Axion One X720 Trialled at Foam Finishing Line Blow-Off Station

An on-site textile finishing trial used the X720 and an air knife between foam application and infrared pre-drying.

A textile finishing operation has completed an on-site trial of the GALEX Axion One X720 high-speed turbo blower, deployed with an air knife at the blow-off station of a foam finishing line.

Foam finishing is a low-wet-pickup textile process that applies chemistries as a stabilized foam rather than a liquid bath, sharply reducing the water carried into drying. Between foam application and infrared pre-drying, the line requires a continuous, uniform curtain of medium-pressure air across the full fabric width—to break and even out surface foam, remove excess liquor and keep the roller face clean before heat setting.

That interface station was the focus of the trial. The X720 supplied the air knife directly, delivering the required air curtain without the staged pressure loss inherent in compressed-air blow-off. The unit ran in continuous duty through the trial window.

The X720 is built around a high-speed direct-drive motor and a purpose-designed mixed-flow impeller in high-strength aluminium alloy, running on ceramic ball bearings. Rated at 7.5 kW, the blower sits in the continuous-duty 20–35 kPa operating band this application demands.

Against the compressed-air alternative, blowers of this class typically cut blow-off energy consumption by more than 90%, with lower noise and no on-site compressed-air infrastructure to maintain. The trial confirmed stable, even air delivery across the knife and a compact footprint suited to retrofitting into an existing line. No production metering was recorded during the trial; observations were limited to operational stability and air uniformity, consistent with the duty band defined by the air-knife specification.

The X720 is recommended where a single air-knife station serves a foam finishing line of moderate width. Wider lines or multiple knife stations are assessed against the same duty band.