we set up a pneumatic system for the cone/ claw recently, by the air run out too fast. it’s possible to recycle the air, so as the piston extend or extract, the air goes back into the tank instead get release.
thanks
I’m not very experienced with pneums but, I think you have a leak in your tubing.
I don’t have a ton of experience with pneumatics but when experimenting with them last year i had the same problem. The solution i was given was to use the pressure regulator to stop from using too much pressure with each pull of the solenoid.
the attached document may be helpful.
pneumatics information.pdf (313 KB)
If you are using teflon tape on the threads, make sure to thread it clockwise so the tape doesn’t unravel as you screw in the fittings
Don’t use Teflon tape on the solenoid fittings. The fittings have an o-ring and can be tightened with a hex wrench inside the fitting. I believe it is a metric size wrench.
A lot of good tips in this thread. I’d also add that you want to limit the tubing between the solenoid and the piston as much as possible. Every time you fire the piston, it will fill up all that tube before getting to the piston, so extra length there is going to waste air very quickly. When you cut tubing while working with pneumatics, try to cut it as straight as possible (perpendicular to tube), that can help avoid leaks. The only leaks I’ve ever had were from broken solenoids or missing O-Rings. Teflon Tape is good, my team has never found it necessary though. Make sure to tighten the Solenoid fittings, but definitely don’t over tighten them. A 1/4th rotation past hand tight was our general guideline. I’ve never actually used the pressure regulator on a robot, but if you don’t need full strength it’s definitely a good investment. If you are using pneumatics to pick up cones, you might also try having them only powered in one direction, and then having elastics open or close the mechanism when the air is released. This would double your actuation count if you were originally powering it when closing and opening.
If you actually have a broken pneumatic component, replace one part at a time until you isolate the issue to a single piece, make sure it’s actually broken with more testing, if it can be fixed, mark it for later (or actually fix it for those who aren’t procrastinators), and if it can’t, trash it. This strategy is also really helpful for finding shorts in an electronics system.
wh had to put thread tape on the valve stem we were losing air as well we added another tank and that helped we T d them together so when we filled one it filled the other we have been getting about 30 open/closes we are using double action pneumatics