Pneumatic systems & components


Reduce compressed air costs

1st Quarter 2019 Pneumatic systems & components

The cost of compressed air equipment is ever increasing and the need to economise on equipment and power consumption is critical.

SUTO-iTECH Germany offers a very broad range of compressed air monitoring equipment that can monitor and display a compressed air system’s performance.

The monitoring systems include a wide variety of monitoring devices that can track:

• Airflow and vacuum flow of the compressed air or gas.

• Air velocity in pipes.

• Air pressure or vacuum pressure.

• Air temperature.

• Dew point of the condensed air.

• Particle count.

• Oil carryover within the condensed air.

• Power monitoring, kWs, volts, amps.

The information from multiple instruments can be taken back to a wall-mounted static or mobile touch-sensitive display and data logger and on to a central scada system via 4-20 mA, RS-485 or Ethernet connections. Cloud-based data capture and storage solutions are also offered through SUTO-iTEC CSM-2G systems.

The ability to monitor the compressed air system and prevent contamination before it contaminates the system is a major benefit to any services manager. When water contamination gets into a compressed air system it takes weeks to clear or evaporate, even when the dew point is rectified. The cost of monitoring is easily recouped by an instrumentation airline that remains dry and clean, ensuring equipment service and availability.

It is estimated that 25% of an average manufacturing plant’s power is spent on compressed air, with at least 20% of this cost leaking to atmosphere. Using either actual flowmeter results or using SUTO iTech software, the cost of air leaks can be reduced substantially.

Artic Driers offers a wide range of ultrasonic leak detection equipment for end-user use, and can hire out technicians by the day to evaluate a system’s air losses and cost to company. This can include taking a flow reading along with ultrasonic testing to ensure that all leaks are located. These services have been honed to perfection over the last decade. Artic can provide cost per air leak along with actual air flow per leak. This is presented on an Excel spreadsheet allowing the sorting of leak locations into order of priority.

Fixed or static air flowmeters also allow for accurate selection of new compressed air ancillaries on existing plants, allowing engineers to make informed decisions on what equipment to purchase.

Dew point monitoring can be a simple standalone unit that monitors the system’s water content, or it can be part of a bigger more comprehensive instrument set.

A dew point probe will give a pre-alert for a wide range of faults – bypass valves left open, a blocked dryer drain, a dryer that has tripped, a dryer that has a faulty freon compressor, or even a fractured heat exchanger. With dew point monitors as inexpensive as R13 000, you really cannot afford to be without these essential tools.

For more information contact Allen Cockfield, Artic Driers International, +27 11 420 0274, [email protected] www.articdriers.co.za



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