Side Channel Blowers

We supply Side Channel Blowers, Airtec side channel blowers deliver moderate volumes of clean dry air at high pressures when compared to Centrifugal Blowers. Side channel blowers are ideal for compact Air Knife applications and many other automation projects.

WE SUPPLY AND SELL SIDE CHANNEL BLOWERS

Here at Airtec UK we sell side channel blowers for many different manufacturing and industrial needs.
Side Channel blowers are the first choice in many automation projects for applications requiring higher pressures or vacuums than can be economically produced by a centrifugal or high speed blower.

The RT Range of side channel blowers are suitable for a single or three phase supply. They are capable of producing pressures up to 700mbar or vacuum up to 450 mbar with volume flow rates up to 550 m3 per hour. RT Side channel blowers have the added benefits of a low noise operation(64-88db) and are a compact, virtually maintenance free design.

Side channel blowers (sometimes called a vacuum pump or regenerative blower) are air delivery systems that produce relatively high air flow (when compared to compressed air) and much higher pressure capabilities than traditional centrifugal type blowers.
This makes them the ideal choice for smaller air knife applications, product conveying, vacuum holding, aeration of spa pools to name but a few examples.

Specially designed Three-dimensional blower blades enable the air between blades to accelerate along the blade and diameter directions due to rotations. The air is forced to return back to the bottoms of the blades due to pressure difference when entering the blower paths and then accelerates again. This kind of air running movement repeats again and again (the regenerative effect) to result in compression and pressure intensification due to the spiral movement of the air in the blower paths. When the air moves toward the outlet, it will be forced to expel.

Airtec Air Systems are waiting to help you with any enquiry Get in touch!

Air Knife Drying

Aeration Tank

SIDE CHANNEL BLOWERS FROM AIRTEC

Our Airtec RT Range of side channel blowers are available for single phase supply (up to 1.75kw) or three phase with standard supply voltage of 400 vac / 200vac.
All motors are dual wound as standard with the upper STAR and lower DELTA voltages selectable via link changes within the motor terminal box. Other voltages are available on request. All motors are high efficiency class H insulated IP55 induction motors.
They are inverter rated and are suitable for continuous operation between 40 and 60hz. All RT units fully comply with UL/CE and CuL listings. The units are manufactured from cast aluminium and are suitable for maximum ambient operating temperatures of 40 degrees C.
The Airtec blowers are extremely robust and reliable. They have gained an enviable reputation for quality and reliability and have an excellent track record over the last 20 years of supply.

SIDE CHANNEL BLOWERS AIR FLOW / PRESSURE RATIOS

Name	Vacuum / Pressure mbar	Air Flow m3/min
RT 0200	50 / 60	0.8
RT 0400	110 / 130	1.4
RT 0750	140	2.4
RT 1900	210 / 220	3.6
RT 2200	230	5.2
RT 3700	260 / 280	5.2
RT 5500	270 / 300	9.2
RT 7500	300 / 400	9.2

SIDE CHANNEL BLOWERS - APPLICATION EXAMPLES

With so many different applications that can benefit from using an Airtec side channel blower, the duty point can vary across the available range of flows and pressures/ vacuum levels.

To cover these requirements, we offer the widest range of both single and dual stage units on an ex stock basis. We can therefore confidently supply the blower that fits your needs exactly. Each case, even similar applications, will present differing factors which can all effect the performance of the system.

Lengths, number of bends, diameters of pipeworks, air quality (to name but a few variables) can all significantly impact on performance. Care must be taken therefore to select the correct unit for the particular application in the particular environment.

Our team at Airtec have many years direct experience with working with side channel blowers and will be happy to assist in selection.

SIDE CHANNEL BLOWER MAINTENANCE

One of the great advantages of using a Side Channel Blower is that they are virtually maintenance free. Airtec’s RT range of side channel blowers utilise permanently sealed bearings which means that they require very little or even no maintenance.

All our blowers are aluminium casts making them a durable, lightweight and an efficient solution and their impeller uses a ‘no contact rotation system’ that guarantees a no wear operation.
Our RT units do not require any type of lubrication throughout their lifetime because of their contactless design, even if they are working continuously on a 24/7 basis.

This lack of required grease or lubrication guarantees not only low maintenance but also the delivery of clean, uncontaminated air.

SIDE CHANNEL BLOWER OPERATING NOISE LEVEL

Side channel blowers typically have an operating volume of between 64db and 88db.

Airtec’s blowers casing are made from die cast aluminium and employ a non-contact rotation system with their direct drive motor.
Acoustic silencers in both the inlet and exit port of the side channel blower further attenuate the sound pressure levels to achieve excellent levels of noise reduction.

Even the largest blowers in the range will comfortably be below the first action level of 80dB(a) without any additional acoustic treatment.

PLEASE CONTACT OUR SALES TEAM

Airtec have over 30 years direct experience with the supply and implementation of side channel blowers across a bewildering variety of applications in many different industries. We were the first company to introduce blower driven alternatives to feed traditional compressed air knives, saving 90% on running costs and avoiding the considerable expense of replacing existing air nozzles.

As with all side channel blowers, care and experience is required in the correct selection to achieve maximum performance whilst ensuring the correct operating parameters are adhered too. Our side channel blowers are now standard supply to a number of blue chip end users and o.e.ms.

We have also helped many start-ups to realise their concepts designs with our experience and expertise. No matter what your business size or requirements, we are more than happy to advise you on the suitability and the correct model selection.

AIR KNIFE DRYING TUNNEL FOR LINK 51

Link 51 needed an air drying tunnel for the production process for their pallet racking support steels. Before reaching the priming stage, the supports need to be dry.

We designed the system that consisted of a drying tunnel which utilised air knives working at high velocity and small air cannons to drive moisture out from blind holes and pockets that formed part of the profile. It was decided that a side channel blower was the ideal choice for this particular application because they work well with air knives that have a small outlet surface area and they are very cost efficient.

The side channel blower produced sufficient flow/pressure to achieve a very high exit air velocity of 180 metres per second. The air compression due to the regenerative effect created an outlet air temperature of 70 degrees C which helped to flash off any remaining moisture.

This negated the use of additional process are heaters which represented a significant capital cost savings complete with a 12kw saving over a comparable system.

The compression effect lead to an outlet temperature of 60 degrees C which is the optimum drying temperature in terms of efficiency.

This led to significant cost savings over a lower velocity/heater system and significant capital costs savings as no complex PID control loops were required.

ROLLS ROYCE DRYING CHAMBER

Rolls Royce make aircraft impellers and they needed a system that would improve on their current drying methods.

We produced bespoke drying chambers for them that were a huge improvement over the convection ovens they were using. Their old ovens took a full 1 ½ hours to complete their drying tasks using a 36kw supply. Our drying chambers utilised an Airtec H type heater which was supplied air by one of our side channel blowers. We designed and made a bespoke nozzle to fit to the moulds.

The side channel blower was ideal to overcome the back pressure of the mould design and purge warm air at a precisely controlled temperature through the mould.

The end result was that we reduced the drying time to just 8 minutes (down from 90) which helped increase production and reduced the operating power needed from 36kw down to 15kw which when added to the reduced time made a saving of £4800 per year