Air Squared News
Introducing the World’s Smallest Scroll Compressor
Air Squared introduces the world’s smallest scroll air compressor/pump for medical equipment, fuel cells, mass spectrometers.
November 2003 – Air Squared, the world’s only maker of sub-1-hp scroll compressors, introduces the world’s smallest scroll air compressor/pump for easy integration into small medical and laboratory equipment, fuel cells and mass spectrometers. Measuring just 1.4 in.-square x 3 in.-long (35 mm-square x 78 mm), the tiny P5H7 scroll pump delivers up to 10 psi and has a no load flow of 0.14 CFM (4.0 lpm).
Quiet and inherently vibration-free, the scroll pump provides designers with a reliable compressed air or vacuum source for small medical equipment, such as portable nebulizers and suction devices, and can also be used to supply the roughing stage of vacuum for mass spectrometers.
The scroll pump can be easily adapted to pump liquids, making it ideal for low-cost disposable applications. Flexible scroll design allows for easy scaling up/down to suit individual requirements, while oil-free operation makes it well suited for clean laboratory and medical environments.
Looking Inside Scroll Technology
Air Squared’s proprietary small scroll pump uses spinning scroll technology. Inherently balanced, spinning scrolls utilize pure rotary motion, eliminating the need for counterweights and crankshafts. Low-noise spinning scroll units can run at relatively high speeds to 6000 rpm and higher without vibration.
The core of the unique pump consists of two identical meshed scrolls (involute spirals), each attached on its “out” side to a flat base. Each scroll rotates about its centerline. Indexed 180° to each other so their spirals mesh, the scrolls fit together to form two halves of a chamber.
The indexing motion creates crescent-shaped pockets between the involutes of the meshed scrolls and the base plates. Air entering the pump gets trapped in these pockets. As the scrolls rotate, the pockets follow the spiral inward, getting progressively smaller and compressing the air. Finally the air is exhausted through an outlet at the center of the scrolls.