[Wren Hensgen]

Good morning! I'm a former member of FRC 225, and still an active FTC mentor.

Through FIRST, I landed a job with a hydraulics, pneumatic, and automation company. If you have any questions on parts, terms, setups, connectors, anything, I'd be happy to work with you to get your questions answered. Please feel free to send me a PM or just talk here.

Some suggestions:

1. Buy a tubing cutter. For the fittings used in FRC (Push-to-connect), the ends of cuts have to be perfectly square to seal.

2. Buy quality tubing, and parts. Freelin-Wade, the default supplier for FIRST tubing is a really solid company. I'd also recommend Norgren for fittings.

3. Understand your terms. You have air cylinders, who's force is decided by their bore (Diameter) and the distance they work over, called the stroke. You can have a double acting cylinder that needs air to move it both ways, or a Single Acting that will retract if the air pressure is removed. You can even have a Reverse Single Acting, which will extend with air pressure removed.

4. Understand when and where to use pneumatics. It's not always the right choice. Air actuators are smaller, lighter, and faster than electric in most cases, but you only get 2 (Sometimes 3) positions. You get better granularity with electric.

5. Understand your solenoids. Use Single-Acting solenoids when you want an item to revert to a default state on power-off. Use a double acting if it's important to stay in the last state on power off.

Above all, stay safe. Air pressure can be extremely violent and dangerous if you're not expecting it, and sometimes even when you are. Loose air hoses can whip through the air, air tanks can explode if damaged, cylinders can move faster than you can see with enough force to break bones.

If you have ANY questions, please ask! There are no stupid questions.