Air nozzle for quiet, efficient blowing with compressed air

Air nozzles are commonly used for blowing with compressed air in industry when e.g. cleaning, drying, cooling, sorting and transporting objects.

Silvent’s air nozzles have three unique advantages

Few industries are aware of just how much their compressed air actually costs. Producing compressed air is expensive, which means it’s important to use it in the best possible way. Silvent’s air nozzles optimize energy use and enable quiet and efficient blowing with compressed air.

Reduce energy consumption by 35%

Many manufacturing industries use open pipes for blowing with compressed air. While they often do the job, they are an expensive and inefficient solution. Open pipes usually create a great deal of turbulence when blowing with compressed air, which is extremely energy intensive. Thus to use compressed air in an energy-efficient manner, it’s important to minimize turbulence. This is easily done by installing an air nozzle.

Silvent’s air nozzles for blowing with compressed air are specially designed to optimize energy use and create a uniform, smooth and straight so-called laminar air jet. The design reduces turbulence and gives rise to entrainment, which means the compressed air draws the surrounding air with it. When less energy is wasted producing turbulence, a greater part of the energy input can be used for blowing with compressed air. This makes for more energy-efficient blowing, and the installation of a Silvent air nozzle can reduce energy use by up to 35%.

Reduce the sound level when blowing with compressed air

Blowing with compressed air often leads to high sound levels in industry. One reason for this is the use of open pipes when blowing with compressed air. Open pipes create turbulence that generates high sound levels. Noise and high sound levels are not only harmful for people working nearby the blowing application, but also affect concentration and the overall perception of the work environment. There are therefore many advantages in reducing the sound level in industry. To reduce the sound level when blowing with compressed air, all open pipe should be fitted with air nozzles.

Silvent’s air nozzles reduce the sound level when blowing with compressed air compared to blowing through open pipes. This is due in part to the reduction in noisy turbulence from using Silvent’s air nozzles, and also because of the nozzles’ special design. Silvent’s air nozzles pass the compressed air through small holes and slots, which raises the sound to frequencies beyond what the human ear can perceive. This allows us to make blowing with compressed air both quiet and efficient.

Improve the efficiency and the manufacturing process

The turbulence that occurs when blowing with an open pipe affects not only the energy consumption and noise level, but also the blowing force. This has a negative impact on the final result. Most of our customers contact us because they have problems with their existing solution and need help improving their manufacturing process. Flaws in the manufacturing process can, in the worst case, have a negative impact on the quality of the final product.

Unlike an open pipe, Silvent’s air nozzles minimize the turbulence and generate a strong and efficient blowing force. Silvent has a large range of air nozzles, which makes it possible to adjust the solution to the specific application and the customer’s goals, for the best possible results. Silvent’s representatives will be happy to help you find the right solution for your application.

Three things to consider when selecting the right air nozzle

There are many different types of air nozzle specially designed to suit specific industries and applications. It can thus be difficult to identify the air nozzle that is most effective for a particular blowing application. The choice of the right air nozzle should be based on the following three parameters: blowing force, blowing pattern and the material.

Air nozzles with high or low blowing force

The first parameter – blowing force – is what performs the actual work and is therefore the most important to consider. In existing blowing applications with open pipes, the inner diameter of the pipe determines blowing force. In new installations, as standard air gun can be used to create a reference value. A standard air gun often has a blowing force of around 3 N. Silvent’s smallest air nozzles have a blowing force of 0.9 N and the strongest air nozzle has a blowing force of 270 N.

Air nozzles with round or flat blowing patterns

The second parameter is the blowing pattern, which is generated by the air nozzle. In general, we talk about two different types of blowing pattern, round or flat. The choice of blowing pattern depends largely on the size and shape of the object. A flat air nozzle is often more effective e.g. for drying as it creates more of a squeegee effect. The choice for each blowing application will therefore be unique.

Air nozzle material

The third and last parameter is the choice of material. Material choice is often based on the application’s environment and if there is a risk of mechanical wear on the air nozzle. There are also applications where it’s necessary to avoid scratching the surface of the object, and here the choice is often a ‘soft’ air nozzle. Silvent’s air nozzles are available in many different materials such as stainless steel, zinc, aluminum, PEEK, Zytel and EPDM.

Would you like help choosing the right air nozzle?

We’ll be happy to help you choose the right solution for your application. Contact one of our representatives or fill in the contact form below, and we’ll get in touch with you.

Installing air nozzles

The installation of an air nozzle is important to ensure optimal, efficient blowing force.

The correct supply line dimension

When installing an air nozzle, it’s important to make sure that the supply line has sufficient dimensions to allow the air nozzle to generate the performance required. This is especially important in the case of air nozzles with high blowing force, which require larger supply lines to utilize the nozzle’s full capacity. It’s also important to make sure the compressed air system is not undersized, as this will cause a pressure drop.

Fine adjustment of blowing force

When the air nozzle is installed, it’s an advantage to adjust the blowing force so that no more compressed air than necessary is used. In this way, energy consumption and the volume of air can be minimized, which also leads to lower sound levels. The best way to fine-tune the blowing force is to adjust supply pressure. This is best done by using a pressure regulator. It’s also possible to use a so-called throttle valve, which regulates the volume of air. However, this can cause a certain amount of turbulence.

The distance between the air nozzle and the object

For the best results, the distance between the air nozzle and the object should be adjusted so that the entire air jet is made full use of. The correct distance depends on the type of application. For example, for general cleaning applications we often recommend a blowing distance of 200 – 300 mm, while we frequently recommend shorter distances for blowing away oil-based fluids. In addition to distance, the angle at which the air jet meets the object is also important. It’s especially important in applications whose job is to remove fluid.