Recently our team added pneumatics to our robot. Our current setup is: Two pneumatic reservoirs to a tire pump fitting, to a pressure regulator, to a manual on/off switch, up to a single solenoid that drives two double acting pistons (with the use of two T-splitters).
The system generally works beautifully, though we find that there is inconsistent force being applied throughout a match. There is a gradual decline of force. For example: the first 3-5 piston actions are extremely powerful (sometimes too powerful), the next 8-10 are at an optimum power, then the last 5-10 are barely enough to accomplish their task. Is there any way to have less force in the first 4-5 pumps for a more consistent pushing force throughout a match? We found that decreasing the overall pressure using the pressure regulator still doesn’t give much consistency.
Each time that the pistons move, your two pneumatic tanks will lose pressure, resulting in a gradual decrease in performance.
You can make the performance more constant throughout the match by using the pressure regulator. Make sure that the blue one-touch valve on the pressure regulator is hooked up to the solenoid. The adjustment screw on the pressure regulator will set your regulated pressure. To make the pneumatics more constant throughout the match and to decrease the performance of the pneumatics initially, turn the screw to the left. By doing this you will also increase the total number of strokes you get before you have to recharge your system.