INOVAIR AERODYNAMIC BLOWERS: PROCHARGER’S INDUSTRIAL BROTHERS
For more than 17 years, ProCharger has been designing, testing and manufacturing industry-leading centrifugal superchargers. As far back as 1999, the ProCharger engineering team started modifying the basic design for various light-industrial applications, including manufacturing and aircraft deicing. Today, ProCharger’s parent company, Accessible Technologies, Inc. (ATI) is the leading supplier of centrifugal blowers to the aircraft deicing industry, and end users include the U.S. Air Force as well as major commercial passenger and freight airlines.
Inovair: An Industrial Division of ATI is Born
With expanding market-share and blower requirements for industrial applications, ATI introduced a new industrial products division: Inovair. Drawing on the years of experience with centrifugal superchargers technology, the Inovair division focuses on non-automotive applications of our patented and proven technologies.
The main difference between automotive and industrial applications is the number of hours the equipment is operated, or duty-cycle. Automotive superchargers have a relatively short duty-cycle when compared to industrial applications, many of which operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Back in 2005, R&D efforts began for continuous duty industrial applications, including market and applications research, as well as transmission and compressor development and testing. Endurance and efficiency became two of the primary design criteria for Inovair products. Field testing of early design prototypes began in 2008.
Expanded ATI Campus
With Inovair product development ramping up, ATI expanded our manufacturing, R&D and testing facilities to include a second building located adjacent to the existing structure. Today, the expanded ATI campus houses an industry-leading Aerodynamics Test Lab for in-house product endurance and efficiency testing. This high-tech lab is being utilized for both Inovair and ProCharger products. The advancement in the Inovair products and technology are already showing up in ProCharger superchargers.
ATI Aerodynamics Test Lab
Inovair Products for Pneumatic Conveying Applications
Although centrifugal technology had not been widely utilized in pneumatic conveying historically, ATI saw the opportunity for innovation based on the numerous advantages relative to the existing PD blowers utilized for this application. Subsequent laboratory and field testing proved out the viability and benefits for pneumatic conveying, and a new product category was born, with ATI first-to-market once again. Benefits include substantial energy savings (typically 10-35%) due to higher efficiency, noise levels below OSHA standards and much lower than PD blowers, lower discharge temperatures and a more compact footprint.
The Inovair brand and products were first “officially” introduced at the International Association of Operative Millers’ convention/trade show in April of 2010. Since that time, the Inovair engineering and sales/service teams have been busy working with customers and expanding the product line. Included in this activity has been side-by-side demonstrations of Inovair Blower Systems vs. PD blowers in a customers’ own facilities, and these demos have been hugely successful in proving Inovair’s real-world performance advantages in pneumatic conveying applications.
Inovair Complete Blower System
The new Inovair Complete Blower System meets a wide range of airflow demands in pneumatic conveying applications and installations. Thanks to its highly efficient Inovair 2200 centrifugal blower, advanced airflow controls and other patented and patent-pending design elements, the Inovair CBS provides the lowest cost per cfm, rapid payback and high ROI.
Check out this recent product announcement in the Milling Journal for more information about the Inovair Complete Blower System.
The heart of the Inovair product line is the Inovair 2200 aerodynamic blower. This integrally geared blower features a 16.25:1 step-up ratio and supports a broad range of pressure (4 – 22 psi) and airflow (400 – 2,200 CFM) requirements.
Inovair 2200 Blower unit
The latest Inovair products will be shown at two major trade shows this spring, including the International Association of Operative Millers 115th Annual Conference and Expo, May 2-6 in San Antonio, TX and the Powder and Bulk Solids industry show (PTX) in Toronto, Canada, June 21-23.
For more information about the Inovair products, visit inovairblowers.com.
