TECHNICIAN TRAINING CENTRE (TTC)

TECHNICIAN TRAINING CENTRE

TECNICIAN TRAINING
CENTRE

OBJECTIVES

AS??? GHDGS JSH

TOPICS

PNEUMATIC CONCEPT
CYLINDER
VALVE
SYMBOL
AIR REGULATOR
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WHAT IS PNEUMATIC

A system that uses air to power something.

In pneumatic systems, force is produced by
air pressure acting on the surface of a piston
or valve.

http://www.deyes.sefton.sch.uk/technology/as&alevel/pneumatic_systems.htm
http://www.pneumaticpart.com/valves/check-valve.html
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BASIC PNEUMATIC SYSTEM

A Compressor: a pump which compresses air, raising it to a higher pressure,

and delivers it to the pneumatic system (sometimes, can also be used to generate
a vacuum).
B Check valve: one-way valve that allows pressurized air to enter the
pneumatic system, but prevents backflow (and loss of pressure) into the
compressor when it is stopped.
C Accumulator: stores compressed air, preventing surges in pressure and
relieving the duty cycle of the compressor.
D Directional valve: controls the flow of pressurized air from the source to the
selected port.
E Actuator: converts energy stored in the compressed air into mechanical
motion.

BASIC PNEUMATIC SYSTEM

The physical behavior of a fluid was first discovered by
Blaise Pascal.
Pascal found that when a force is applied to the end of a
container of liquid, the force is transmitted.
Blaise Pascal also discovered that pressure is equal to
force per unit area (or the force divided by the area on
which it acts)
Force = Pressure x Area

BASIC PNEUMATIC SYSTEM

There are two main groups of basic

components of pneumatic:
Cylinders
Valves
Cylinders are output components they cause something to move.
Valves can be input or process components.

CYLINDER
Cylinders convert the energy in the compressed
air into linear motion. The air enters the cylinder
and pushes a piston from one end of the
cylinder to the other.
There are two main types
of cylinder:
Single acting;
Double acting.

CYLINDER
SINGLE ACTING CYLINDER
A single acting cylinder has only one air connection, whilst a
double acting has two.
With a single acting cylinder, the piston is pushed outwards
by the pressure of the air. When the air supply is removed
and the air inside the cylinder is allowed to escape (we call
this the exhaust), the piston moves back, due to the
compressed spring. It is possible to slow down the return
movement of the piston, if we limit the rate at which the air
can escape.

CYLINDER
DOUBLE ACTING CYLINDER
The double acting cylinder has two air connections. When
compressed air is sent to one side and the other side is
allowed to exhaust, the piston is pushed to one end of the
cylinder. When air is then sent to the other side and the first
side is allowed to exhaust, the piston is pushed back. This
type of cylinder is more powerful on the return stroke than
the single acting cylinder.

CYLINDER
FEW TYPES OF CYLINDER

Standard cylinder
Compact cylinder
Mini cylinders
Multi-mounted cylinder
Twin-rods cylinder
Slide cylinder
Pneumatic finger
Cylinder parts

CYLINDER
INTERNAL OF CYLINDER

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CYLINDER
CYLINDER NAME

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CYLINDER
CYLINDER SENSOR

How do magneto-resistive sensors work?

Permanent magnets are installed in the piston ring of the pneumatic cylinder
and are then detected by the magnetic cylinder sensor through the
nonmagnetic
cylinder wall. As the piston moves towards the sensor, its output switches. An
LED
integrated in the sensor indicates the switch state.

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VALVE

Valves control the switching and routing of air in a pneumatic

system. Valves not only have to control the flow of the
compressed air, they also have to control the flow of the
exhaust to the atmosphere.
There are two main types of valves used in pneumatic
switching circuits:
3/2 valve
5/2 valve.

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VALVE
3/2 VALVE
The 3/2 valve is used to control components such as single
acting cylinders which have just one single input. The input to
the cylinder is connected to port 2, the air supply to port 1
and port 3 is allowed to exhaust to atmosphere.
The number 3 signifies that the valve has three ports, whilst
the number 2 signifies that the valve has 2 directions or
states.

