturally, if you ask a company that’s in the direct drive blower business, they’ll tell you about how much easier to clean direct drive blowers are and how they’re less likely to expose workers to potentially dangerous fumes during maintenance. If you ask Continue reading