“They have been performing flawlessly since we installed them back in 2019. I am a huge fan and a customer for life.” – Jon Mitchell, General Manager
Ready to Stop Equipment Failure and Save Thousands?
Project Background:
Unicla International’s Australian branch was suffering the consequences of compressed air contamination on the sandblasting machine and air tools. The site had a 3-stage air preparation system, which consisted of a coalescing filter, regulator and dryer system. Despite having a comprehensive compressed air preparation system installed, it was labour-intensive to maintain and expensive to run. The general manager reported that the desiccant beads required frequent replacement. The team typically discovered the beads needed replacing only when the contamination had already damaged the pneumatic equipment.
In particular, contaminated compressed air was severely impacting the performance of the sandblasting machine, which:
• Reduces the blasting performance, resulting in uneven cleaning and higher operational costs.
• Increases equipment wear and maintenance due to contaminants corroding internal components, such as the blasting pot and valves.
• It creates media wastage when water and oil emulsion fluids cause abrasive media to clump.
Contaminated compressed air also causes excessive and time-consuming reactive maintenance. If water or oil emulsions contaminated the media, the maintenance team had to discard the wet media from the blast pot. As the branch’s general manager put it, “No one likes dealing with wet sand!”
The site also had a range of air tools that experienced rapid internal corrosion, significantly shortening their lifespan. The general manager sought a maintenance-free solution that provided permanent protection for pneumatic equipment and incurred no ongoing costs.
Summary:
2019
Expel is the only solution on the global market that can meet the site’s requirements. Conventional solutions, such as dryers and coalescing filters, have significant limitations. For example, coalescing filters use a dense medium (often borosilicate or synthetic materials) to encourage liquid water and oil emulsions to coalesce and settle to the bottom of the filter while solid particles get trapped in the fibres. Their performance declines as the element clogs, saturates, and degrades. They are also sensitive to high temperatures and humidity. The heat weakens the structure of the fibres, reducing coalescing efficiency and shortening lifespan, making it unsuitable for the Australian climate.
In contrast, Expel’s revolutionary design removes 99.999% of liquid water, oil emulsion fluids, and solid particulates to 1 micron without relying on disposable elements. Its maintenance-free design provides the ultimate fail-safe for pneumatic equipment by delivering consistent and reliable performance. With no moving parts to fail, no elements to saturate, and no consumables, Expel has provided Unicla International with a permanent, long-term solution.
The Results:
“In addition to the monetary savings, using these filters has significantly extended the service life of our beloved tools.”– Jon Mitchell, General Manager
Reduced Maintenance: The branch no longer needs to allocate time to frequently replace desiccant beads in the dryer or replace the filter medium in the coalescing filter. Nor do the maintenance team have to spend time cleaning up wet sand because of compressed air contamination.
Reduced Downtime: Expel stopped damage to critical pneumatic components, enabling the sandblaster to operate continuously without interruption due to compressed air contamination.
Increased Productivity: Expel stopped the issues with uneven cleaning caused by compressed air contamination, ensuring the sandblaster’s productivity remained optimal. It also protects the internal components from experiencing faulty operation, corrosion, and failure.
Reduced Costs: The branch reported a cost savings of over $1,500 AUD while also successfully extending the service life of pneumatic tools. Therefore, the branch also saved ongoing consumable costs associated with traditional air preparation methods. They were also provided with permanent, fail-safe protection for pneumatic equipment, thereby avoiding future replacement costs and downtime.
Our team is ready to answer your questions.
David specialises in improving business efficiency. By building strong industry relationships, David ensures Expel’s revolutionary technology delivers real value to businesses.
With vast pneumatics knowledge, Johan specialises in on-site assessments to identify strategic installation points to maximise performance and eradicate contamination.
Lauren is a key point of contact for customers. She handles general inquiries and provides exceptional after-sales support, ensuring a smooth customer experience.