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Unread 23-01-2015, 22:04
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Joe G. Joe G. is offline
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Re: Designing with Pneumatics-Catcher

Try to avoid putting significant side loads on any pistons, no matter the size. They aren't really designed to take it, and it takes surprisingly little deformation to hurt a cylinder's performance pretty significantly. Typically, in designs like this, you'll see some other kind of structure which takes the brunt of the downwards load.

I would consider placing your inner jaw on some kind of linear guide (the IGUS components in the kit are a good choice, as is the REV extrusion, the Vexpro elevator bearing gussets, and numerous other off the shelf options), or switch it to a pivoting design. A small four bar linkage may be a good choice here, giving you the strength and ease of fabrication of a pivoting joint, while maintaining your desired linear motion profile.
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2007-2010: Student, FRC 1687, Highlander Robotics
2012-2014: Technical Mentor, FRC 1687, Highlander Robotics
2015-2016: Lead Mentor, FRC 5400, Team WARP
2016-???: Volunteer and freelance mentor-for-hire