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When to Use Paxton Air Knives in Food Processing and Packaging

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:03:34 GMT

Whether you're drying, cleaning, conveying, or blowing-off, food processors and packagers heavily rely on Paxton Products' high efficiency Air Knives to improve their packaging processes and production lines.

What is an Air Knife?
Air Knives are powerful and versatile tools used in a variety of applications for cleaning, drying, and effectively removing debris from surfaces. These innovative devices utilize high-velocity airflow to effectively and efficiently perform a wide range of tasks - ultimately improving productivity and ensuring optimal performance in all food processing and packaging operations.

Key Benefits of Paxton's Air Knives in Food Processing and Packaging:

Uniform Air Coverage - uninterrupted air slow design with a standard gap setting of 0.055 inches (1.4 mm)
304 Stainless Steel Construction - protects in harsh, corrosive and wet environments
Customizable - customize to your exact application requirements
Improve Product Quality - consistently removes residue to prevent spotting, contamination, or dilution in final products
Sustainable - blower-driven air knife systems use significantly less energy than compressed air nozzles
Reduced Maintenance - fewer moving parts than compressed air setups resulting in lower maintenance

Real-World Food Processing and Packaging Applications:

Drying Products Prior to Labeling: After the filling process, products need to be completely dried to ensure labels effectively adhere to the product surface. Paxton Air Knives can be used to provide complete and effective, high velocity drying.
Removing Debris Prior to Washing: Before food containers go through the wash cycle, residual debris needs to be removed in order to reduce downtime during washing. Paxton's Air Knives can be used to blow off residual debris in-line prior to the washing process and ultimately improve the production process.
Drying Products Prior to Ink Jet Printing: When using ink jet printing to label food products with date codes and expiration dates, the surface of the product needs to be completely dry prior to printing or else the ink won't properly adhere to the product. Paxton Air Knives can be used to dry the products to avoid smearing and smudging of the ink.
Rinsing and Drying Products for Bottling: To effectively rinse and dry bottles, Paxton's high efficiency Ionized Air Knife can be used without the need for water or compressed air rinsing - ultimately improving sustainability and product quality by eliminating water and oil contamination.
Drying Food and Beverage Products Post-Pasteurization: After products move through a tunnel pasteurizer, they need to be thoroughly dried to remove any excess water prior to packaging operations. Paxton's Air Knives can be used to provide full drying coverage to remove all remaining water or moisture on the products.

Whether you're drying, blowing off, or conveying, Paxton Air Knives deliver unmatched performance with minimal issues. For more information on how Paxton Air Knives can help your food processing and packaging operations, contact us today to speak to one of our experienced application engineers.

Customize your Drying, Blow-Off, and Air Rinsing Applications with Paxton’s Air Delivery Devices

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 18:10:05 GMT

Paxton Products designs and manufactures high performance air delivery systems that are custom-engineered to optimize drying, blow-off, and air rinsing of your products. The process begins with your application: what size, what shape, what speed, how much water or debris is to be blown off, what configurations – then, the Air Delivery Device is custom-engineered to these exact specifications. Below is a complete list of all of Paxton’s Air Delivery Devices and how your plant can benefit from each.

Air Knives – Available in both Aluminum and 304 Stainless Steel, Paxton’s Air Knives are designed to provide maximum efficiency for drying, blow-off, and air rinsing applications. Featuring a continuous, uninterrupted air slot design with a standard gap setting of 0.055 inches, Paxton’s Air Knives deliver full, uniform air coverage over targeted areas to deliver quality drying and blow off. Not only is the 304 stainless steel construction able to withstand the harsh detergents used in washdown facilities, but Paxton’s Air Knives can be used for shearing water off bottles, cans, and food packaging, as well as removing debris, scrap, chemicals, and excess coating from a variety of materials, all while being available in custom lengths to fit your specific line needs. For air rinsing applications, customers can add ionizing power supplies with or without control relays to dissipate the static charges that cause dirt, dust and contaminants to adhere to surfaces, and then air blast the contaminants away using ultra-efficient, blower-driven air.

CanDryer – Paxton’s CanDryer is designed to provide complete drying of 8 oz – 24 oz cans to improve the quality of coding, labeling, and other packaging operations. The CanDryer replaces conventional air knives and nozzles with an all-in-one manifold to improve drying quality while enhancing usability and production floor safety with its built-in spray containment box. The CanDryer also comes with an integral crank to enable easy product changeover, as well as an empty container blow-off attachment that consists of a stainless steel flare nozzle and mounting bracket with five feet of hose.

CapDryer – Similar to Paxton’s CanDryer, the CapDryer is an all-in-one drying manifold used to effectively dry bottles ranging from 8 oz – 3 liters. Available in two sizes (12 and 24 nozzle), the CapDryer is designed to thoroughly dry the bottle neck and lid to improve the quality of tamper branding, labeling, and vision system results. Not only does the manifold box contain water spray to improve production floor safety, but the 304 stainless steel construction is also able to withstand the harsh detergents used in washdown facilities. The CapDryer system comes with an empty container blow-off attachment, as well as an integral crank arm to enable easy product changeover.

