Pneumatic Solenoids

[rfolea]

Originally Posted by Dan Petrovic

90 degree cuts, you say?

There is no better tool than this puppy. It's the TC-12 pneumatic tubing cutter and you will not be disappointed by it. Every team should get one.

Actually, If you see us (AutomationDirect) at an event we are usually giving them away. In the past we have included one for free in every box of parts ordered via the AutomationDirect FIRST Voucher. I assume we'll do it again next year ...

[chapman1]

The Festos are great - unless you need volume, say, for a ball launcher with a couple of 1.25" diameter cylinders. Then, they fail miserably compared to a valve like Automation Direct's:

http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/...9/AVS-3211-24D

The Festo VUVG has a Flow rating of 0.22 Cv (220l/min) vs. the
Automationdirect's Cv=0.78. The numbers speak volumes (pun intended).

Further, Automationdirect charges a fair price for pneumatic components rather than what they can get away with... compared to - ahem - some other suppliers. On top of that, they give FRC teams a free voucher every year, and always offer free shipping > $49.

No, I do not have any affiliation with Automationdirect - I merely appreciate what they provide to FRC.

Other thoughts: Be sure that whenever you remove a hose from a fitting that you snip off a bit, so that the fitting barbs can get a fresh bite. Also, leave air pressure in the system after matches to insure you have no leaks - and if you do have one, use soapy water applied with a small brush to find it.

A pneumatic cylinder pushed our ball into the shooter this year, and we chose to not have an on-board compressor. Through diligence and constant monitoring, we never ran out of air on the field.

[chrisfl]

Those AutomationDirect cutters are handy. I picked one up at worlds and never had a problem with leaks from tubing. I am working on my highschool capstone project(which relies heavily on pneumatics) and the AutomationDirect's deals were the best. Especially for our extremely limited budget. I already have solenoids and a manifold from them coming in the mail. For the project we are developing pnuematic muscles which will then be used for actuation on an exoskeleton we are making. Our first prototype for the muscles was 1/2in in diameter and lifted 70+lbs at 100psi. To lower the working pressure to make them more safe we are increasing the diameter to 3/4in which should allow us to lift 50+lbs with 50psi. All in all, Automation Direct is a huge help with their reliable products and reasonable prices.