Heavy Industries
SolvAir's innovative Air Knife solutions excel in large-scale industrial blow-off and drying applications where alternative systems fall short.
Ultrasonic Sciences Ltd inspects aluminium billets up to 3.8 metres wide and 18 metres long with an NDT scanner after they leave an ultrasonic cleaning bath. Excess liquid on the billets was disrupting the scanner’s ability to detect defects reliably, and SolvAir solved the issue with dual PX1500 11.0kW Air Blowers and 2336mm dual-inlet Stainless Steel Air Knives.
Ultrasonic Sciences Ltd encountered significant challenges in their NDT inspection process. After the aluminium billets, which are up to 3.8 metres wide, 18 metres long and 20 centimetres deep, emerged from the ultrasonic cleaning bath, excess liquid consistently disrupted the NDT scanner’s ability to detect defects reliably. The bath can hold several smaller billets or a single long one at any time.
The water interference compromised NDT scanning accuracy on aluminium billets, which are often of aerospace quality. This undermined detection reliability, potentially allowing material irregularities to pass inspection, increasing rejection rates during downstream manufacturing and impacting production timelines.
SolvAir’s drying solution pairs dual PX1500 11.0kW Air Blowers with 2336mm dual-inlet Stainless Steel Air Knives, mounted alongside the NDT gantry. A blower sits on each side, with solid pipework connecting it to its Air Knife.
The Air Knives are installed in a strategic chevron design that removes all water as the gantry moves, blowing it from the centre outwards so that the camera can then perform its checks. This ensures the liquid-free conditions needed for high-precision scanning.
The system’s proven success at Ultrasonics Romanian installation, delivering flawless drying, led to an immediate order for a UK site. This showcases our expertise and reliability with large-scale industrial drying and blow-off challenges.
Steve Hand Sales Engineer | SolvAir
Could this work on your line? Talk it through with a SolvAir engineer.
Trusted by heavy-industry manufacturers across the globe, SolvAir's Air Knife Systems are proven across the world's most demanding production lines.
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Talk it through with a SolvAir engineer. If compressed air is anywhere in your cleaning, drying or blow-off process, the savings case usually writes itself.
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