Air compressors are widely used in almost every industry. They provide the power for hand tools, machinery, and robotics tools. The use of compressed air is as common as the use of gas and electricity! So it's important to choose the right type of air compressor for your needs. This article looks at the most popular types of air compressors.
Reciprocating or piston compressors use pistons to squeeze the air, and then store it in a high pressure tank. The air is then released by pressing a triggered valve. Reciprocating / piston compressors are most commonly used for personal, domestic and light industrial work. This is because there are a huge range of portable models available, and they are often the most reasonably priced.
The next type of compressor is the rotary screw, which uses twin screws rather than pistons to create the high pressure air. As they have higher operating ranges than reciprocating compressors, they are often used in regular industrial work.
Both reciprocating and rotary screw compressors are available as two stage models. In a two stage model, the air is squeezed twice, thus meaning that the pressure and air flow are greatly improved. This also obviously means that you can store a greater amount of air, whilst reducing the amount of heat that the compressor generates. Two stage models will therefore have a far greater shelf life.
How do you decide whether a reciprocating or rotary screw compressor is for you? The most crucial aspect of this decision rests on whether you intend to use the compressor intermittently or continuously. For instance, a nail gun is only used intermittently. For intermittent use, choose a reciprocating air compressor, and for continuous use, choose a rotary screw compressor. This is because only the rotary screw compressor can work continuously without a break. A reciprocating compressor will always come with a duty cycle, which represents the amount of time that the compressor will be able to work for each hour. This means that you will have to let the reciprocating compressor cool down for a period out of every hour. This is why they are not suited to continuous work, as they will overheat, and this could be extremely dangerous.
Finally, there are also centrifugal compressors, but these are not suited to general use. Centrifugal compressors are large engines, and are most commonly found in power plants and heavy industrial units. They are not suited to or financially viable for small-scale work.
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