# OCHI Automation LLC

> OCHI Automation LLC is a small industrial automation engineering firm based in Auburn/Sumner, Washington, serving manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest. The company also designs and sells AirShield, a patent-pending air-purge product that protects laser measurement sensors from dust and debris.

## AirShield — Optical Sensor Protection Product

AirShield is a Coanda-effect compressed-air purge nozzle that continuously keeps dust, debris, and particulate off the optics of laser measurement sensors, without any moving parts or scheduled cleaning.

Key facts:
- **What it protects**: any sensor built from a laser emitter paired with a camera receiver (laser-triangulation sensors, laser profilers, machine vision sensors).
- **Proven compatibility**: LMI Gocator series, ifm OID series (including OID200), and the full Keyence point and profile sensor lineup. Custom nozzle variants can be built for other laser + camera sensor models on request.
- **How it works**: compressed air (60–100 PSI, filtered and dry) flows through a nozzle and follows a curved Coanda surface, creating a sustained low-pressure zone directly at the sensor's lens face. This pushes dust and debris away from the optical surface instead of letting it settle.
- **Configuration**: dual-nozzle — one nozzle protects the camera/receiver lens, a second protects the laser emitter, so the entire measurement path stays clear.
- **Operating modes**: Continuous, Purge (on-demand burst), and On/Off (PLC or timer controlled).
- **Material**: PETG, FDM 3D printed.
- **Status**: patent pending, field-proven in industrial manufacturing since 2024, 12+ units deployed.
- **Typical use cases**: building products manufacturing, wood processing and millwork, metal fabrication and stamping, aggregate and mineral processing, automotive parts production, and other dusty inline measurement environments.
- **Requirements**: needs a clean, filtered, dry compressed-air supply; unfiltered shop air introduces contaminants. OCHI Automation also sells turnkey filtration and air-control systems (regulators, coalescing filters, dryers, solenoid valves, PLC-compatible I/O) for customers who don't want to source these separately.
- **Buying / quotes**: quote requests are typically returned within 1 business day. Distributor and reseller inquiries are welcome.
- **Product page**: https://ochiautomation.com/airshield.html

## Industrial Automation Services

Beyond AirShield, OCHI Automation provides:
- PLC programming and controls design (Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, CompactLogix, Studio 5000)
- Machine vision integration (LMI Gocator, GO SDK, custom C#/C++ software)
- HMI/SCADA development (FactoryTalk, Ignition, custom UI)
- Process analysis and optimization (data logging, statistics, reporting)
- Custom product development (Fusion 360 mechanical design, embedded controls, manufacturing documentation)
- On-site commissioning, startup support, troubleshooting, and operator training

OCHI Automation takes a limited number of consulting clients at a time and works directly with the engineer assigned to a project, not through a project manager.

## Contact

- Email: info@ochiautomation.com (general) / andrey@ochiautomation.com (AirShield sales)
- Phone: (253) 886-6690
- Location: Auburn / Sumner, Washington, USA
- Contact form: https://ochiautomation.com/#contact (general) or https://ochiautomation.com/airshield.html#contact (AirShield quotes)

## Pages

- [Homepage](https://ochiautomation.com/): company overview, services, AirShield introduction
- [AirShield product page](https://ochiautomation.com/airshield.html): full AirShield specs, sensor compatibility, how it works, benefits, quote request form