One of the many demands of modern industry, as well as the casual and home power tool user, is what portable power to use. Electricity is efficient and fairly fool-proof, but a source of electricity must be present, a generator, battery, or a cord plugged into an outlet, and the tool itself carries its own electric motor increasing the weight of the tool.
Many shops and individuals are opting for pneumatic power for tools, the tools themselves are lighter and smaller and with the exception of a hose running from a compressor or a pressurized tank, there are no extra items to carry. Air compressors can be used for powering handheld tools, a nail gun or an impact wrench for example, and the compressed air itself can become a tool either to clear away debris and sawdust or to fill an inflatable item.
Air compressors normally use one of three mechanisms for the pump, a piston, a rotary screw, or a spinning vane assembly fan. Piston pumps work similarly to the pistons on an internal combustion engine. As the piston drops, air is drawn into the chamber, and as the piston rises, the air is forced into a tank where the pressure rises with each stroke of the piston. Benefits are price, piston pumps are inexpensive, and reliability, piston pumps have been around for over a hundred years so the technology is well proven.
Rotary screw pumps have two screws that as they rotate, they force air down the shaft and into the tank, as well as compress the air. They have the benefit of being much quieter than piston pumps with less force being applied to the parts, making them last longer; also, rotary screw pumps are more efficient with most of the motion of the pump compressing the air. Spinning vane pumps, also known as centrifugal pumps have a drum with vanes along the walls, and as it spins, the air is drawn in the middle of the drum and forced out the edges. This has the benefit of being very quiet, very efficient and fairly compact for its size, however the amount of compression is limited compared to the other type of pumps.
Most compressors have an attached tank to store the pressurized air and the pump itself only runs when the tank pressure drops below a threshold. Some compressors have attached filters to remove water and oils out of the pressurized air and some have manifolds attached to allow multiple lines to run off of one compressor; many shops will run all the tools off of a single compressor, increasing efficiency.
Using compressed air and air pressure as both a power source and as a tool in itself is becoming more and more common as people search for ways to make their lives easier, and especially for the casual user, compressed air is now an attractive option.
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