How to improve power in piston shooter

[jwfoss]

Originally Posted by nuclearnerd

This one has a CV of 1.0 with a 1/8 npt port, Which is 3 or 4 times larger than the SMC / Festo valves you can get from AndyMark or Vex. We haven't used them though, so don't consider this an endorsement:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#6425k11/=rc3uws

FRC558 will endorse them, they are currently running well on our machine.

[nuclearnerd]

Originally Posted by jwfoss

FRC558 will endorse them, they are currently running well on our machine.

Cool. Do you have the actual manufacturer and model number then? It would be nice to look up the original spec sheet.

[jwfoss]

Originally Posted by nuclearnerd

Cool. Do you have the actual manufacturer and model number then? It would be nice to look up the original spec sheet.

Sure, they are made by Numatics Inc.The link should take you right to the product page.

[TikiTech]

We use the Nitra AVS 3211-24d solenoids from Automation Direct.
http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/...)/AVS-3211-24D
These are 24v with a Cv of .78. We use these on 10" Bimba 1.5" bore cylinders and have been really happy with them.
Plus we used the product voucher from FIRST... Even if you do not use the voucher they are about 21.00 each.

Good luck

Aloha

[falconmaster]

Originally Posted by LR_connor

Thank you for the information do you have any recommendations of where we can get some?

The brand is Norgren and they can be found on McMaster Carr

[Jibsy]

Originally Posted by LR_connor

We are currently using our pistons as an extra push for a pass as we are a inbound robot. Our pistons are not strong enough to shoot over the truss and i feel as though it would be a nice improvement to get working. Any help on how to get pistons to shoot higher and farther would be greatly appreciated.

Depending on your setup, a potentially easy improvement is to add gas springs alongside the pneumatic cylinders to assist them on the way up.
I'm surprised that I haven't seen this done yet given how much it could add.
All of the force that the cylinder is using to launch is also being used to retract (not as strong on retract, but still packs a punch). Rather than having all of that go to waste, you can use it to store up energy in a gas spring. Something like these:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#gas-springs/=rc2sdb

You may also need to employ some of the tricks people have mentioned already about increasing the flow rate of your cylinder - otherwise the spring may just be slowed right down resulting in more than enough power, but not enough speed.


Best of luck!

[AllenGregoryIV]

Originally Posted by Jibsy

Depending on your setup, a potentially easy improvement is to add gas springs alongside the pneumatic cylinders to assist them on the way up.
I'm surprised that I haven't seen this done yet given how much it could add.
All of the force that the cylinder is using to launch is also being used to retract (not as strong on retract, but still packs a punch). Rather than having all of that go to waste, you can use it to store up energy in a gas spring. Something like these:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#gas-springs/=rc2sdb

You may also need to employ some of the tricks people have mentioned already about increasing the flow rate of your cylinder - otherwise the spring may just be slowed right down resulting in more than enough power, but not enough speed.


Best of luck!

Nearly every pneumatic launcher I have seen doesn't plumb the retraction of the cylinder at all. Most of them rely on gravity for return. This allows the cylinders to fire much faster as they don't have to exhaust through tubing or a solenoid.