Air Motors

For precise position control, air is hard to justify vs electrics. But for applying a continuous force or torque, it can be very competitive. You see air motors used on take-up drives of all sorts for this reason. An air motor can sit all day long, stalled and applying a constant torque, and be perfectly happy doing so. An electric motor under the same situation would be overheating (typically).

Anywhere sparks are hazardous suggests air motors, at least for consideration.

A fundamental difference in air vs electric motors is that a stalled air motor can be applying a torque without using any energy, and if there is no leakage, the air motor will be using no power whatsoever while doing so (and as a result, will remain be at ambient temperature under that condition). An electric motor, under the same condition, is using energy, and is generating heat.

The above is all quite general, but might help you think about potential applications.

I can think of a few uses in Agriculture and manufacruing if the price and preformance match up. So how much will they cost? Gordon

We are a fluid power distributor, and would like to look at the motor specifications, range, design, and pricing. I would also like to know the background of the motor. Call Monday if convenient. www.hydragear.com

If you want help, give us some information! Your question is along the lines of; "I have a tool, what can I do with it?" How about a link to the motor's specs? Then maybe you might get some intelligent replies.

Hi Cadmad. Here is one application where the user already have a lot of compressed air: Conveyers at mine and quarries! It would be of no use in an industry which uses electricity. Spencer.

Hi Cadmad

We use all kinds of air tools at the shop. Being "ecolos" we have expanded with solar air makeup panels (for dust evacuation) and thinking at predesign stage about a windmill air pump into the air system. But we have a bad wind location.

The calibration of drills and air guns is crucial. Depending on your job, one may like to consider static electricity and air polution, we had some problems with those. For example, if a genius installs an air intake close to an evacuation as trevial as a showroom evacuation, the clients perfumes reacts against lacquers and "orange" skin appears on the products. You can guess what static electricity does with lacquer solvents ... that was a close one.

Hence, we have steamers sprinklers and the showroom is no longer at the shop. Gained space too.

Not knowing what you manufacture, it is hard to be creative.

YC

industrial drilling. Off the top of my head .. how big are these motors. How much torque are we talking bout. Winching were a constant force has to be maintained and work has to be done in multiple stages. Screw jacks .. not to much call for those but hyd. is not always a safe option screw jacks HAVE to be reversed and backed down. No leaks or broken fittings getting somebody killed.

Is your air motor a small low cost device.

I would like to know the whereabouts of a cheap paddle-wheel type of motor that could it be used to drive the shaft at 10 rpm of an all pneumatic cam timer, the cams themselves actuating micro-pneumatic valves.

Being an air device, it is probably limited to manufacturing or automotive shop environments as far as practical applications go. In manufacturing, it would work for pumping applications for chemical plants. It would need to be more efficient and trouble free than diaphragm pumps currently in use to be a viable product in the market. Other things that come to mind is for mixing batches of product or turning an auger for material transfer. It could possibly be used for indexing equipment but probably not unless you are trying to enter a third world market where electricity is very dirty and unreliable (if they have the funds to buy your product they probably have the funds to solve this problem as well). That's about all I can think of off the top of my head without further info.

An intriguing application area to consider is the very GREEN area of windmills, air compressors, compressed air storage, water processing and purification, pumps, bubble lifts, aquaculture, fish farms, greenhouses(power, water reprocessing, air movement), etc. Think water quality restoration system using no electricity, but with stored clean power, rotary pumps, aeration, water storage(power storage). First priority might be to take your motor, incorporate it with a centrifugal pump, matching torque and other characteristics, so that what you have is an efficient air driven water pump, perhaps with or without aeration as an air exhaust benefit. I would imagine the production of fresh, clean, water, exposed to UV radiation during the day, and stored in elevated reservoirs at night, all done with green power, would be salable, especially as a way to cleanly store the green power benefits for later use(no batteries)

If the price is right, We still need the price, performance and other specs. It may be able to run on many compressed gases and on the vapor of boiling liquids such as Nitrogen, Propane, Ammonia, etc.

I can see it making a refrigeration device with Propane or Ammonia driving the motor with hot high pressure gas to compress the cooler gas returning from the heat exchanger to raise the pressure enough to start the process to make a liquid to start the cycle over.

Using a motor that runs on the gases used for cooling make it easier to seal the unit against leaks to the air. Ammonia is the the best gas from a thermodynamic point of view for commonly encountered temperatures. But its toxic nature limits it use. It is both cheap and energy efficient to use and a safe system would be a good thing to have. This motor might be a way to do it.

Gordon

Try a crane.

The smooth transition of speed is needed to carfully lift heavy but delicate objects. Going in both directions... perfect! Attach it to a winch and your GOLDEN !!!!

In a former job [valve manufacturer] we used such a air motor to tighten large ss pipe fittings. The primary was to tighten a 3"-4bolt adapter, eventually the main valve body was redesigned to directly accept the 4 bolt flange. Previously it would take @ least 2 people to do this job, an impact driver caused alighnment & galling problems! With a series of special sockets & torque arms, this could be a dandy field service plumbing tool. Chasing or tapping Large threaded holes, could be another good use. Anywhere things need to be tightened, reamed, tapped, where impacts are too violent.

Hi Guys, Many thanks for your comments, I found them most interesting.