pic: 6 speed?? Great in theory - lets see how it works!

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Pat Roche

I don't see how three pistons would help you much though.

With two clyinders in of different length in series, you could theroretically obtain four different positions. With three cylinders in series each of different length, you could theoretically obtain 8 different positions.

EDIT: that is the simple answer. The more complex answer deals with "not equal to" issues. For example, if the stroke of the short cylinder plus the stroke of the medium cylinder equals the stroke of the long cylinder then you would have fewer total position combinations.