Editing Compressor (section)

====Reciprocating compressors====

{{main|Reciprocating compressor}}
[[File:ReciprocatingCompressor.jpg|right|thumb|A motor-driven six-cylinder reciprocating compressor that can operate with two, four or six cylinders.]]
'''Reciprocating compressors''' use [[piston]]s driven by a crankshaft. They can be either stationary or portable, can be single or multi-staged, and can be driven by electric motors or internal combustion engines.<ref name=Perry /><ref>{{cite book
  |author1=Bloch, H.P. 
  |author2=Hoefner, J.J.
  |title=Reciprocating Compressors, Operation and Maintenance
  |publisher=Gulf Professional Publishing
  |year=1996
  |isbn=0-88415-525-0
}}</ref><ref>[http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=775&pagetitle=Reciprocating%20Compressor%20Basics Reciprocating Compressor Basics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418034216/http://www.machinerylubrication.com/article_detail.asp?articleid=775&pagetitle=Reciprocating%20Compressor%20Basics |date=2009-04-18 }} Adam Davis, Noria Corporation, ''Machinery Lubrication'', July 2005</ref> Small reciprocating compressors from 5 to 30&nbsp;[[horsepower]] (hp) are commonly seen in automotive applications and are typically for intermittent duty. Larger reciprocating compressors well over {{convert|1000|hp|abbr=on}} are commonly found in large industrial and petroleum applications. [[Discharge pressure]]s can range from low pressure to very high pressure (>18000 psi or 124 MPa). In certain applications, such as air compression, multi-stage double-acting compressors are said to be the most efficient compressors available, and are typically larger, and more costly than comparable rotary units.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/machinery-tools-supplies/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428012223/http://www.thomasnet.com/articles/machinery-tools-supplies/industrial-compressed-air-systems|url-status=dead|title=Machinery, Tools & Supplies Articles on ThomasNet|archive-date=April 28, 2010|website=www.thomasnet.com}}</ref> Another type of reciprocating compressor, usually employed in automotive cabin [[air conditioning]] systems,{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} is the swash plate or wobble plate compressor, which uses pistons moved by a swash plate mounted on a shaft (see ''[[axial piston pump]]'').

Household, home workshop, and smaller job site compressors are typically reciprocating compressors {{cvt|1.5|hp}} or less with an attached receiver tank.

A [[linear compressor]] is a reciprocating compressor with the piston being the rotor of a linear motor.

This type of compressor can compress a wide range of gases, including refrigerant, hydrogen, and natural gas. Because of this, it finds use in a wide range of applications in many different industries and can be designed to a wide range of capacities, by varying size, number of cylinders, and cylinder unloading. However, it suffers from higher losses due to clearance volumes, resistance due to discharge and suction valves, weighs more, is difficult to maintain due to having a large number of moving parts, and it has inherent vibration.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web |title=Ref Doc |url=https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_Doc_Ref=SPD_VAVR-AE7T7G_EN |website=download.schneider-electric.com}}</ref>