Solenoid valve troubles

[Gibbs]

My team is just getting over our long held fear of Pneumatics, and we seem to be having trouble with the Solenoids specifically the Solenoid valve VUVG-L10-B52-T-m7-1P3-566475. If someone could possibly give us pointers on how to use it, or point us towards a resource for help that would be much appreciated. One of the things we couldn't figure out was which end is the intake, and which end is exhaust. Also our lead programmer says that the solenoid was taking approximately ten seconds to respond to commands.

Thanks!

[Qcom]

Originally Posted by Gibbs

My team is just getting over our long held fear of Pneumatics, and we seem to be having trouble with the Solenoids specifically the Solenoid valve VUVG-L10-B52-T-m7-1P3-566475. If someone could possibly give us pointers on how to use it, or point us towards a resource for help that would be much appreciated. One of the things we couldn't figure out was which end is the intake, and which end is exhaust. Also our lead programmer says that the solenoid was taking approximately ten seconds to respond to commands.

Thanks!

Funny, I am having the same issue. I believe the brand name on that model is FESTO.

[DonRotolo]

Know that these valves need some air pressure to switch.
There is one input, 2 outputs (to the front and rear of the cylinder) and 2 exhausts (which need to remain un-plugged and open).

Regrettably. I don't have the info handy, but just check the manufacturer catalog on their website.

As for the programmer and 10 seconds: Have him "send" the command and watch the lights on the pneumatic solenoid breakout module. If there is any delay it's in his program.

If the delay is between the light lighting and the valve reacting, then it's the valve. But remember these valves need air to switch...

[G Fawkes]

The Festo valve cut sheet I looked at earlier today said they require at least 30 psi supply to operate.

[Nirvash]

Another thing to note, is that if you are using a 24volt solenoid, you must feed 24volts to the pneumatic breakout.
If I remember correctly, the solenoid has one side with three ports and one with two. The two port side is your outputs and the center port on the three port side is the intake, the other two are exhaust.

[Qcom]

Originally Posted by Nirvash

Another thing to note, is that if you are using a 24volt solenoid, you must feed 24volts to the pneumatic breakout.
If I remember correctly, the solenoid has one side with three ports and one with two. The two port side is your outputs and the center port on the three port side is the intake, the other two are exhaust.

Yes, we have it hooked up correctly, and double-checked this. I'll run the volt parameters past our electrician.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Qcom

Funny, I am having the same issue. I believe the brand name on that model is FESTO.

Probably because you're on the same team.....

[Qcom]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Probably because you're on the same team.....

I know, I realized that later. Sorry!

We got the valves to work. Turns out that we were not allowing the initial pressure to reach 30 psi...

[zsm150]

Last year our team use festo valves and they had the worst screw in fittings into the actual valve itself as well as the worst electrical connections. The fittings you had to lock tight the fittings and actually break open the casing and individually solder the wires to the leads. What specific problem are you having?

[Brian C]

Originally Posted by Qcom

We got the valves to work. Turns out that we were not allowing the initial pressure to reach 30 psi...

The valves are called pilot operated valves. While the electrical solenoid initiates the valve to switch states there needs to be a minimum amount of pressure on the valve inlet. Usually around 20 psi. This pressure is what actually makes the valve change position.

Good luck!

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by zsm150

Last year our team use festo valves and they had the worst screw in fittings into the actual valve itself as well as the worst electrical connections. The fittings you had to lock tight the fittings and actually break open the casing and individually solder the wires to the leads. What specific problem are you having?

Wow, you actually used Loctite on a pneumaic solenoid valve? Scary.
And you got the type without wires and wonder why you needed to solder them on? Wow again

Neither of those is the valve's fault, though.

[Mike Schreiber]

Originally Posted by zsm150

Last year our team use festo valves and they had the worst screw in fittings into the actual valve itself as well as the worst electrical connections. The fittings you had to lock tight the fittings and actually break open the casing and individually solder the wires to the leads. What specific problem are you having?

http://www.firstchoicebyandymark.com/en/fc14-036

A little safer than loctite

[artdutra04]

Another thing to remember about pneumatic solenoids is that they are either single-acting or double acting.

A single-acting solenoid has only one solenoid, and has two wires coming out of one side of the solenoid. A double-acting solenoid has two sets of red/black wires, one coming out of each end.

On a single-acting solenoid, if you provide no electricity the input will always be aligned to one specific output. If you provide the necessary voltage to the solenoid it will change to the output output as long as that voltage is held. If you lose power or the solenoid is disabled at the end of the match, the solenoid will always return to the no-power state. This is how some teams have "after the buzzer" mechanisms - when the robot is disabled the solenoid returns to its off state.

A double-acting solenoid will hold its position regardless of the current electrical signal. If electricity to both solenoids is off, the input-output will remain unchanged. If you apply electricity to ONLY the left solenoid, it will push the valve to the right and make output1 active. If you turn off the left solenoid and apply electricity to ONLY the right solenoid, it will push the valve to the left and activate output2. Don't turn on both solenoids valves at once, you will get unpredictable results. Double-acting solenoids are useful for holding a specific position when the robot is disabled.

[Daniella Glz]

Hi All,

My name is Daniella Gonzalez and I am the Product Specialist for Valves for Festo-US. I was reviewing this thread and wanted to make sure everyone knew where to get the proper information on the valves we provided for the 2014 FIRST competition, which are 24V DC double acting VUVG solenoid valves. I have included useful links below. Feel free to either message me or post a reply to this thread if you have any questions regarding either this year's valve offering or one that was provided in the past. I would be more than happy to answer any technical questions you may have regarding our valve products.

http://www.festo.com/cms/en-us_us/9697.htm

http://www.festo.com/cat/en-us_us/da...UVG-G_ENUS.PDF