Harley Owners Group

Air compressors have been around for literally millenia. Now granted the devices the ancients utilized for compacting air bear little similarity to the modern air compressor. However , the general principle is the same and without the primitive air compressors, civilization would not have evolved as fast it has. One of the most important uses for compressed air was to extend the combustion in a furnace. The operator of a forge would utilise a bellows to blast compressed air into the furnace to stoke up the heat. This permitted ancient man to supply stronger and better metals for tools and weapons. Most individuals today would not compare a bellows as an air compressor, but that's exactly what it is.

The blacksmith would pull apart the handles on the bellows and a check valve would allow clean air to rush into the accordion like chamber. Then using muscles as the energy source, the blacksmith would squash the handles together and the compressed air would shoot out the fitting on the end. Using this process it became feasible to create a fire hot enough to smelt ores of copper, tin, lead and iron. Bellows are still used today in a selection of applications. The organ at your local church is likely powered by a bellows that is practically matching to one one thousand years back. They even pop up in medical applications like respiring machines in operation rooms.

It wasn't until later in history that it became possible to compress air using mechanical techniques. In the past, only human and animal power was possible to power crude air compressors and this seriously limited the utility of these primitive devices. With the business revolution, the mechanical air compressor was born. Engines running from steam power became the first method to power an air compressor. One of the first uses of a steam powered air compressor was in underwater diving kit. This opened up complete new techniques for under water exploration and even underwater construction. The compressed air might be pumped down to a diver and permit extended stays below surface. Compressed air was also much safer to use as a energy source for early pneumatic tools and drills. As an example, early rock drills were powered by steam. But hot steam is far more hazardous than compressed air. A ruptured steam line can kill or seriously harm a worker while compressed air is relatively benign. Steam powered rock drills at last gave way to drills powered by air compressors.

As the internal combustion engine gained popularity, they started to be utilised as an energy source for air compressors. Petrol engines are today commonly used in piston type air compressors. This would be a common air compressor you would find in your garage or on the back of a service wagon. The petrol engine drives a crankshaft and piston. As the piston moves into the downstroke postion, air flows into the cylinder on the low pressure end. When the upstroke starts, air moves into the high pressure. This action produces compressed air. In bigger industrial applications, a rotary type air compressor is utilized. Rotary air compressors produce compressed air by turning a vane rotor within a long enclosed chamber. As the engine spins the rotor, air is sucked inside the chamber. The air is then forced down the vanes into smaller and smaller areas. This action compresses the air and forces it out the other end. Rotary vane air compressors work very well in economic applications because they are actually capable of manufacturing large amounts of compressed air for extended amounts of time.

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