What kind of cylinders does your team stock?

[Qbot2640]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

...
You get three bimba cylinders every year in the KOP, so it doesn't take all that long to build up a collection...

One year, not needing any new sizes for our build, we chose a 2" bore 36" stroke cylinder as one of our three from the Bimba PDV. The thinking was, if we ever needed one that big it would cost a fortune. Plus it is great fun to use for my pneumatic sessions at workshops!

Last year, we used the PDV to get our shooter cylinders (.75 X 12) and Bimba's delivery was quick enough that it was not a problem for our build. We probably ordered them a week and a half into build season, and had them by week four.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by Qbot2640

One year, not needing any new sizes for our build, we chose a 2" bore 36" stroke cylinder as one of our three from the Bimba PDV. The thinking was, if we ever needed one that big it would cost a fortune. Plus it is great fun to use for my pneumatic sessions at workshops!

We've got one of those for exactly the same reason on 449. It's pretty much completely useless for FRC, but it's a fantastic demo piece.

Bimba is extremely generous with their donation. Depending on the cylinders you choose, you can get a few hundred dollars' worth of parts. Of course, don't just opt for the most expensive ones available - figure out your constraints first, then pick your cylinders to match. If you're not using cylinders and just want a good all-purpose size, ~1.5'' bore x ~8'' stroke is probably the size I've used most.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by dradel

Curious here... It was my understanding that parts that are used on a bot cannot be reused on a later bot if it is modified. Technically speaking wouldn't putting fittings into an air cylinder make it no longer off the shelf?

The way it was explained to us lends itself to just that. Same holds true for transmissions and such ( hence why we haven't gone with two speed trans yet)

Assuming this rule doesn't change drastically,

R76

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

tubing may be cut,
wiring for pneumatic devices may be modified to interface with the control system,
assembling and connecting pneumatic COMPONENTS using the pre-existing threads, mounting brackets, quick-connect fittings, etc.,
removing the mounting pin from a pneumatic cylinder, provided the cylinder itself is not modified,
labeling applied to indicate device purpose, connectivity, functional performance, etc.

then as we read it: if you modify a pneumatic cylinder enough to keep it from being used the next year, you can't use it this year either! I suppose you could go through the drill of removing and replacing fittings every year if you think that the inspectors could tell that the fitting or label had been there longer than a couple of months..

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

We've got one of those for exactly the same reason on 449. It's pretty much completely useless for FRC, but it's a fantastic demo piece.

Bimba is extremely generous with their donation. Depending on the cylinders you choose, you can get a few hundred dollars' worth of parts. Of course, don't just opt for the most expensive ones available - figure out your constraints first, then pick your cylinders to match. If you're not using cylinders and just want a good all-purpose size, ~1.5'' bore x ~8'' stroke is probably the size I've used most.

We got one Lunacy year just because. I love to use it for pneumatic training, especially for volume and capacity lessons.

Bimba has been a fantastic long time sponsor of FIRST.