I have lost count at this point, but this is my 4th or 5th application spotlight. In these I’m pulling from the dozens of phone calls or emails and walking you through how we on the application engineering team select a product for a specific application!
This one is a little different though. This one will be more of an application spotlight for an application success!
A customer had a manual operation where they were peeling the backing off of some adhesive strips. These strips were put in a trash can, but the operators were not always doing a good job making sure the backing strips got to the trash, covering the floor in trash and getting swept up in tools.
So to control this they wanted a vacuum that would turn on and off when the operator put his hand in front of it. They used a 2″ line vac. The end goal was to convey it 10 feet to a trash bin. The photo you see to the right is testing the automation!
And it worked great! The optical sensor sees the hand, opens a solenoid valve and the Lin Vac turns on, conveying the trash through the system into the bag. They are running it at very low pressures which is using very little compressed air!
The Line Vac is capable of moving large volumes of material over long distances with just a small amount of compressed air. The compressed air is injected through directed nozzles that produce a vacuum on one end and high-volume output flows on the other instantaneously. The Line Vac is offered in several different materials, sizes, and with a few different options for connection style.
Standard Line Vacs are offered with a smooth inlet/outlet designed to be used with any smooth-bore conveyance hose. Clear PVC hose in 10’ increments up to 50’ is available direct from stock for sizes 3/8”-3” ID. These Line Vacs are offered in aluminum sizes up to 5”, and in 303 and 316 stainless steel up to 3”.
If you’d rather use rigid pipe for the material conveyance, Threaded Line Vacs are also available directly from stock. With identical performance to the standard Line Vac, the Threaded Line Vacs are offered with NPT threads on both the inlet/outlet in sizes ranging from 3/8” NPT to 3” NPT in aluminum, 303, or 316 stainless steel.
Heavy Duty Line Vacs operate in the same manner as our standard or threaded units, but are constructed of a hardened alloy steel engineered for use with abrasive media. The Heavy Duty Line Vacs are offered with both smooth and threaded connection styles and also provide a boost in conveyance when compared with our other Line Vacs. The Heavy Duty Line Vacs are ideal for any media that is abrasive in nature or for applications requiring higher conveyance rates over longer distances.
For applications where you only need to convey small volumes over short distances or particularly lightweight materials, our Light Duty Line Vac would be an ideal solution. The Light Duty Line Vac is available in sizes ranging from ¾”-6” and consumes a bit less compressed air than the standard and heavy-duty versions. This style of Line Vac is only offered in aluminum construction and for use with smooth-bore hose.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Sanitary Flange Line Vac. The Sanitary Flange Line Vac is the best method for conveying materials in systems that require frequent or mandatory cleaning. Utilizing ISO 2852 compatible clamp-style sanitary flanges, they can be easily removed from the system for periodic sanitization. These are offered in sizes ranging from 1-1/2”-3” from stock and are ideal for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
If you think a line vac will work for you, please reach out to myself or any application engineer!
