Air compressors have been around for actually countless years. Now given the gadgets the ancients used for compressing air bear little similarity to the modern air compressor. However, the basic principle is the exact same and without the primitive air compressors, civilization would not have actually evolved as quick it has. Among the main uses for compressed air was to increase the combustion in a furnace. The operator of a forge would utilize a bellows to blast compressed air into the heater to stir up the heat. This permitted ancient tribes to produce more powerful and much better metals for Tools and weapons. Most people today would not equate a bellows as an air compressor, however that is precisely what it is. The blacksmith would pull apart the handles on the bellows and a check valve would enable fresh air to rush into the accordion like chamber. Then utilizing muscles as the power source, the blacksmith would squeeze the handles together and the compressed air would shoot out the fitting on the end. Using this procedure it became possible to produce a fire hot enough to smelt ores of copper, tin, iron and lead. Bellows are still used today in a variety of applications. The organ at your local church is likely powered by a bellows that is almost similar to one a thousand years earlier. They even turn up in medical applications such as breathing machines in operation spaces.
It wasn’t till later in history that it became possible to compress air using mechanical methods. In the past, just human and animal power was possible to power crude air compressors and this badly limited the energy of these primitive devices. With the industrial transformation, the mechanical air compressor was born. Engines operating on steam power became the first technique to power an air compressor. One of the first usages of a steam powered air compressor was in underwater diving devices. This opened up whole brand-new approaches for under water exploration and even undersea construction. The compressed air could be pumped down to a scuba diver and enable extended stays below the surface. Compressed air was also much more secure to use as a source of power for early pneumatic tools and drills. Early rock drills were powered by steam. However, hot steam is even more dangerous than compressed air. A burst steam line can kill or seriously injure a worker while compressed air is reasonably benign. Steam powered rock drills ultimately paved the way to drills powered by air compressors. Today for commercial applications, membrane compressors are well suited for process gasses. You can read more about diaphragm compressors here:
As the internal combustion engine got popular, they began to be used as a source of power for air compressors. Gasoline engines are today typically utilized 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 truck. The gasoline engine drives a crankshaft and piston. As the piston moves into the downstroke postion, air streams into the cylinder on the low pressure end. When the upstroke starts, air moves into the high pressure. This action produces compressed air. In larger industrial applications, a rotary type air compressor is used. Rotary air compressors produce compressed air by turning a vaned rotor inside of 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 sized and smaller sized locations. This action compresses the air and forces it out the other end. Rotary vane air compressors work very well in commercial applications due to the fact that they can producing large amounts of compressed air for extended amount of times.
Now granted the gadgets the ancients used for compressing air bear little resemblance to the modern air compressor. Engines running from steam power became the very first method to power an air compressor. Steam powered rock drills ultimately offered way to drills powered by air compressors.
Rotary air compressors produce compressed air by turning a vaned rotor inside of a long enclosed chamber. Rotary vane air compressors work very well in industrial applications due to the fact that they are capable of producing big quantities of compressed air for prolonged durations of time.