A blower fan is commonly known by several other names, depending on its design and application. In industrial and mining ventilation, the most frequent alternative terms are centrifugal fan, industrial blower and squirrel cage fan. These names all refer to machines that move air at higher pressure than simple comfort fans, often through ductwork, filters and process equipment.
When people say centrifugal fan, they usually mean a blower-style machine where air enters near the centre of a spinning impeller and is thrown outward into a scroll casing. The term highlights the working principle—centrifugal force—rather than the application. Many product catalogues classify blowers as centrifugal fans and include variants such as radial blade, backward-curved and forward-curved designs. In everyday plant language, a “centrifugal fan” and a “blower” may be the same machine.
The name squirrel cage fan is often used for forward-curved centrifugal blowers whose impellers resemble the exercise wheels used by small animals. These blowers are common in HVAC equipment, air-handling units and smaller industrial systems. Technicians may refer to them casually as “squirrel cages” or “cage blowers”, especially when discussing maintenance or replacement of the wheel.
Industrial blower is a broad term covering any blower fan used in industrial service: dust collection blowers, combustion air blowers, process air blowers and local exhaust blowers. In mining and heavy industry, the word “blower” is sometimes reserved for smaller high-pressure units, while large main ventilation machines are called fans. However, usage varies by region and company, and many people use “blower” and “fan” interchangeably when speaking informally.
In specialized contexts you may also hear terms like process blower, high-pressure fan, air mover or pneumatic conveying blower. All of these are essentially blower fans tailored to specific duties, such as feeding combustion air, transporting powders or supplying air to filters and scrubbers.
In summary, another name for a blower fan is often a centrifugal fan, squirrel cage fan or simply industrial blower. Whatever term is used, the underlying idea is a fan-type machine designed to move air or gas against higher pressures than ordinary low-pressure ventilation fans, especially in ducts and process systems.
