What are Air Power Tools?

Air power tools represent one part of the hand-and-power-tool market, and will contribute to a forecast 3.3 percent annual growth in demand for power tools through 2012, according to the Freedonia Group, an international business research company. Pneumatic power tools require air for power. In most cases, air compressors generate the pressurized air they use. They are light, have very few moving parts and are low maintenance.

Types

Air power tools are used in the construction, aircraft, automobile and other fabrication, manufacturing and repair industries. Construction uses caulking guns, nail guns, sanders, staplers, rotary hammers, jack hammers and texture guns. The automotive repair industry uses pneumatic wrenches and cutters, while the manufacturing and fabrication sectors rely on pneumatic shears, wrenches, hammers, sprayers, sand blasters and drills.

Some air tools are especially well designed for portability. For example, some nail guns and other fastening pneumatic tools run from a small canister of compressed air. Others are hybrids that use batteries and liquefied petroleum gas in a canister to operate.

Accessories

Air power tools that attach to air compressors require compressors that deliver a specified minimum amount of air pressure and volume. Check the tool’s instructions to find out its air needs before buying a compressor to run it. Besides a compressor, air tools also need hoses to deliver the air. The hoses have coupling fittings on each end so they can be connected and disconnected without having to turn off the compressor, or bleed the air from the lines. Use a coupling fitting to connect two hoses together to get more length, although the longer the hose the more volume and pressure is lost to friction. The maximum length of the hose you can use will depend on the power of the compressor and hose sizes. Hybrid air tools that use canned air or compressed gas and batteries require those accessories to function. All air tools need to be cleaned and oiled, so accessories for those purposes are also required.

source: eHow.com: Discover the expert in you.