The development of Air Knives

For more than 20 years, Paxton has pioneered the development of Air Knives and high-flow Centrifugal Blowers. As an air flow systems expert, we have refined today's Air Knife designs for "precision-drying", coating control, removing dust and unwanted materials, as well as air curtains and many more applications.

Each of our Air Knives is powered by a perfectly matched, high-velocity Paxton centrifugal blower, and can deliver air at velocities from 10,000 - 40,000 FPM. Proper designing and specifying of the centrifugal blower to the Air Knife is critical to the system's performance and service life.

Paxton has total systems expertise from its years of experience building the industry's leading centrifugal blowers and Air Knife systems. We have designed Air Knives for virtually every type of application.

Air Knives used for drying, cleaning or material removal accomplish their work in a two-stage process: First, a high velocity air stream is directed to roll the liquid or material back, creating a standing wave at the point of shear and leaving a thin, residual layer.

Second, as the "point of impact" of the impinging air flow passes over the residual layer, this layer (if liquid) is shattered or atomized to form minute liquid droplets which are carried away by the air stream to leave a clean, dry surface. Non-liquids are also blown away and removed in this second phase.

Paxton Air Knives may utilize temperature or controllable air pressure to provide further evaporation, materials-setting, cooling, heating, curing or coating control ability. Each system is designed taking into consideration the exact material characteristics and processing requirements of the products involved.

Paxton Air Knives are FDA compliant, and feature exclusive designs in anodized, extruded aluminum, or rugged stainless steel.

For more information, please visit: Paxton’s web site.