The Twisted World Of Rotary Screws

Image source: http://www.china-ogpe.com/

Rotary-screw compressors are used when piston compressor power just won’t do. Jackhammers and construction machinery are prime examples of this.

Rotary-screws are first and foremost gas compressors. They use rotary-type positive displacement processes to produce compressed air. Pulsing or surging air is kept to a minimum by the sweeping motion of this compressor. Rotary screws are relatively small machines and due to their mechanism, emit little to no vibration. The power of these compressors varies with the size and function. The smallest ones are capable of operating at ten cubic feet per minute (CFM), while the industrial grade compressors can give off more than a two thousand CFM. Though that number is high enough to power large machines for construction, extremely high-powered machines (turbomachinery) such as jet engines need centrifugal compressors.

There are two types of rotary-screw machines. The first one is an oil-free rotary screw compressor, which is used for medical research and semiconductor manufacturing. There is absolutely no place for oil leakage in these processes. Oil-injected rotary-screw compressors are used almost everywhere else.

The drawback of this machine is leakage of oil and fluid into the rotary-screw chamber. The speed at which the screws rotate compensates for the leakage by making the compressor more effective, and the power output higher.

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Eaton Compressor distributes rotary-screw compressors and parts. The company also sells and delivers bare pumps, motors, service parts and piping systems. To learn more about Eaton Compressor’s products, visit its website.