What is a blower?

  • Automation

  • Health & wellness

  • Life environment

  • Automotive

18 Jun. 2020

A blower is a device that pushes out gases by imparting energy to increase its pressure and speed.

They range from the large blowers found in applications such as production machinery and clean rooms, to the small blowers built into devices such as home appliances or personal computers, and are used to blow air for exhausting ventilation or cooling.

How blowers work

There are a variety of different types of blowers. The following example is of a brushless DC blower from ASPINA.

This blower is a centrifugal turbo type and is shaped like a snail shell. This blower contains a cylindrical impeller. The air is drawn in is pressurized by the centrifugal force imparted by the impeller rotation, and this pressurized air is then discharged.

History of blowers

Historically, among the very first blowers were the bellows used to supply air during the smelting of iron. Mentions of these bellows can be found in the literature of ancient Rome and China. Bellows were at first manually operated, then underwent various enhancements over time including the use of water power, evolving into an efficient means of supplying air.

In more recent times, the arrival of new power sources such as steam and electricity led to the development of a variety of other pneumatic (air-driven) equipment. Example applications include air brakes in steam locomotives and the opening and closing of automatic doors.

Nowadays, blowers and compressors used in various industries, and are built into equipment such as sorting or transportation machines, and processing or assembly, and packaging equipment. They are also found in products such as computers and home appliances, where they facilitate size reduction and performance enhancement.

Definition of blower

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) defines the difference between compressors, blowers, and fans in terms of discharge pressure/suction pressure ratio as follows:

  • Fans: Up to 1.11
  • Blowers: 1.11 to 1.20
  • Compressors: 1.20 or more

As you can see, blowers occupy the middle range between fans and compressors.

Types of blowers

While blowers come in many different types, ASPINA supplies centrifugal blowers; mainly multi blade or turbo types.

Fan Blower Compressor, Axial flow, Diagonal flow, Centrifugal, Cross flow, Multi blade, Turbo

Multi blade type

The air flow is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, and the blades are typically angled forward in the direction of rotation. These types tend to be mid-range in terms of flow rate and pressure, and are used in applications such as duct ventilation, air conditioning, and cooling.

Turbo type

The air flow is perpendicular to the axis of rotation and the blades are typically angled backward with respect to the direction of rotation. These types tend to feature a low flow rate and high pressure, and are used in applications such as vacuum cleaners and dryers.

Uses for blowers

Example uses in building facilities and other equipment

Air intake
Air intake at manufacturing plants where machinery such as presses or welding machines are used
Suction
Suction to hold objects in place at food, textile, and other such manufacturing plants
Vacuum gripping
Suction for vacuum packing vegetables or to hold and lift paper or other processing materials
Transportation
Transportation in equipment such as pneumatic tubes or powdered material transporters
Dust extraction
Dust extraction at manufacturing plants where grinding is performed or powdered materials are used
Ventilation
Ventilation at worksites, trains, clean rooms, etc.
Air supply
Supply of air to gas burners, incinerators, or medical equipment
Blowing
Blowing for pipe cleaning, sandblasting, etc.
Aeration
Aeration of septic tanks or oxygen supply to aquaculture ponds
Drying or cooling
Drying or cooling processing materials on a production line

Example uses in commercial products

  • Air brushes
  • Vacuum cleaners
  • Dryers
  • Air conditioning
  • Humidifiers
  • Ventilation fans
  • Water heaters
  • Cutting plotters
  • Copiers
  • Printers
  • 3D printers
  • Air cleaners
  • Telecommunication equipment
  • Medical equipment
  • Home fuel cells
  • Automotive equipment
  • Servers
  • Personal computers
  • Projectors
  • Leaf blowers

Overcoming your problems with ASPINA's advanced blower technology

The key to blower development is to study the electric motor, fan, casing, circuitry, and other components in detail to build up an accurate understanding of where performance losses occur. ASPINA draws on their expertise built up through many years of blower development, not only to optimize fans and their motors and improve their performance, but also to make them smaller, lighter, have longer operating times, and able to run quietly with low vibration.
Along with providing greater flexibility in product design, ASPINA blowers can help reduce costs. ASPINA also has extensive scope for customization, so please don't hesitate to contact us.

Links to glossary and FAQs pages

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