Have you ever seen the compressed air coming out of your pressure reserve wasn’t strong enough to trip an actuator? This can be frustrating, especially if you’re working with a piece of equipment that’s already being pushed to its limits.
You might want to consider an air booster if this is the case. These devices take pre-compressed air from the existing flow and increase the pressurization level until it reaches the desired measurement.
When you install one of these, you’ll want to make sure that the system is properly regulated and functioning correctly. That way you don’t run into any unfortunate side-effects. Naturally, there’s always the risk that you might increase the pressure too much.
Pressure boosters use special components. They ensure that the amount of compressed air coming out of them stays at the desired level. These generally work by providing an additional degree of regulation over the flow of air so that the pressure appears to be higher from the standpoint of downstream devices without actually requiring any outside source of energy.
There’s no technological trickery involved. Rather, these devices simply function as a second or third stage to an existing air compressor to regulate the air in a manner that’s safe to use with even the most complex equipment.
Working Principles Behind Booster Regulators
Technicians would first install a booster regulator on the main line of an air system with everything in cold shutdown mode. Once they power everything back up again, the device would respond to a setting controlled. This happens via an external dial or other interface widget.
Operators could set a VBA regulator, for instance. This model offers two to four times the initial pressure level that was put out by the compressor. Eventually, the main air supply pressure can be set lower to make up for the increase in pressure. With how easy it is to adjust the output pressure using this control, end-users shouldn’t run into any difficulties with it.
Some technicians have tried various other methods of getting higher output pressures at various times. For instance, you might have heard about people using air amplifiers or even increasing the pressure of an entire powerhouse. While this might be necessary in some cases, a booster regulator will usually do the job with a minimum of issues.
Various designs have required users to connect a receiver and discharge tank to their system. In this kind of arrangement, the tanks are used to dampen down the amount of pulsating energy created by the booster’s reciprocating movement. They also provide a degree of additional storage capacity.
Depending on your specific needs, different port sizes are available for any booster you might require. For instance, the VBA style offers ¼, ? and ½ sizes, which should help to ensure that they can interface with an overwhelming majority of the pieces of equipment that you’re likely to come into contact with.
At the same time, booster regulators support several other compatibility features designed to make them easier to work with when interfacing with existing technologies.
Special Features Of Booster Regulators
While the underlying principle by which booster regulators work remains unchanged in all of the various different styles. They are nevertheless offered in a variety of body sizes. You might find 10A, 11A, and 20A ? handle-operated types. There are also a number of larger ones if at all necessary.
Technicians who have to make sure that anything they purchase fits an existing installation will also have their pick of port sizes, which should be under special consideration seeing as most individuals who need a booster regulator will already have at least some form of air compressor in place already.
Compact VBA regulators are also available, which offer a much more space-saving design over most other types. Regardless of the exact size you pick, however, you can be sure that your booster regulators will increase main line pressure and protect all of your downstream equipment from fluctuations in terms of pressure. They’ll increase the power of actuators without requiring to chance to a larger cylinder as well.
Perhaps the most impressive feature, however, is something that booster regulators actually lack. Namely, they don’t have any space for the inclusion of an electrical input. You don’t have to worry about supplying additional power to them, since they run completely on compressed air. More than likely, you’ve seen how much a stream of any fluid can be concentrated and seem more powerful simply because it’s being reduced in terms of scope and forced through a smaller opening. This is the working principle behind a pressure washer, and it’s also the way that water jet cutters work.
Engineers have taken this same principle and exploited the fact that compressed air is essentially a fluid as well, You can force compressed air through a small opening, which in turn increases the amount of pressure to at least some degree. In many cases, this is enough to ensure that all of your components work entirely as intended. If not, then you might want to look at some of the following numbers.
VBA40A-T04GN boosters offer a maximum flow level of 1,900 SLPM. Even the extremely compact VBA10A-T02GN provides at least 230 SLPM. This should certainly be enough choice for any pneumatic installation. Both provide 150 PSI of maximum set output pressure and a nearly nominal 1:2 flow ratio. All of the VBA series use a standard NPT connecting port in your choice of three different sizes.
Exhaust ports on these models adhere to the same standard. This means that you shouldn’t have any difficulty with putting them together. Once again, this is great news. An overwhelming majority of people who need air booster regulators don’t initially realize that they do. They only find out after learning they don’t have a sufficient amount of pressure in their installation. Fortunately, it’s even easier to find the right one for your needs.
Get The Best Air Booster Regulator For Your Organization From SMC Pneumatics
At SMC Pneumatics, we keep a list of instruction manuals and other pieces of documentation on hand. Then we help you find the right part for your machine. Our experienced team is always standing by to help as well.
Contact us with our convenient online form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Get the advice you need to find the right booster regulator for your installation. No matter what kind of work your organization does, our team can help.