In a ceramics workshop or factory, the compressor must be installed in a room separate from production, with an air intake taken from outside or from a clean area, protected by a grille and a pre-filter if needed. Clay, glaze and silica dust clogs the air filter within a few weeks, blocks the cooler and wears the screw element. Check the air filter more often than the standard interval until you know the dust load in your room.
Choosing the compressor for the whole workshop is covered on our page compressor for ceramics and glazing. Here, we deal with the air the compressor breathes.
Why does ceramic dust damage a compressor?
A screw compressor moves a lot of air. The rated flow is measured at intake conditions: a 7.5 kW model delivering 1.1 m³/min therefore draws in 1.1 m³ of ambient air per minute, or about 530 m³ over an 8-hour day. On top of that comes the cooling air blown through the cooler, which is far greater still: in total, several thousand cubic metres of workshop air pass through the machine every day.
In a pottery factory or a tile plant, this air carries particles of clay, grog, dried glaze and silica, from grinding, spray drying, pressing, fettling and sanding greenware. These dusts are fine and hard. They act in three places:
- The intake filter clogs. The compressor draws in air less easily, runs hotter and uses more energy for the same flow.
- The cooler gets fouled. The oil is poorly cooled, the temperature rises and the compressor may trip. See our article on the compressor overheating.
- The oil and the screw element. Particles that get past the filter end up in the oil and act as an abrasive. The oil degrades faster and the air/oil separator clogs.
Crystalline silica is also a health issue for people. The compressor does not solve that, which is a matter for extraction and dust collectors, but it must not make it worse by blowing dust around with its cooling air.
Where should the compressor go in a ceramics workshop?
The rule is to separate the compressor from production. Depending on the size of the site:
| Situation | Recommended solution |
|---|---|
| Pottery studio, a single room | compressor in a closed cupboard or a lean-to, outside air intake |
| Studio ceramics workshop with a booth | separate room, solid partition on the workshop side, protected low-level air inlet |
| Pottery factory or tile plant | dedicated compressor room, filtered outside air inlet, ducted hot air outlet |
| No room possible | canopied compressor away from dusty stations, pre-filter, more frequent maintenance |
Avoid at all costs the areas close to the mill, the spray dryer, the presses, the raw material silos and the dust collector outlets. Keep the compressor away from the kilns as well: their heat raises the intake temperature. Our guide to the compressor room explains the layout in detail. If you really have no room at all, see compressor without a plant room.
How do you protect the air intake?
Take the air from outside, on a wall away from the kiln chimneys and the dust collector exhausts. The air inlet should be placed high up, sheltered from the rain, with a grille against birds and leaves.
Size the ventilation. The room must receive the air drawn in by the compressor plus the cooling air. An opening that is too small puts the room under negative pressure: the dusty workshop air then comes in through the doors and gaps. Duct the hot air outlet to the outside or to a dryer.
Add a pre-filter on the room's air inlet if the outside air is itself dusty, for example near a quarry, a clay stockpile or a brick works. The pre-filter protects both the compressor's intake filter and the cooler. It must be cleaned or changed regularly: a blocked pre-filter does more harm than good.
Keep the room clean. No sacks of glaze or clay stored next to the compressor, no dry sweeping in the room.
Should the maintenance be adapted?
Yes. The intervals for our screw compressors (first service at 500 hours, then every 1,500 hours) are given for normal ambient air. In ceramics, adapt them to what you observe:
- Air filter: check it every week at first, then less often once you know how quickly it fouls. Always keep a spare air filter on site.
- Cooler: blow it out from the inside towards the outside, with the compressor stopped and locked out.
- Oil and separator: keep an eye on the operating temperature shown on the controller. A gradual rise often signals a dirty cooler or a clogged filter.
The screw compressor maintenance guide explains each operation in detail, and the service kits bring together the parts for each model. The compressors come with a 2-year warranty and spare parts remain available for 15 years.
Which compressor for a dusty site?
Flow is calculated the same way as anywhere else. Example of a small tile plant (indicative figures):
- 2 presses with ejection and demoulding at 150 l/min: 300 l/min
- 2 dust collectors at 200 l/min: 400 l/min
- 1 glazing booth at 300 l/min: 300 l/min
- line cylinders: 100 l/min
- total: 1,100 l/min
- with 25% safety: 1,100 × 1.25 = 1,375 l/min
- with 20% for expansion: 1,375 × 1.2 = 1,650 l/min, or about 1.65 m³/min
The K 150, 2.2 m³/min at 8 bar, covers this need with reserve to spare, and its 4-in-1 format fits into a single closed room. For a larger site, the S 220 PM delivers 3.6 m³/min at 8 bar. For a small workshop, the K 75 (1.1 m³/min) is often enough. A correctly sized, variable speed compressor runs more slowly, and so draws in less dust than an oversized machine.
For an existing installation that is overheating or fouling up, our technicians can carry out a compressed air audit. For a new project, start with the configurator or send us the plan of your site with a quote request.
For your trade: Compressor for ceramics and glazing.