Air Knife Drying

Air Knife Drying

An air knife is a plenum or enclosure with forced air blowing in and a means for the air to exit. Air knives are powered by compressed air or by regenerative blowers, which force air into the nozzle of the air knife. Air might exit the air knife through holes at the other end, or it might exit the enclosure through a long, rectangular slot. Air knives have commercial and industrial applications.

Who Uses an Air Knife and When is it Needed?

Air knives are used by businesses of all types. Often, businesses use air knives if they make and package food or make other products that need to be packaged. You can use an air knife at any point in the process of making a product.

The amount of air pressure in the air knife will affect its usefulness. It's important to have the right pressure to maximize the effectiveness of the air knife. The amount of pressure varies depending on what the air knife is being used to do.

Examples of when to use an air knife include:

• Before packaging a product to remove debris from the product's exterior surface.
• When heating up a product.
• When drying a product.
• When hardening the coating on a product.

Air knives are used in the following industries:

• Can, Jar and Bottle Drying
• Air Rinsing
• Crates and Totes Drying
• Powder and Dust Removal
• Pharmaceuticals
• Electronics
• Food Processing
• Packaging & Labeling
• Plastics & Rubber
• Textiles & Materials
• How an Air Knife Works

Air knives are often installed with the help of an engineer from the manufacturer, to ensure that the product is effective. Air knives are so flexible in their application that they may be used and installed in different ways. Most of the time, air knives are stationary, but in some cases, they're designed to be movable. Air knives are powered by compressed air or by regenerative blowers and are attached to the air knife through a custom-made nozzle.  

Why Use an Air Knife?

Most of the time, people use air knives to blow liquid or debris off of an object. This is a common tool in factory settings where an item for sale must be put away in packaging. Before the item can be placed in a package, it must be cleaned in some way. The air knife may dry the item off after cleaning, or may simply remove debris that clings to the item from the factory line. 

Air knives have other uses as well. They may heat objects with warm air or cool them off with cold air. Air knives can remove static or dry a liquid coating. They can control the coating thickness on an item, remove debris from a conveyor belt and so on. These devices are not made for any one specific purpose, but instead are available for any business or industrial operation that needs them. 

Different products may be used with air knives in certain applications to dry, blow off, cool and heat products.

Air Curtains

An air curtain is a product that forces a "curtain" of air in whatever direction the device is placed. Air curtains are used to force a product in a desired direction.

Air Slides

An air slide is made from low pressure air and an aeration bed set on an incline. The air pressure on an air slide comes from a regenerative blower. Air slides allow products to slide on a sheet of air, which helps control the movement of items in a process.

Air Wipe

An air wipe is a circular air knife that extruded products may travel through (like a steel cable). Like other air knives, air wipes are powered by regenerative blowers.

Air Knife Blow Off

Air knife blow offs use high velocity air to force particles or water droplets off of a product. These devices are also powered by regenerative blowers.

Contact Us

Whether you're looking for air curtains, industrial fans, high velocity fans and Atlantic Blowers, we are your source for quality products. Looking for a single stage regenerative blower? Browse our products today. We also help businesses like yours determine what kind of industrial fan is right for their needs. Contact us today at 866-727-1060 to find out more about purchasing an air fan for your needs.