Air Compressors: The Power of Harnessed Air
Air compressors are a very convenient gadget to have in the garage, inside the car, SUV, or RV and even during rafting, or any outdoor adventure. These are useful in carpentry, auto repairs, and even art work. They are also used to inflate air beds and rubber rafts.
This utility is even more true in shops, garages, construction sites, and other industrial settings where pneumatic tools could hugely augment their productivity. The fact that there are so many manufacturers carrying various brands of the equipment, with several versions in terms of their power source, power output, and designs would seem to point to this. Check out our air compressor pages to learn more.
The development of air-powered tools such as the nail gun, staple gun, impact wrench, sanders, grinders, and drills spurred several manufacturers to embark on the research, production, and marketing of air compressors, both for personal as well as business use.
Transferable kinds of compressors are commonly seen in the private shops of do-it-yourselfers who play around with wood, nails, and paints to unwind. Smaller garages or shops may also use portable types but of a higher power rating. Big industries, however, will need the large fixed machines that are up to the compression of air at extremely high PSIs.
Air compressors, regardless of whether they are portable or stationary, run on the same principle. Air is dragged into the tank and compressed. This decrease in its volume results in an increase in its pressure. When a pneumatic device is in use, compressed air is released via a pipe in a stream of high-pressure air thus providing power to the gadget. The resulting decrease of compressed air in its reservoir eventually triggers a mechanism starting the engine which then begins refilling the tank. This lasts until a pre-set level of pressure is reached after which, the engine automatically shuts itself down. This is needed in order to avoid going beyond the holding capacity of the tank as this could lead to its eruption.
