Everything you want to know before choosing air assisted, airless and air spray technology

While purchasing liquid spray equipment for the painting project, choosing the best technology for the application is the key.  For this there are many factors to take into consideration, it will help you to understand the difference between airs, airless or air assisted airless technologies. Air sprayer use low pressure stream mixed with the compressed air to spray the fluid in the controlled manner. It is relevant to use for the application where low to medium thickness of fluid is required to gain high quality decorative finish.

There are three ways through which fluid can be supply to air spray gun: gravity feed guns, suction feed guns and pressure feed guns.  Pressure feed guns fed through a hose from a low pressure pump and are used in the industrial application to move large amount of fluid through the system. In suction feed guns a cup is mounted below the front of the gun and used to handle small amount of liquid. It has frequent small volume color change and low production rates.  In gravity feed guns a cup is mounted above the centerline to enhance the flow of fluid using gravity and highly suitable for jobs where smaller quantities of fluid is required mainly for repair or touch up.

On the flip side, airless spraying use high pressure fluid supply for atomization of material without using compressed air. It is commonly used for medium to high viscosity fluid and delivers low quality finish therefore useful for transfer and speed efficiency.

Airless spray atomization is developed by hydraulic force pushing material through an orifice.  As the paint fluid exits, friction developed between the atmosphere and fluid stream disrupts into small particles. The pressure and tip size determines the flow rate. High pressure of the airless spray form a complete pattern- the higher material thickness and the more pressure required.

Air assisted airless sprayer use high pressure fluid and compress air for controlling the printing pattern. Air assisted airless spraying machine spray medium to high viscosity fluid for finish quality better than airless but its output quality is not as good as air spray. 

Air assisted airless sprayer create atomization by hydraulic force. The fluid tip of such machine determines the fluid flow rate and the pattern size. Air fills out the pattern and air cap completes the paint pattern and eliminate the tails. 

If you are using air assisted sprayers then they can solve many printing related problems with the help of solid coating, high viscosity and other associated issues due to heating by using high fluid pressure for atomization of thick materials. There are advantages and disadvantages of each spray technology. Therefore to identify the best technology for your painting project consider your application to determine your line requirements. In this article we have cover every aspect of air spraying method so that you can make informed decision about spraying technique is right for your spray application.

Christophe Rude
Christophe Rude
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