Pneumatics, Compressors, Dryers, Tanks, Pneumatic installations, Air prepration units, Gauges, Pneumatic tubes, Pneumatic valves, Pneumatic cylinders, Pneumatic fittings.

1m3 of atmospheric air contains:

• 140 mln pollution participles, which equals on average from 0,005 up to 0,020 g/m3 and in the particulary dusty regions even up to 0,1 g/m3,
• 10 mg of oil,
• About 11g of steam.

According to above features it has to be specially prepared in order to be used in the pneumatic systems and drives. The professional preparation of compressed air consist of:

• all solid and liquid contaminants,
• reducing pressure to the required value,
• making lubrication for devices that require it..

Properties of cleared and correctly prepared compressed air:

• Lack of water as drops of water, water as steam is permitted, only on condition when the dew point occurs at the temperature for 5-10°C lower that the lowest operating temperature of the system,
• Occurrence of mechanical contaminants of principle size above 10µm,
• Absence of oil as drops.

Advantages and disadvantages of compressed air as a working medium

Pneumatics as a branch of science is being used so widely, because of the type of working medium. It has a lot of advantages , which are listed below :

• common and almost unlimited availability of renewable working medium
• low viscosity, which guarantees low flow residence, which enables you to design propulsion systems with high-speed line (to 30m/s),
• damps the variation,
• it gives you the possibility of stepless operation of pneumatic drives:
  - speed linear and rotary of pneumatic drives are moved by adjusting the flow rate of the working medium,
  - orces and moments useful cylinders by adjusting the pressure of the working medium
• low sensitivity and resistance to changing load - overload drive is stopped
• high durability and easy operation of elements of the compressed air in a wide rang
• of operating temperatures at a relatively low cost of use and operation,
• no need for discharge lines working medium,
• resistance to the influence of external electromagnetic fields
• air is a medium that is safe, clean and ecological in operation –there is no danger of electrocution and does not pollute the environment even in the case of the system damage,
• compressed air is easy to transport over long distances wires and also it is easy to be stored.

According to compressed air features, it has some disadvantages, which are listed below:

• it has to be cleared from solid and liquid contaminants,
• during the air pressure change, as well as when changing its temperaturę,the water is precipitated,
• compressibility of working medium (air) is about 2000 times higher than the hydraulic oil compressibility
• positioning and simultaneous movement of the drive's elements
• limiting the scope of useful forces and moments generated by the operating pressures (up to 10 bars)
• limited length of the linear motion due to the technical possibilities of stroke
• high costs of manufacturing the working medium and the possibility of leaks in the circuit transmitting working medium.