Quote:
Originally Posted by 3175student17
In 2014, we used a single acting solenoid with P/N 6124K511 from McMaster-Carr, and we were very satisfied with them. However, I would recommend having two of them and directly hooking the output to the input on the cylinder to get the least amount of distance the air has to travel to fill the cylinder. Also, have the return port of the cylinder simply be open, because gravity will just pull it down and force the air out of the bottom once the solenoid switches back to vent.
|
This is the same solenoid and setup we used in 2014, worked great! The other useful tricks, as mentioned above, are
- Hook the solenoid right to the pneumatic cylinder (see pic below)
- Leave the other end of the cylinder completely open (no hose or fitting is needed, gravity will bring the catapult arm back down)
- Put a small tank right in front of the supply side of solenoid so that the air doesn't have to go through the regulator. This tank is at the 60psi working pressure.
We may or may not be using two of these solenoids on our robot this year.