|5 December 2016|
Scotland
Edinburgh-based manufacturer Vert Rotors has developed the world’s smallest high-pressure clean air compressor, which it says will be ‘transformational for the aerospace and medical sectors’.
Initially developed for use in space travel, the compressor has been adapted by Vert and uses water injection instead of machine oil. The VERT.04.W compressor is a low-noise, low-vibration desktop compressor. It produces clean air compressed to 115 pounds per square inch (psi), nearly four times higher than the current generation of industry-standard small compressors, which struggle to produce more than 32psi.
Olly Dmitriev, CEO at Vert Rotors, said: “Innovation in compressor design is glacially slow – our device is the first new design in the last 30 years to come to market. As for micro compressors, the current design was developed almost 100 years ago, no wonder they cannot achieve low vibration when working at high pressure.
“The VERT.04 and its water-injected version VERT.04.W will be transformational for the aerospace and medical sectors.
“Air compressors are used in multiple applications, from producing pharmaceutical drugs to aerospace engineering. Current models are noisy and vibrate a lot, which is a challenge to meet customers’ expectations.
Dmitriev added: “Having oil-free air is also critical in sterile environments such as hospitals, dental clinics, food or electronic production plants.
“Oil is the most-efficient lubricant to make sure compressors operate at maximum efficiency, but oil particles can contaminate the air that’s being produced.
“Water is the natural alternative, but the current generation of water-injected compressors that are small enough for medical applications struggle to operate efficiently or produce the high pressure that’s needed.
“Our compressor solves this problem by using a conical screw design, with the male rotor revolving inside the female rotor, making them the only miniature screw compressor that reaches high efficiency.”
