Leaking air

[AustinSchuh]

Also, make sure the ends of the pneumatic tube were cut square. I've caught a couple leaks because someone cut the end at an angle and it could not go into the fitting far enough to make a good seal.

[apalrd]

Are you being generous enough with the teflon tape at the thread sealings? We taped the crap out of our pneumatic system, and combined with checking for flat cuts, our simple pneumatic system with a compressor, 1 air tank, and 2 solenoids with 3 pistons (kicker clutch and shifters) can hold the tank above 100psi overnight.

[jspatz1]

No storage volume (tanks) is your primary problem. Without more volume, almost no system could hold full pressure for long even if well assembled. The smallest leak will cause pressure loss fairly quickly. If your robot can accomodate tanks, add them. They are a common component of a system for good reason.

[ttldomination]

You wanna check your tubing first. I would recommend using smoke over water.

If it continues to leak, I recommend having some fun with duct tape, which is legal this year.

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by apalrd

Are you being generous enough with the teflon tape at the thread sealings? We taped the crap out of our pneumatic system, and combined with checking for flat cuts, our simple pneumatic system with a compressor, 1 air tank, and 2 solenoids with 3 pistons (kicker clutch and shifters) can hold the tank above 100psi overnight.

There's still the whole "Too much of a good thing" problem. It's conceivable to put so much teflon on a fitting that you can't even thread it. It also makes it harder to tighten up fittings and increases the risk of getting shreds of teflon in your system. Not to mention the nightmare of having to clean it off the fitting if you ever have to disassemble things.

We usually don't bother with more than 2-3 wraps of teflon on my team or at my company for these reasons. If you properly tighten the fittings, this is more than enough to get a good seal, and little enough to not cause you problems.

[jspatz1]

Too much tape can also cause problems with fragments getting into the air flow and reaching the solenoid valve spools, where they can jam spools and cause a failure. A couple of wraps is sufficient. Just assemble your system tightly and with care.

[apalrd]

by "tape the crap out of it" I mean "tape the crap out of it until there is plenty but not too much". We don't have more than 3 wraps on any one fitting.