How Do Air Knives Perform? Discover Out Here

Air Knives are easy and extremely effective units for drying and washing products. An Air Knife System uses a high intensity, uniform sheet of air which can be used to effectively:
- Remove liquids
- Get a grip on the thickness of liquids
- Dry liquid coatings
- Remove foreign particles
- Cool product surfaces
- Create a hold down force to assist in the mechanical bonding of materials to the outer lining

Air Knives are the most efficient and effective way of removing or controlling foreign substances for any surface. Many Air Knives are fixed with items passing through them on a conveyor however there's also systems where the merchandise is stationery and the Air Knives maneuver around it. The potential that Air Knives provide for many different types of industries is therefore enormous.

A professional air knife is really a pressurized air plenum with a continuous slot through which pressurised air exits in a laminar (uniform) flow pattern. The exit air velocity creates an impact air velocity onto the outer lining of whatever product the air is directed to. This impact air velocity can range between a light breeze to more than Mach 0.6 = 454 mph = 731 kph = 40,000 fpm = 203 m/sec. Therefore an air knife alters the outer lining of an item without mechanical contact.

Air knives on a generation line usually vary from 100 to 3048 mm (4 to 120 inches) in total with a discharge air slot including 0.40 to 2.0mm (0.015 to 0.08 inches). A stationary air knife configuration can require from anyone to ten or more air knives depending on the application criteria. Air is blasted through the air knife slots with a high speed centrifugal blower to deliver the predetermined exit air volume and velocity needed. Electrical currents from anti-static bars may also be injected into the exit air knife stream to neutralize the static electricity charge on some surfaces.