My colleague, Eric Kuhnash, wrote a blog “About Rotary Screw Air Compressors”, and I wanted to expand that conversation to a close cousin; Rotary Scroll type Air Compressors. As you see in the chart below, this type of compressor falls within the same family as positive displacement compressors.
Positive displacement air compressors raise air pressure by reducing the volume of air within a confined space. The scroll compressors use two intermeshing scrolls, where one scroll is moving and the other scroll is stationary (reference photo below). Ambient air will get trapped at the inlet side, and as the orbiting scroll moves, the spiral volume gets smaller and smaller. When volume decreases, the pressure will increase. The Rotary Scroll type of air compressors is less common in the rotary family, as they are limited in capacity.
What they lose in capacity, they make up for in simplicity. They are compact and can fit into small areas. They require very little maintenance; and the majority of them are oil-free. They were initially used in refrigeration systems because they were compact, inexpensive, and required little maintenance. Since they are quiet and oil-free, they work great in doctor’s offices and medical fields.
No matter the type of air compressor that you use, they are very costly to operate. To help you use them efficiently and safely, EXAIR offers a range of products that can clean, cool, blow, conserve, and convey. This would include our Super Air Knives, Super Air Nozzles, Safety Air Guns, Cabinet Coolers, and much more. If you want to save energy, increase safety, and cut costs no matter what size air compressor you have; you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR. We will be happy to help.
John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb
Image Courtesy of the Compressed Air Challenge
Rotary Scroll GIF: used from Public Domain
