festo not responding to computer commands

[dbeckwith]

FYI, this isn't a programming question, I'm pretty sure our problem isn't with the program.
Our Festo solenoid valve works fine, but it will only switch when we use the buttons on Festo itself. If we disconnect the cables to the solenoid, it will fire just fine from pressing the buttons. But when I connect the cables, the lights on the solenoid show just what they should (The bottom is on and the top is off when the tirgger on the joystick is off, and the opposite when the joystick trigger is on). But it seems as though the solenoid valves completely disregard what the lights say, and we can only control it with the buttons on the Festo.
Does anyone know what might be going on, or does it sound like the internal electronics in the Festo are broken? We've pretty much ruled out anything else that could be wrong, like the connection from thew Festo to the cRIO.

[flameout]

Just a quick check -- we've made this mistake before.

Is it the right voltage? A Festo labeled as 24 volts won't work with a solenoid bumper configured for 12.

This is the only possibility I could think of, assuming you checked (with a multimeter) that the voltage is actually getting to the festo.

I hope this helps.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Are you sure you are providing the proper voltage? If I recall correctly some of the valves sent last year were 24v rather than 12v.

[Speeder]

Also, some of the valves have a required minimum air pressure to function, I believe it is > 35PSI.

[McGurky]

If the solenoids are the ones linked to below...

http://team358.org/files/pneumatic/F...structions.pdf

Then...

If you are providing power to pins 1 and 2 as stated in the datasheet, then you may run into problems with some of them.

A few that were produced(actually I think quite a few) are improperly documented and you actually need to power pins 1 and 3.

If the wiring was wrong, the valves will do the same thing they are doing in your description

Hope it helps!
-Kyle McGurk