Bad connection on double solenoids... Best replacement?

[Zaque]

Hi all,

After much convincing of our head mentor, our team has decided to go with two double solenoids on our launcher. The reason the persuasion was needed is the bad experiences we have had with pneumatics in the past. Luckily, after much testing last night, we believe we have narrowed the problem down to bad connections were the wires enter the solenoid. They would switch on and off when they were wiggled, and brand new ones did not have this problem.

(tl;dr: bad connections where wires enter solenoids have been causing many problems.) Now to the questions...

Is there a way to open the solenoids and fix the wires?
What are the best solenoids to get as a replacement?

Thanks,
Zaque

[Jon Stratis]

Per R76:

All pneumatic COMPONENTS must be used in their original, unaltered condition. Exceptions are as follows:

To me, that includes attempts at a repair like your talking about.

[Bill_B]

Which solenoids are you using now? The Festo variety have a complicated connection method that is designed for modularity in production air-controlled machinery. That is, easier to replace a failing solenoid by snapping out the electrical connection and re-applying that connector to the replacement. The wire leads we get for this two-stage connection are also removable even though their snap-in "claw" is not obvious inside the little black clip. I've got a couple of those that have been forcibly removed by someone ignorant of the clip aspect. This is all to point out that all this external attention to electrical connection is additionally intended to minimize if not eliminate, stress on the connections to the solenoids coil. That's why I ask why you're having trouble making effective connection to your solenoid.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by Zaque

Is there a way to open the solenoids and fix the wires?
What are the best solenoids to get as a replacement?

The FESTO valves themselves cannot be opened without violating R76.

That said, the solenoids and connecting electrical housings are designed to come off and are not part of the pneumatics.

The solenoids and electrical housings are not field repairable, but can be purchased through FESTO.