For pallet making, the compressor is chosen from the number of nailers firing at the same time and the cylinders on the nailing table. A manual workshop with six nailers needs about 500 l/min, a semi-automatic table about 700 l/min, an automatic line often more than 1,000 l/min. A variable speed screw compressor covers all three cases.
The pallet shop is often an extension of a sawmill: it shares the same air, the same sawdust and the same cold winters.
Consumption figures to know
The values below are common orders of magnitude, as a guide. Check them against your tool manuals and your machine's data sheet.
- Pneumatic nailer: around 80 l/min at about 6 bar. It fires in bursts, so thanks to the air receiver it is counted at 50%.
- Cleaning blow gun: around 150 l/min, counted at 50%.
- Clamping and stacking cylinders: calculated from bore, stroke and cycles. A 63 mm bore cylinder with a 100 mm stroke, at 6 bar and 10 cycles per minute, uses about 41 l/min.
- Automatic nailing machine: the consumption is given by the machine builder. Ask for it before choosing the compressor.
The calculation for three workshops
Manual workshop, six nailers.
- Nailers: 6 × 80 = 480 l/min, counted at 50% = 240 l/min.
- Blow guns: 2 × 150 = 300 l/min, counted at 50% = 150 l/min.
- Total: 390 l/min. With a 25% margin: about 490 l/min.
Semi-automatic nailing table.
- Four 63 mm clamping cylinders: 4 × 41 = 165 l/min.
- Stacker cylinder, 80 mm bore, 200 mm stroke, 6 cycles per minute: about 80 l/min.
- Four nailers: 320 l/min, counted at 50% = 160 l/min.
- Two blow guns, counted at 50%: 150 l/min.
- Total: 555 l/min. With the margin: about 695 l/min.
Automatic line on two shifts. Say the builder quotes 1,200 l/min for the automatic nailer and its cylinders. With the margin: 1,500 l/min, before the blow guns and the pallet repair bench next to it.
Which compressor?
| Workshop | Need, margin included | Recommended model |
|---|---|---|
| Manual, six nailers | about 490 l/min | S 55 with a receiver, or K 75 |
| Semi-automatic table | about 695 l/min | K 75, 1.1 m³/min at 8 bar |
| Automatic line | about 1,500 l/min | S 110, 1.7 m³/min at 8 bar |
| Line plus repair shop | beyond that | S 150, 2.2 m³/min at 8 bar |
The S 55 (0.6 m³/min at 8 bar) comes without a receiver or dryer: for nailers, add an air receiver to cover the peaks. The K 75 puts the screw compressor, a 420 L receiver, the refrigerated dryer and filtration on one frame: the simple answer when the shop has no treated air network yet.
For a line that must not stop, two compressors beat one large one: one keeps production going while the other is serviced.
Pitfalls specific to pallets
Pressure at the nailer. A nailer short of pressure drives nails poorly, especially into hard or wet timber. The cause is often the hose: too long, too narrow, or feeding several stations in series. Measure pressure at the tool while it is nailing. Our guide to connecting a compressor to the air network helps size the pipework.
Water and cold. In an open shed in winter, condensate freezes in the pipes and rusts the nailers. A refrigerated dryer and an automatic drain solve it. Our article on water in compressed air explains why.
Tool lubrication. Some nailers need a few drops of oil at the air inlet, others do not. Follow each tool's manual. If part of the air is used for paint marking the pallets, do not run that line through a lubricator.
Sawdust. The compressor draws in ambient air. Put it in a separate room that takes its air from a clean area: our article on the compressor room sets out the rules. Check the intake filter more often than elsewhere.
List your nailers and cylinders in the configurator, or send us your line's data sheet with a quote request: we will check the flow with you.
For your trade: Compressor for sawmills and the timber industry.