The air knife is a versatile compressed air device in everyday production and places high demands on compressed air consumption. Inadequate filtration of the compressed air can allow fine residual particles such as dust, oil or moisture/water to get inside the air knife and heavily contaminate it. In the long term, this leads to more frequent and more regular maintenance of the compressed air device, and compressed air costs rise.
If the air knife is already heavily contaminated, thorough cleaning of the air knife can help.
How to clean your air knife:
(The video below explains the cleaning process in detail)
- Disassemble the air knife
To disassemble the air knife, remove all screws with a suitable 5/32″ Allen key. Open the air knife by lifting off the top half. Then remove the shim (foil).
- Clean the air knife
The best way to remove dirt and dust residue from the inside surfaces of the air knife is with a safety air gun (in the video we use the VariBlast Precision Safety Air Gun). Then apply a suitable cleaning agent to a cloth (Tip: WD-40) and carefully clean the surfaces (top and bottom halves of the air knife).
Tip: If your air knife is very heavily soiled, we recommend using steel wool!
- Reassemble the air knife
After cleaning, reassemble the air knife. To do this, place the shim back on the bottom half of the air knife and then put the top half back on. Make sure that the shim and the halves of the air knife sit flush on top of each other. Retighten the screws with a pneumatic ratchet to a torque of 10 newton metres, working from one end to the other.
Using a Maintenance Unit
To prevent things from getting that far and allow you to use your air knife maintenance-free, we recommend using a maintenance unit. The video shows a high-quality 3-stage maintenance unit. This maintenance unit provides ideal compressed air treatment in all production areas. Regular replacement of the filter elements is also important for maintenance-free use of your compressed air device. This not only guarantees long, maintenance-free use of the air knife, but also lowers your compressed air costs at the same time. With filtered compressed air, all three parts of your air knife (top, bottom and shim) always stay clean.