Air Compressor Application for Rubber & plastic products industry

Rubber and plastic products are essential components of our daily lives – rubber, for example, is widely used for its good elasticity, insulation, and malleability, as well as its water and air resistance, tensile strength and wear resistance in industries such as agriculture, defense, transportation, mechanical manufacturing, medicine and hygiene. With the rapid development of the rubber products industry in recent years, its downstream application fields will be further expanded and extended. As for plastic products they need no mention – they have an extremely important role in today’s world and have been developing rapidly all over the world for years. The production process of these rubber and plastic products relies on compressed air as a motive power source; naturally compressed air compressors are indispensable.

Application of Air Compressor in Rubber Industry

Session 1：The Compressed Air Required for Rubber Products

●For rubber product manufacturers, compressed air is primarily used as a power source for equipment such as cylinders and meters. Generally, rubber products need to be pressed into shape at the end, so the required compressed air pressure is slightly higher than that of other products, about 1.0MPa, while other products generally only require 0.6~0.7MPa.

●In the process of rubber production, contact with oil is not allowed, so rubber factories have strict requirements for the oil content in compressed air. On the other hand, rubber factories also have high requirements for compressed air’s pressure dew point, i.e., water content. In particular, compressed air used for precision instruments and meters requires a higher quality level of compression.

●To sum up, compressors are required to pass post-processing equipment to improve the quality of compressed air according to ISO/DP8573/1-88 quality grade standards for rubber contact compression or precision instrument compression: Solid Particles: 2 Grade; Water Content: 3 Grade; Oil Content: 1 Grade; Other Power Executed Compression Air: The grade is generally set at 3-4-3: Solid Particles: 3 Grade; Water Content: 4 Grade; Oil Content: 3 Grade.

Session 2：The Compressed Air Required for Plastic Products

● The compressed air required for plastic products can be divided into three categories. Category One is used in power-executing mechanisms and other equipment and typically operates with pressures of 0.6MPa. According to the ISO/DP8573/1-88 quality rating, the grade is usually 2-4-3, meaning: solid particles: 2; moisture content: 4; oil content:3.

●Category Two applies in instrumentation and typically runs at pressures of 0.7MPa or higher, with quality ratings of 2-3-2 (solid particles: 2; moisture content: 3; oil content: 2). Category Three applies in food and beverage blowing operations, requiring extremely high quality compressed air with pressures of around 3.0MPa. Generally, oil less reciprocating compressors (screw compressors cannot reach 3.0MPa exhaust pressure) are used for this purpose.

●Compressed air required for plastic product manufacturing is divided into 3 categories. For the application of power mechanisms and other equipment, the pressure is generally around 0.6MPa and the quality requirement is not high, complying with ISO/DP8573/1-88 standard grade 2-4-3 for solid particles, water content and oil content respectively. For instrument applications, the pressure is generally around 0.7MPa and complying with ISO/DP8573/1-88 standard grade 2-3-2 for solid particles, water content and oil content respectively. In addition, compressed air used in food and beverage bottling require extremely high levels of purity; usually a compressor free of oil which operates at pressures near 3.0MPa is suggested.

How to Choose Air Compressor for Rubber Industry

Air compressors are mainly used as a power source, that is, brakes, in the rubber and plastic manufacturing industry. Some plastics industries need special attention due to direct contact with food (direct contact with food can go to the previous food industry air compressor application article, which has more detailed instructions).

Water Lubricated Oil-free Air Compressor

This series of water lubricated compressors was specially designed to ensure that high standard gas output requirements in special industries can be met. After its launch, it attracted great market attention and was called “the air that you could breathe”. Features: large discharge volume, high discharge pressure (single stage pressure may reach 17 bars); high efficiency, low noise; close to the temperature compression machine with long service life; automatic water change and system cleaning functions can keep the inside of the compressor clean and tidy and reduce maintenance costs; PLC intelligent control system can realize 24-hour remote control. It guarantees continuous stable operation for a long time.

Centrifugal Air Compressor

Centrifugal compressor is widely used in industrial, mechanical industry and other fields. The features of centrifugal compressors are high efficiency, low noise and small size. This type of air compressor is widely used in the medical field, food industry and DIY project. It can replace the piston-type compressor in many cases, which enjoys a good reputation in the market.

Two-stage Variable Speed Rotary Screw Air Compressors

The new energy-saving configuration saves electricity 35% or so. The main machine adopts large diameter low rotor and shaft stiffness is small, which improves the life of bearings and other parts; the high efficiency quiet air cooling fan has great air volume, super quiet; low consumption and noise, low power consumption. Product features: intelligent control system can automatically adjust according to customer usage; high oil pressure forced lubrication ensures that there is enough oil quantity and mixing ratio at low inlet pressure

Customer Cases

A rubber factory had a new project which required the purchase of a screw air compressor. Southxiang Air Compressor was quick to coordinate professional engineers to understand their customer’s needs. The air compressor is crucial for tire inspection and inflating, the customer had multiple imported branded screw air compressors and centrifugal air compressors on site.

With this project, they maintained their use of the overseas brand while introducing Nanxiang screw air compressor into the mix, resulting in energy savings of up to 35%. With high cost performance and reliable after-sales services, Nanxiang has earned multiple collaborations with this group, being named an “excellent supplier”.

Recently, a rubber factory reached out to NanXiang seeking a screw air compressor for a project they were working on, which involved testing and inflating tires. Already having several big power imported brands of screw air compressors and centrifugal air compressors in use, the customer required that their current importation remain unchanged while introducing NanXiang’s products into the mix. Even after mixing and reforming, the energy savings recorded was still at 35%.