By Ron Marshall for the Compressed Air Challenge A building products company chose to allow their piping contractor to design the piping system in their compressor room. Rather than coming off the top of the wet header in the compressor room, the compressors were connected to the bottom of the run. This was much simpler […]
What are air dryers?
In pneumatic systems, compressors draw in ambient air that always contains some amount of water vapor. The process of compressing air to around 100 psi raises the air’s temperature, but also dew point and water-holding capacity. Any subsequent cooling downstream will likely cause some water vapor to condense. Liquid water in pneumatic systems creates problems […]
Where are pneumatic grippers used?
Pneumatic grippers are used in many pneumatic systems, as a means of grasping or holding parts; grippers may move, insert, stack or orient the parts to achieve a desired step in a manufacturing process. Grippers, which use compressed air to actuate the jaws, come in multiple styles, including parallel and angular, and may use a […]
Can water damage my compressed air system?
In a previous post, we discovered that air compressors will produce significant amounts of water, which is squeezed from the ambient air the compressor ingests through its intake. This water, if left in the system, can damage the air compressor and components connected to your compressed air system and possibly contaminate your product. Piping will […]
Why is there water in my compressed air system?
Depending on inlet conditions, air compressors can produce lots of water. If this water is not removed, it can travel through your piping and overwhelm your air dryer (if you have one). The water will rust steel pipes, and act as a solvent for compressor lubricant. The water picks up the rust, oil, and dirt […]
How do I compare air compressor efficiency?
When you are purchasing a compressor, it can be difficult to decide which one to buy. You should be aware that about 80% of the lifetime cost for an average air compressor is due to electricity, the remainder is purchase price and maintenance. Often, a compressor will consume its total purchase price in electricity in […]
How do you size a vacuum cup?
Vacuum cups grip a workpiece by evacuating air from the space inside the cup, creating a partial vacuum at a pressure below ambient. In simple terms one can size a vacuum cup based on the load, available vacuum and cup area. But engineers should consider several other factors when sizing vacuum cups for a given […]
Vacuum cups: Key uses
Vacuum cups, or suction cups, are often used as grippers in manual or automated handling applications. They can secure and help move a wide range of products—everything from bottles and bags to bricks and wooden boards, and sheet metal, pipes and glass windows. In essence, they’re the interface between a vacuum system and the workpiece. […]
What are air brakes and clutches?
Air brakes serve as the main brake to provide parking and E-stop braking functions in a variety of applications, including draglines, grinding mills and shovels in mining, drawworks for drilling rigs, and marine winches. They provide the quick actuation and stopping times that are necessary in emergency situations or to stop large industrial machines for […]
Critical safety functions within pneumatic systems
As machine builders become more adept at the science of applying newer safety standards—such as ISO 13849—to their designs, they’ve started to take a deeper look at safety within their systems. Here are five of the most common safety functions within pneumatic systems. 1. Protection against unintended startup Potentially the most common of all pneumatic […]
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