Industrial Air Compressors

Industrial air compressors are heavy-duty mechanical devices that compress air and store it in a high-pressure holding tank, which is usually made of iron or steel. In some industries, the compressed air is released directly into a network of high-pressure pipes, thereby making it available for industrial use right away and eliminating the need for storage.

There are two main kinds of air compressors that are used for manufacturing and industrial purposes:

Reciprocating compressors and Rotary screw air compressors.

Reciprocating compressors – In this, the air is compressed by pistons, and then forced into the high-pressure tank.

Rotary screw air compressors – Twin screws are used in this instead of pistons. These are like two large drill bits, which are placed side by side, and force air into high pressures.

Compressed air is useful because when it is released, it gushes out at a tremendous speed, allowing industries to use the same for a variety of purposes. The construction industry in particular has become even more dependent on air compression technology in the last few years because of the increase in the number of high-rise buildings being constructed worldwide. As all such mega projects have a deadline, it is important to maintain the flow of construction material such as Reinforced Concrete (RC) to the place where they are needed. Air compression technology helps because it allows engineers to pump even something as heavy and dense as RC to the top floor of the high-rise. Industrial cranes can also be used for the same purpose, but air compression pumps are preferred because they make the task much more easier, faster, and certainly far less risky.

Compressed air is now being used in industries worldwide for powering a wide variety of tools and equipment such as jackhammers, jacklegs, needle scalers, tuggers/winches, air chisels, sandblasters, chipping hammers, and rock drills. Apart from these, the other tools that are powered by compressed air include nail guns, sanders, drills, staplers, and spray guns. An interesting thing about these tools is that most of them source the compressed air from an external air-compressing unit or from a pressurized cylinder containing compressed air. These tools do not generate compressed air on their own, because such a task requires quite a big compressing system, which when fitted onto these tools make them bulkier, nullifying their usefulness.

Compressed air produced by industrial air compressors can be used for many other purposes such as cleaning surfaces covered with dust, grease, oil and grime. While industrial grade solvents are available for cleaning tough stains, but compressed air is often preferred because it does not involve the use of messy liquids or large scrubbing machines. Air compressors are also used in the automobile industry, mostly for the automatic spray-painting of the manufactured cars, coupes, sedans, or SUVs. Air compressors are also a necessity at gas stations for pumping gasoline and diesel. An electric motor is not used for the purpose because the sparks generated by the motor can result in a huge explosion.

Industrial air compressors are now also being tested for developing a cheap and environment friendly means of powering automobiles. The technology is however still in its infancy, and as such it will be quite a while before it becomes available commercially. Thus, until such advanced and innovative technologies become reality, industries have no other option but to use the existing air compression technology, tools and equipment.