Compressed air has been used as a power source in industry for many years. Two of the most familiar are construction – where it is used to drive nails and staples and to cut, shape and sand both wooden and metal parts – and in automotive repair shops where it drives impact wrenches, die grinders, orbital sanders and spray guns in the paint booth. Pneumatic motors generally provide greater force than their electrical counterparts of similar size, resulting in small, powerful hand tools with no shock hazard.
Everyone’s first thought of compressed air use in painting operations is for spray guns. While true, the non-electrical aspect of compressed air drive is perhaps even more useful. Properly constructed pneumatic motors are naturally intrinsically safe, allowing them to be used in explosion-proof environments without all of the hassle and expense associated with safely running electrical systems in these settings. This makes them ideal for powering the agitators and pumps used to mix and distribute paint. Moreover, in most modern painting operations, spray bells are used equally, if not more often than spray guns. For the uninitiated, these devices use a pneumatic motor to spin a cup or disk at high speed. When the paint is injected onto the surface of this spinning cup/disk, the centrifugal force atomizes the paint, creating a “fog” of very evenly sized droplets, which can then be transferred to the target part to create a smooth, even finish.