Structure of a pneumatic system
Compressors have the task of compressing the ambient air to a set value. This compression heats up the air and absorbs increased humidity.
However, compressed air must be treated for many applications. This is where the compressed Air Dryer comes into play, which has the task of cooling the compressed air and separating out the water.
Downstream Compressed Air Accumulators reduce pressure fluctuations and pressure surges. The capacity of these accumulators depends, among other things, on the volume flow and pressure of the system, but also on how often the compressor is allowed to switch on and off per time interval.
Often the compressed air is used for different circuits, which may even have different working pressures. This is where the FRL unit comes into play, consisting of a filter with water separator, pressure regulator and possibly a lubricator. However, in modern plants, oiling of the compressed air is often dispensed with, since plastic pipes are increasingly used instead of metal pipes. Tolerances have also improved in recent years, not to mention advances in materials science.
Structure of a Pneumatic System; Compressed Air Treatment
Components of a Pneumatic System, Compressed Air preparation
Note on the circuit diagram shown: Here, the compressor operates in a so-called intermittent mode, i.e. the compressor is operated via an On-Off controller. For this purpose, a pressure sensor detects the current pressure, which is forwarded to the controller together with the setpoint.