[mman1506]

Originally Posted by Ari423

We went the pneumatics route this year, so I have some first hand results as to how our testing went. Not powering the downstroke sounds like a good idea until you learn that most solenoids need 20 psi minimum on each side to open and close properly. We eventually decided on 15 psi, and it was still very slow going down. Also, don't forget that once your tank drops below 60 psi, you will see decreased performance. For this reason, we went with slightly bigger cylinders at 30 psi so we wouldn't see that effect until later in the match. No matter the size of your air tanks, at 60 psi you will see that effect halfway through your lifts.

Also, if you did what many teams did this year and let the second tote fall into the first one without lifting the first one, you will only need to lift 4 totes per 6 stack, not 5. You also won't need to lift them as high, only from 1 tote high to above the chute instead of from the ground. IIRC that's less than 25". Or you could do what we did and build a ramp attached to our stacker for the totes to slide to (almost) ground level, then you only need to lift the height of one tote.

Why didn't you just leave a port on one side of the pneumatic cylinder open and put a plug on the unused port of solenoid?