Air compressors come in many makes, styles and ratings.Β One of the most important ratings is the compressor rated pressure.Β This is the maximum pressure a compressor should operate, but as many people have found, the compressors will run above their maximum pressure, but should they? The primary issue is safety β compressors often have […]
What is compressed air’s water carrying capacity?
If experiencing troublesome βwater in the compressed airβ problems, it often helps to understand the moisture carrying capabilities of compressed air.Β A rule of thumb is often used to help understand the effect of temperature on the water content of saturated compressed air.Β The rule states: βAt 100 psi, every 20Β° F increase in air […]
Registration now open for PACK EXPO East 2022
Attendee registration for PACK EXPO East 2022 (March 21-23; Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia) is officially open, according to the show producer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies Now in its fifth edition, the three-day event comes on the heels of a successful PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO, the largest packaging […]
New research reveals air compressors are most important equipment on service vehicles
A recent survey by VMAC has revealed that nearly two-thirds of owner-operators consider their air compressor to be the most important piece of equipment on their service trucks. This was followed by cranes, generators, welders, and a variety of job-specific pieces of equipment. Respondents also shared their preferences for air compressor types, with 80% stating […]
ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟs winner in 2021 LEAP Awards winners are announced
Winning entries in the 2021 LEAP (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) Awards were announced by WTWH Media today in 12 categories, including ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟs.Β This yearβs winners were chosen by an independent judging panel of 12 engineering and academic professionals. For each category, judges could award Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mentions. The 2021 ΊΪΑΟ³ΤΉΟs category winners […]
Compressed air fail: The last 30 feet
An automotive plant was having trouble with a finishing tool.Β The device was sluggish and would easily stall.Β It had no power.Β It even sounded weak.Β It didnβt have that nice “Vrrip, vrrip!” sound like a normal air tool.Β A compressed air auditor was called in the investigate. The auditor took one look and frowned.Β […]
A primer on compressed air leakage calculations
Question from a reader: I was wanting to estimate my compressed air leakage level in my plant.Β I watched my 100-hp compressor and saw that it was loaded for 87 seconds β and unloaded for 64 seconds on the weekend with no production.Β How would I calculate leakage flow? Answer from Ron Marshall: You are […]
Matching compressed air capacity with controllers
An automotive parts manufacturer wants to better control the air compressors.Β They installed a system of permanent monitoring and discovered the following (a quote from the Maintenance Engineer) βYou should see what the datalogging revealed … 73% of the time, the system was operating over 30kW/100cfm.Β For only 5% of the time below 25 kW.Β […]
A look at air compressor capacity control problems
If an air compressor ran uncontrolled at full load all the time during periods of light load, the system pressure would rise until something popped.Β Manufacturers have built-in ways to prevent overpressure, the simplest of which is start/stop and load/unload control, using pressure switches.Β But for large fixed-speed screw type air compressors, there are two […]
Compressed air fail: Dryer reading
This question came from the manager of a large manufacturing plant:Β Question: We have a bank of parallel refrigerated air dryers. All the air dryers are showing very good dew point, yet almost every day we have water forming in our compressed air pipes. This water causes product spoilage and is a major problem. What’s […]
