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February 7, 2025
You may have specified the most efficient pneumatic tool for your application – for example, our new, advanced CP3T30 turbine grinder – but how do you know, and how can you ensure, it’s operating at its best performance? That’s where the air line comes in.
When grinding, you may believe you are working with maximum productivity, just because you are using the newest and most innovative tool, built with energy efficiency in mind. But there are other factors to consider, and an often-overlooked aspect which needs to be reviewed is the compressed air system.
Your air line is vital to achieving maximum efficiency and you can boost your productivity by checking your compressed air system and configuration. Here are four important questions to ask yourself to make sure you have created the best air line environment, to get the best performance from your tool:
You should be monitoring and controlling the humidity in your compressed air system as this significantly affects performance. The best air line environment is one with low dew point (low relative humidity), so it’s critical to check this condition.
Too much moisture in the compressed air means ice can form in the turbine grinding motor. This happens when the air condenses and freezes due to temperature drops during the compressed air expansion.
If ice forms it can degrade the tool’s performance and lead to premature failure, so to prevent this from happening, you need to ensure that the compressed air has a maximum dew point of 10°C or 50°F.
To protect pneumatic equipment from the harmful effects of moisture, you should have an air-dryer installed in the system, as this removes moisture from the compressed air by condensing the water within.
If you have a refrigeration-type air dryer, you need to ensure that the system’s water is regularly drained through the drain legs.
To ensure high quality air, you need a filtration system to remove dust as well as moisture.
Any dust in an engine could limit or risk blocking the air flow, resulting in reduced tool power, and leading to increased maintenance costs as well as high air consumption.
Additionally, any dirt or rust in the air system could damage the engine resulting in power loss, early wear and premature failure. This increases tool repair costs and the risk of incident during production.
To ensure best tool performance you should use appropriate filters; the filtration system should remove particles down to 30 microns and eliminate 90% of liquid water at the compressor outlet.
Air regulation is just as important as filtration. It’s important to ensure that the air compressor delivers enough air to run the tool. More airflow is required for more power, and to make sure you have enough flow, and it is being supplied steadily, you need to review your regulator.
We advise always using one air preparation unit per grinder for best performance. That’s because the air pressure will be diluted between the different air tools if more than one tool in use is connected to the same FR unit, and you will not benefit from the regulator function.
To avoid losing any air pressure, mount the FR units as close as possible to the tool. This should ideally be where the air system connects to the tool hose.
An air regulator ensures the consistency of the dynamic working pressure at 90 psi/6.3 bar and the size of the FR (Filter and Regulator) air preparation unit should be based on the air consumption of the tool.
It’s critical that no air lubrication is used with the CP3T30 turbine grinders. A turbine’s motor is sealed and frictionless, and any air lubrication would shorten the tool’s lifespan. The only element that needs any lubrication is the tool’s gearbox.
To ensure optimal tool performance, the air pressure at the tool inlet should be consistently maintained at 90 psi/6.3 bar when the tool is under load, as it is driven by a governed motor. So, you need to regularly check your air pressure and be certain it is at the right level.
If the pressure is too high, the tool wears prematurely. It could also fail, resulting in operator injury and a risk of damaging the application. Conversely, if the pressure is too low, the tool can’t reach its best performance level, and your productivity decreases.
To ensure you have appropriate pressure you can take some steps to reduce any pressure drop in the air system. For example, minimizing any variations in pipe and connection sizing, as well as limiting the number of fittings.
Hose size also affects performance. The use of a hose reel can affect the air pressure in an airline, as the longer the hose length, the lower the air pressure. To address this, we recommend using a wider hose. Maximum efficiency can be achieved with a minimum hose diameter of 16mm.
You can enhance performance of the air line and extend the life of grinders further by looking out for appropriate accessories, for example the CP3T30 pneumatic turbine grinder is available with the Efficiency kit with ¾ Filter - Regulator .
Each kit includes a ball valve, and advanced air preparation unit, durable fittings and hoses, plus expert tips for secure installation, so you can make sure you are getting the most out of your production.
Additionally, you can take advantage of our air line configurator to ensure you have the best air line for your tool. You can also read more on optimizing air line installation by reading our expert corner “How to achieve ultimate pneumatic tool performance by optimizing air line installation”
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