Early Developments On Air Knife

A few years after the Second World War subsided

, mass production of various industrial products became necessary. Along with the boom in many industries such as printing and textile, air knife or air doctor, as it was called back then slowly found its place in the industrial sector.

Both printing and textile businesses relied on the functionality of air knives. Operations required the mechanical device to gather wide air paths from pressurized gas which would be used to manage the thickness of fluids of products or to remove unwanted particles on the surface of materials during manufacturing processes.

Eventually, as air knives were developed and used by various manufacturers, factories and other industrialists, various names were also used to pertain to the toolas such air bar, air jet, air blast, air nozzle, air blow off, air comb, air squeegee, air blade, air curtain and air doctor blade. Today however, the tool is plainly coined as air knife.

By the time, the power source widely used for operations of air knives was the compressed plant air. However, it was proven that air blades powered by industrial blower had lower energy requirements by 50-75% for majority of industries.

Moreover, after the Montreal Protocol came about in 1987, air knives powered by industrial blowers were favored by the general industry. The said Protocol was an initiative to call for the elimination of cleaning agents and other materials containing chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), which was then common in many industries.

Most of cleaning mixtures used back then did not require blow-off operations or other drying methods as they immediately disappear into the air during the process.

It was during this time, when the industry of printed circuit boards was in its initial stage of development. The industry was among the the first to begin the shift to aqueous and semi-aqueous cleaning agents, which were more environment-friendly. These cleaning agents needed to be blown-off or dried to remove excess particles or contaminants on the surface of the circuit boards.

The same operations were also utilized by other industries. Manufacturers then started to shift from CFC solvents to water-based paints, coatings, adhesive and other mixtures. With the worldwide conversion, air knives soon became a pertinent tool in the industrial sector, and thereafter, the industry for air knife became another industrial boom as well.

At present, air knives continually serve as functional and powerful tool in various operations which include cleaning, drying and other processes.

by: FrankSwing

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