Has anyone tryed to use the pneumatic parts? i dont think it would be very cost effective with the first kit starting at 180.00 dollars. I dont think anyone is really made of money to buy them and you dont really get alot in the kits. I would consider buying one if it was half the price.
I have a set and they do work exceptionally well. However, something they don’t say on the website is that you need the programming kit to use them. They are expensive but are great in certain situations. I even used my set to create a VEX pneumatic tank 
that was really awsome.
i would really like to buy them, but the are just too expensive. i would have chosen the half price option, but i think they are way overpriced.
yeah…
but they kinda look a little lame, i mean, the total linear movement is like 3 inches. it might be better to just buy your own from another supplier.
I have searched for others but havent found any that are any more reasonable but i think they are way over priced for what you get on the vex site. I think 3 inches of movement in plenty if used effectivly. They also have alot of strength and lifting power. I would like a set but will not pay the price they are at.
I’ve looked into purchasing other pneumatics components from pneumatics suppliers such as SMC, Bimba, or Parker and here’s what I seen for prices (which are sometimes quite hard to directly find from online catalogs…)
Pneumatic cylinders: Usually $20 and up for small cylinders
Solenoids: Anywhere from $20 and up
Tubing: Usually really cheap
Regulators: Usually about $25 and up
Accumulators: Anywhere from $20 and up
If you add up all these costs, the prices on VexLABS do not seem that expensive. If you look on EBay, you can often find all kinds of various parts on sale, but it’s hit-or-miss on whether its on a scale that’s useful for Vex.
I’ve used the pneumatics kits in the past and I love them. They are plenty powerful and plenty strong enough; I was able to (accidentally) launch PVC fittings several feet. Just remember though with vex, unless you stay tethered to a source of compressed air, you’re limited to only that single accumulator tank of air. Large cylinders with large travel will quickly drain all your air away.
good point. i guess it would be worth it, it is just expensive.
I have been searching for some web sites with pneumatics and i found a few. I have to agree that vex isnt looking “that” expensive. It seems that every company wants to make their pneumatic actuators out of stainless steel which is probly 3/4 of their price. If they made them in a hard plastic or regular steel i think it would be cheaper. I dont know y they have to be stainless because the actuator is a majority of the price. tubing and valves are cheaper****
Has anyone checked out www.surpluscenter.com for the pneumatic/hydraulic parts yet, just a thought
Actually, there are companies which make plastic air cylinders such as Beco Manufacturing but they are still very expensive for the reasons that Art made.
For example, (in 2004, the last time I used them) a 3" stroke 1.5" bore polypropylene air cylinder went for $109, a 12" stroke was $321 and the clevis was another $50…
yeah, www.surpluscenter.com is awesome! 6 dollars a cylinder with over 2 inch travel!
does anyone got any pictures of bots with pneumatic parts in use or are there any videos on youtube? im just curisouse how the pneumatics work on a actaul bot.
Your prices are way to high, I got a HUGE cylinder 3/4in with a 1/4in rod and a 4in stroke for $7. Regulators are $20 at HOMEDEPOT. The solenoid valve is the most expensive part, its $50 from surplus center. It is a special valve called a 4way to position that is specifically designed to run 2 single acting cylinders or 1 double acting cylinder.
Vex is overpriced by how much I don’t know because its a company that knows wholesale factory’s that don’t sell stuff to consumers directly so they get it for DIRT DIRT DIRT DIRT cheap and then they package there product and crank the price up and sell it to us. But once again I don’t know how overpriced it is.
OOOOOO…VEX WANTS $5 for 5 feet of black tubing ha ha ha no way.
http://www.poweraire.com/black-polyurethane-tubing-p-2361.html
100ft for $24 thats 1/4 cheaper then vex and there is even cheaper if you catch an ebay deal.
Next week my pneumatic parts will arrive and you will see that building it yourself is the best way, that way every part is reconfigurable. Vex uses 5/32 hose which is not always in stock or carried by the hardware store so if they don’t have it you have to order it off the internet. If you build it with 1/4in hosing its easy to change and you get a high airflow so its easy to use big or small cylinders.
I am just saying that in this case all the parts are out there you just need to find the good deals and trust me you won’t regret it when you can change the entire system operation from double acting to single acting, cylinder size, tank size and so much more.