Vex Pneumatics

Hmmm… I haven’t purchased a pneumatics kit so I don’t know the answer to this. Can the pneumatics be configured to draw a vacuum? I don’t need much, but I have an idea for a Vex gadget that uses suction for something. Thanks!

Do you mean like not using the piston thing and just sucking stuff up?
If so, no. You pump up a cylinder with a bike pump or eletric compressor. inside the piston, there is a disk with the moving shaft connected to it. with the single acting Pnumatics, there is a spring on one side of the disk and a air hose on the other. When the microcontroller is instructed to open the valve, air will push the shaft out. Once the valve is closed, the spring pushes the shaft back in. On the double acting pnumanics, It is very similar, only there is an air hose on ether side of the disk and no spring. In this case there are two valves, one to push out and one to push in. no matter what, there is never realy a low pressure area. So, to sum it up, no you can’t use the pnumanic kit as a vaccum.

However, If you mean just pulling something, not just pushing, the double acting Pnumanic piston can.

I hope this helps, and anyone correct me if I am wrong.

If you are bumping up against something that is air tight, you could use something (a servo/motor or pneumatics) to activate a suction cup. Of course, this would only really work if you are putting it against something that can be suction cupped.

in the FRC KOP two years ago, FIRST supplied all teams with a venturi generator, which took air flowing in, and outputed an equal amount of suction.

http://www.directindustry.com/prod/air-logic/vacuum-generator-ejector-7230-30200.html

Hmmm well maybe you could hook two cylinders together. Then have one pull the other open, the cylinder being pulled open would create a small amount of vacuum, enough to fill the cylinder.

Are you in the Vex competition right now? Sounds like someone is trying to suck up cubes… or maybe I’m narrow minded.

Q. What is the best way to de-score cubes?
A. A suction device.

Q. How to draw suction with Vex-legal devices?
A. Dunno. How about pneumatics?

ReidloS – you got it in one!