Inline Manifold – The Inline Manifold is ideal for drying the tops or bottoms of cans, jars, and other containers, prior to date coding, labeling, or other packaging operations. Available in both polyethylene and 304 stainless steel, the Inline Manifold has six flexible nozzles that are focused on targeting the top surface of products and power a one-two-three thrust at targeted surfaces.

Nozzle Manifold – Available in 304 stainless steel, Paxton’s Nozzle Manifold, or “cone manifold”, is designed for applications that require a greater-than-standard distance between the air source and the surface to be dried, blown off, or rinsed. The Nozzle Manifold is ideal for can rinsing, conveyors of multiple item types of various shapes and sizes, and products with nooks, crannies, or holes, and is fully customizable to your application with custom lengths, spacing, and number of nozzles to choose from. For air rinsing applications, customers can add ionizing power supplies with or without control relays to dissipate the static charges that cause dirt, dust and contaminants to adhere to surfaces, and then air blast the contaminants away using ultra-efficient, blower-driven air.

Spyder Manifold – The Spyder Manifold is Paxton’s most effective device for effectively drying the tips, sides, and under the rim of cans, bottles, jars, and other containers. By combining inline nozzles with ‘spider-like’ arms that can flex to any position in order to reach under and around products, the Spyder Manifold is able to accommodate unique drying needs and target specific, hard-to-reach areas needing extra attention. Available in 4, 8, and 16-arm models, the Spyder Manifold can also quickly adjust to accommodate high speed, low speed, and multi-lane lines.

Uno Nozzles – Paxton’s Uno Nozzles are designed to replace a single compressed air nozzle remote from a larger air delivery device. Providing targeted airflow to a small target, the Uno Nozzle facilitates further reduction in compressed air usage and is now available in a swivel version to give flexibility in mounting and positioning.

To learn more about Paxton’s Air Delivery Devices and how your plant can benefit from each, fill out our request a quote form, or contact us directly to learn more. Our team of experienced application engineers will work alongside you to find and build the perfect, custom-engineered solution that meets all of your unique application requirements.

What is an Air Knife System?

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 19:08:48 GMT

What is an Air Knife System?

An air knife system is a device that generates high-velocity, uniform airflow through a narrow slot. This airflow creates a curtain of air designed to remove unwanted substances, such as water, dust, dirt, and debris, from surfaces. Air knife systems are commonly used in manufacturing, food processing, packaging, automotive, and other industries.

Key Features and Benefits of Air Knife Systems

Air knife systems offer the following features and benefits:

Efficient Cleaning and Drying. Air knife systems provide powerful and consistent airflow, ensuring efficient cleaning and drying of surfaces. They can remove moisture particles, and contaminants from products, conveyor belts, containers, and more.
Energy Efficiency. Air knife systems are designed to optimize energy usage. By using blower-driven air, they can deliver high-velocity airflow while minimizing energy consumption. This helps reduce operating costs and promote sustainability.
Versatility. Air knife systems are available in a variety of sizes and configurations and can be customized to fit specific requirements, making them a versatile solution for a wide range of industries and applications.
Controllable Air Velocity. Air knife systems often feature adjustable air velocity settings, allowing users to fine-tune the airflow according to their needs. This flexibility ensure optimal performance and adaptability for different applications.

Applications of Air Knife Systems

Air knife systems can be used for a wide variety of processes. Some of the most common applications include:

Drying and blow-off operations in manufacturing processes
Cleaning and removing debris from products, containers, and surfaces
Ejection and separation of parts in packaging lines
Static control and removal of electrostatic charges
Web cleaning in printing and converting industries

Choosing the Right Air Knife System

When selecting an air knife system, it's important to consider factors such as the required airflow, slot size, material compatibility, and specific application needs. The expert staff at Paxton Products can help determine the most suitable system for your requirements. To learn more, fill out our contact us form or request a quote today.

Choose the Right Air Knife for your Application

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 17:12:21 GMT

Air Knives, the most common form of air delivery, feature an uninterrupted air slot design that delivers a flat sheet of amplified air to a targeted surface. No matter your application, Air Knives are designed to give maximum efficiency for high velocity drying, blow off, and air rinsing applications.

Choosing the right Air Knife for your application is critical to system performance and carrying out your packaging and processing needs effectively and efficiently. If not selected carefully, you could see an increase in product quality rejects and downtime for your plant, on top of losing the money you previously spent on the incorrect Air Knife. When selecting an Air Knife for your plant's specific application, it's important to consider the use frequency, investment, speed, bottle and can drying needs, and the conveyor speed.

Both ITW Air Management Brands, Paxton Products and Vortec, offer Air Knives and Knife Systems designed for can and bottle drying applications. Let's take a look at the difference between a Paxton Products Air Knife and a Vortec Air Knife.

