Cool it now: Build your own vortex tube to cool your compressed air
If you are an avid DIYer, then I'm sure you take great pride in your workshop. You might even think that your workshop is the best on the block. Do you have the latest and greatest tools? Do you have a top-of-the-line air filtration system and workbench? Are you able to control the temperature of your compressed air? No? Then consider building your own vortex tube.
According to Avery Thompson for Popular Mechanics: "So you've hooked up a source of compressed air in your shop. It's super useful for blasting away dust and stuff, but wouldn't it also be great if you could control the temperature? If you had easy access to cold compressed air, for example, you could cool off your tools when they get too hot.
What you need is a vortex tube. A vortex tube is a piece of metal that splits a stream of compressed air into two streams: one hot and one cold. Typical vortex tubes can cost upwards of a hundred dollars, so here's a way you can make your own, courtesy of YouTuber This Old Tony."
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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