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Components
 SMALLEST VORTEX TUBE MAKES A HUGE IMPACT FOR MANUFACTURER OF CIRCUIT BREAKERS
A prominent manufacturer of circuit breakers saw an obvious opportunity to drastically reduce production
time. In particular, the circuit breakers being produced required a calibration of the critical bi-metal component that trips open when a given amperage is
realized. Unfortunately, the only way to calibrate was to deliver current until it tripped, cool the breaker to roughly 35F (2C) and re-calibrate to find the desired amperage trip. These calibration
steps were often repeated several times for each breaker.
This painstaking process was greatly extended by the crude methods used to bring the
breakers back to the critical calibration temperature. Tested breakers could reside in cooling chambers for hours before they could be recalibrated.
SOLUTION: A plant engineer recalled reading about vortex tubes in a trade
publication and contacted ITW Vortec. An elaborate bank of 64, 106-2-H Vortex Tubes
was installed to cool the breakers. Cold air flow was perfectly balanced at each station, and the cooling period went from hours to seconds!
SUMMARY: The savings in time, handling and general frustration were incalculable
but production cost reductions are conservatively estimated at 35% and probably much more!
 EXTRUDED WIRE COVERING
A Midwest manufacturer of extruded jacketed automotive control cables was trying to avoid a
potentially expensive problem. The company operates two nylon extrusion lines running at speeds up to 100 feet per minute. The nylon extrusion was being overlaid with a continuous woven galvanized
plywire jacket. The vacuum generator that was being used in the process to guarantee product quality was obsolete and needed to be replaced.
It is impossible to run the extrusion and jacket process without a functioning vacuum. A
vacuum is drawn at the back of the extruder head through the cross head and around the cable. The vacuum forces the galvanized plywire jacket to tightly grip the nylon cable
extrusion. Without the vacuum, the galvanized jacket slips freely on the nylon cable.
The manufacturer's jacketed cable is used to control manual shifters (transmissions),
accelerators, cruise controls, and both the hood and trunk release. The automotive industry demands that the jacket grip the nylon extrusion tightly with absolutely no slip.
Any slip of the jacket on the nylon extrusion instantly creates a potentially lethal quality problem.
SOLUTION: The manufacturer installed a 901 B Transvector Jet in place of the worn
out vacuum generator. The 901B Transvector Jet is connected to an 85 PSIG (5.9 BAR) filtered compressed air supply and is outperforming the old vacuum generator hands down.
SUMMARY: The manufacturer performed a destructive test on a section of jacketed
cable that was run using the 901B Transvector Jet to pull the vacuum. When the cable was cut through for the test, the technician discovered that the jacket was being drawn
down on the nylon extrusion with such force that it indented the nylon extrusion.
The manufacturer knows that the 901 B Transvector Jet will permit absolutely no
movement of the jacket on the nylon extrusion and is performing better than the old vacuum generator did when it was new.
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