Paxton Products Air Knives
Available in 304 Stainless Steel and Aluminum, Paxton's Air Knives featured a continuous, uninterrupted air slot design with a standard gap setting of 0.055 inches (1.397 mm) designed to deliver maximum efficiency for high velocity drying, blow off, and air rinsing applications. Powered by Paxton's own high efficiency PX-Series Centrifugal Blowers, Paxton Air Knives don't require any compressed air - significantly reducing energy costs required for operation. Custom-engineered to meet your exact specifications, Paxton's Air Knives are used to shear water off of bottles, cans, food packages, industrial products, and other packaging, immediately after washdown. In addition to this, they can be ised to remove debris, scrap, chemicals, and excess coating from a variety of products. The durable 304 Stainless Steel construction of Paxton's Air Knives also allows them to stand up to the harsh detergents used in washdown facilities.

The main differentiator between Paxton Products and Vortec Air Knives is that while Vortec Air Knives are compressed air driven, Paxton Air Knives are blower-driven - meaning no compressed air is required for operation. Despite having to purchase a blower with your Paxton Products Air Knife System, Paxton Air Knives typically have a higher initial cost than Vortec Air Knives, but lower operating costs once they're up and running. Paxton Air Knives are also ideal for more continuous drying applications as Paxton blowers should not be cycled on/off more than six times in an hour. For can drying, a Paxton Products Air Knife located on the top and sides of your conveyor will dry the entire can, while a combination of Air Knices and Paxton's Spyder Manifold are required for complete bottle drying.

Vortec Air Knives
Because Vortec Air Knives are compressed air driven, they require filtered compressed air for operation - which can increase your operating costs in the long run depending on your usage. The compressed air is used to deliver a powerful, high velocity, laminar sheet of air over wide areas such as moving webs, film, sheets, strips, auto bodies, and other large assemblies and objects. Available in lengths 6, 12, 18, and 24 inches (152, 305, 457, and 610 mm), Vortec's Air Knives deliver a flat sheet of amplified air designed to efficiently blow off water and debris from surfaces, as well as provide high-speed drying and/or cooling. Vortec's patented design produces increased thrust and velocity, reduced noise, and excellent uniformity. In addition to this, Vortec's Air Knives are quiet and don't involve any moving parts - ultimately meeting OSHA noise specifications and reducing the need for maintenance.

Because Vortec's Air Knives can be cycled on and off as frequently as needed, they should be used for applications requiring shorter bursts of drying. Without the need to purchase a centrifugal blower to power your Air Knives, Vortec's Air Knives also have a lower initial cost compared to Paxton's Air Knives. But because they require compressed air to operate, the operating cost ends up being more expensive in the long run. Vortec Air Knives are also used to improve date coding applications through effective bottle and can drying. For can drying, a top Air Knife is ideal, while spot drying of the bottle neck recommended for bottle drying.


Use Frequency	For more continuous drying, blowers shouldn't be cycled on/off more than 6 times/hour	For shorter bursts of drying, can be cycled on and off as frequently as needed
Investment	Higher initial cost, lower operating cost	Lower initial cost, higher operating cost
Can Drying	Top and side Air Knives dry the entire can	Top Air Knife is ideal for date coding applications
Bottle Drying	Combination of Air Knives and Paxton's Spyder Manifold for complete bottle drying	Spot drying of the bottle neck for date coding
Conveyor Speed	For faster conveyors, longer Air Knives are needed For slower conveyors, shorter Air Knives are needed

How can Paxton Products Help?
To learn more about Paxton's high efficiency Air Knives and Knife Drying Systems, contact us today and our team will work to answer all of your questions and concerns. The Paxton Products team of Application Engineers and Sales Representatives are willing to work alongside you to find and build the perfect, custom-engineered Air Knife System for your plant's operations, contact us at sales@paxtonproducts.com for more help. To get started with your Paxton Products Air Knife System, click here to get a quote today.

If you are interested in learning more about Vortec's Air Knives, click here, or contact us at sales@vortec.com.

When to Use an Air Knife vs. Nozzle Manifold

Thu, 20 May 2021 16:55:00 GMT

Paxton’s Application Engineers configure drying and blow off solutions based on your line and target specifications and their extensive knowledge of which air delivery devices are best for which application. And while air knives are the most common form of air delivery, nozzle manifolds are often the best choice for some applications. Let’s look at the differences between air knives and nozzle manifolds.

Paxton Nozzle Manifold are ideal for applications that require greater than 5 inches between the source and the surface to be dried, blown off or rinsed. Nozzle manifolds maintain thrust as far away as 18 inches (450 mm).

Multiple items on one conveyor
Products that have multi-faceted surfaces to dry
Products with nooks, crannies, or holes
Solutions requiring a concentrated high thrust of air
Applications where it is critical to mount the air delivery device more than 5 inches from the blow-off surface

Air Knives are used to blow off liquid or debris off a wide variety of materials when the air knife can be located within 5 inches from target:

Water and chemicals can be sheared from surfaces after washing
Bottling and canning facilities use air knives to dry products prior to date coding or labeling
Fruit and other food products are dried, and dirt and debris are blown off with air knives
After cutting or machining, debris and scrap are effectively removed from metal, wood, cardboard, plastic and other surfaces
Packaged foods are air dried without adding excessive heat
After applying coatings to parts, foods, etc, excess coating can be sheared off to evenly distribute the coating
Chemicals and flux can be removed from printed circuit boards

If you are interested in learning more about our air knives and nozzle manifolds contact us today!