You can find an air compressor in many sizes and many areas of application. This machine is required to operate machine tools and other technical equipment. The compressor story begins with physical air compression and the compression of various types of fluids. Air compressors that you know today are based on the principle of compressing air, gases, and liquids.
Whoever invented a compressor for the first time remains a matter of dispute about compressor history. Therefore, it is unclear who was the first to invent the air compressor in its current form. If you look at the compressor’s history, you will learn, for example, that the first idea to build a compressor with a screw drive came up in 1878. But you have to know that the technicians were not able to technically turn this idea into reality. Take a look at how a compressor works, and you will also see references to the compressor’s history.
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The compression of the air
Air compression begins with the use of bellows, and the ancient Egyptians first used this invention. The Egyptians use bladder bellows to compress air to fan the fire for metal processing. The Greeks also recognized the principle of compressed air and also of compressed liquids and substances. The Greek Ctesibius, for example, used his early discoveries for an organ powered by water. Here the air was first compressed to produce sounds.
The compressor story begins as a serious invention in relation to the air compressor in the year 1857. In this year, a rotary hammer with compressed air operation was demonstrably used for the first time. You need to know that these pneumatic hammers were used to build a tunnel on Mont Cenis, France. However, these tools did not yet have today’s devices’ performance, and these machine tools were very prone to failure. The first patents for pneumatic hammers were registered as early as 1866, and these patents form the basis for the history of the compressor.
Who invented the air compressor? Where?
So people have always tried to compress air and use the beneficial properties of this energy. This will give you the first answers to the question; “When was the air compressor invented?” Would you also like to find out who invented the air compressor when reading the compressor’s history? This question cannot be answered unequivocally because, on the one hand, the history of the compressor and the many other types of compressors is a very differentiated process with different aspects. For example, an example of this is membrane compressors, which are also used today as air compressors, were invented in the 1930s of the last century. These compressors, along with piston compressors, are still in use today.
Compressed air as the basis of compressor history
You need to know that compressed air was released as early as 250 AD. was used technically for the first time, and during this time, simple technical devices such as the bellows for technical use emerged. That is probably the moment when people consciously used compressed air for the first time. Everyone has compressed air with their lungs and inflated a balloon with it. You will know these situations yourself.
Closer look
The air compressor is now a machine that has been technically optimized and is available in stores as a compressed air compressor with or without a compressed air tank. The compressor’s history begins with physical experiments by certain inventors who attempted to compress breathing air using certain methods. The history of the compressor is therefore also a consideration of various inventions for you. Only the merging of various technical inventions forms the air compressor you know today with its multiple uses.
From the bellows and hammer drill
Therefore, the compressor story is also exciting for you because if you look at the use of rotary hammers powered by compressed air, you can already see that this technology has been in use for a very long time. The historical consideration of the simple use of a bellows also sounds familiar to you. So when you look at the compressor’s history, you see that there are many facets to the approach. First, use the explanations on the different types of air compressors for orientation in the compressor history. Here it becomes clear to you how the compressor history came about and how various inventions belong to today’s air compressor form.
The different types of air compressors
As you already know, the compressor story begins with compressed air to fan the fire. Air compressors or compressors for air are available in every imaginable size and for every purpose. The compressor with a boiler you know, which may be of good service to you as a do-it-yourselfer, works according to the principle presented to you. Air is compressed using a piston or a screw technique. The air compressor is available to you today as a handy small compressor with which you can inflate bicycle tubes or car tires, for example.
Compressors have emerged from the technical components of the piston press or a screw compressor. The compressor’s story is based on many inventions by clever minds who used air in compressed form for work purposes. Today, when you look at compressor history, you get an impressive picture of powerful air compressors you can use at the home garage and on the go. The devices are smaller in size but more powerful, thanks to certain technical tricks.
The compressor
In terms of compressor history, a compressor is a technical device that compresses air and other gases. An overpressure is generated, either passed on in the compressor or stored in a boiler. The air compressor and thus the history of the compressor is thus divided into various technical components. You also have to consider the control technology and valve technology.
On the other hand, with the compressor story, you also have to look at various other techniques. For example, the use of membrane technology is already mentioned in the technical benefits of compressor history. Compressors compress air and gases, which are then passed on to appropriately connected tools via a hose. Here the example of the hammer drill serves as the historical basis in considering the compressor’s history. Do you remember the year 1857 when such a hammer drill was first used? The years 1857 – 1870 are thus decisive in the history of the compressor and its appreciation.
High energy yield through the use of compressed air
The history of compressors goes hand in hand with the consideration of the technical use of energy. With the invention of the steam engine, the question of compressing expanding air in various states of aggregation was also a popular parameter. You don’t want to be distracted when looking at the history of the compressor.
Spread into other industries
The piston compressor forms the historical basis for the air compressor. Up until around 1950, reciprocating compressors had technical advantages in terms of their energy efficiency. Piston compressors are still used in many air compressors today. In 1933, the inventor Cornelius succeeded in inventing the first powerful diaphragm compressor, and this invention came from the USA. But you would only like to learn something about this type of compressed air here because the compressor’s history has added another facet to this invention, which can only help answer the original question. The compressor’s history is thus a common history between machine tools that are operated using compressed air and the technical invention of the compressor.
The compressor story and the old topic of compressing air
The history of compressed air and gases is now brought closer to you, and you know that the history of compressors is made up of many technical fragments. Compressing means compressing and compressing. It is about the technical application of the compressor and the air compressor in its technically perfect form today is a product of all these efforts. Many engineers and inventors contributed to the technical implementation, and the decisive era for the invention of the compressor began as early as 250 AD. with the bellows. Here you will find the roots of the idea of using compressed air.
The further development
The compressor history is thus a clear further development, and even today, engineers are trying to further develop the air compressor. The compressor story is not yet finished, and as you have been made clear, you can get the air compressor in many sizes and designs. The technical perfection has not yet been achieved either because new materials are a step into the future. With these considerations, it will also become clear to you how an optimal benefit can be achieved from a simple technical vision. The compressors’ history also shows that compressed air, gases, and liquids are part of everyday life today. The principle has grown and perfected over the years. Compressors generate compressed air, compressed gases, and also compressed liquids. So the compressor story continues for you too.