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VALVE
5/2 VALVE
The 5/2 valve is used to control
components such as double acting
cylinders which have two inputs. The
inputs to the cylinder are connected to
ports 2 and 4, the air supply to port 1.
Ports 3 and 5 are allowed to exhaust to
atmosphere.
The number 5 signifies that the valve has
five ports, whilst the number 2 signifies
that the valve has 2 directions or states.

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VALVE
The valve mechanism directs the compressed air supply, through the valve body to
the selected output ports or stops the air from passing through the valve.
The valve mechanism can be moved by direct mechanical action, a spring, an
electrical solenoid or by pneumatic air pressure (signal operated).
The shape on the end of the symbols show how the internal mechanism is operated.

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VALVE
FEW SAMPLE OF VALVES
Air operated valve
Hand operated valve
Foot operated valve
Mechanical valve
Flow control valve
Quick exhaust valve
Check valve

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VALVE
FEW SAMPLE OF VALVES

Air operated valve

Hand operated valve
Foot operated valve
Mechanical valve
Flow control valve
Quick exhaust valve
Check valve

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BASIC CONNECTION
SINGLE & DOUBLE ACTING CYLINDER Control
Cylinders are either single acting (spring return) or double acting (air return) the
diagram below shows a 3 port push button spool valve used to control a single acting
cylinder.

You can see how the spring is used to expel or exhaust the air when the cylinder
retracts. In contrast the diagram below shows a double acting cylinder operated by
a 5 port push button spool valve. The used air in this case is exhausted as the
incoming air pushes the cylinder forwards and backwards.

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SPEED
Controlling Cylinder Speed
Controlling the speed at which the cylinder operates can in some situations be very
important. If for example, the cylinder were closing the guard on a machine or a door
at the exit of a supermarket, you would not want the cylinder to close too suddenly
for reasons of safety.
Connecting a cylinder directly to a 3 or 5 port valve does not allow you any control.
The cylinder operates very quickly and the speed is determined by the rate of air flow
(please remember that the simulations shown are deliberately slowed for clarity).
The rate of air flow will be determined to a large extent by the diameter of the pipes
and ports as well as the air pressure.
Restricting the flow of air into a cylinder will slow down its speed of operation. If we
want to control air flow we use a special valve called a flow control valve.

The symbol for a flow control valve and a

simulation of its operation are shown on the
right.
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PNEUMATIC ACCESSORIES
Auxiliary component (AIR GUN/ AIR TUBING)
Tube connector
Fitting
Silencers
PU tube
Air guns etc

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PNEUMATIC ACCESSORIES
HOW TO USE AIR SEALER PIPE
THREAD SEAL/TEFLON TAPE
Thread seal tape commonly known as
"Teflon tape", "PTFE tape", "tape dope",
"plumber's tape" or sealing tape is a
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film cut to
specified widths for use in sealing pipe
threads. The tape is wrapped around the
exposed threads of a pipe before it is screwed
into place

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PNEUMATIC ACCESSORIES
HOW TO USE AIR SEALER PIPE
THREAD SEAL/TEFLON TAPE
Start wrapping the male threads at end of the pipe but do
not lap over the end. Doing so may result in reduced water
pressure or even clogs from bits of the tape that get into the
water supply.
Start with a couple loops around at the end, then wrap all
the threads, overlapping half the width of the tape on each
wind.
Wrap in the direction of the threads starting from the end
and proceeding toward the length of the pipe. Wrapping the
wrong way may result in the tape coming unwound as the
fittings are tightened.
As you wrap, keep tension on the tape so that it is pulled
into the threads.
If you loosen or disconnect a fitting, remove the old tape
and rewrap with a fresh piece.

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APPLICATION

END

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PNEUMATIC SYSTEM DESIGN

3 things related to design a pneumatic system
How much force can an actuator apply?
Is that force sufficient to move the desired load?
How fast can the load be moved?

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PNEUMATIC SYSTEM DESIGN

How much force can an actuator apply?
To determine how much force an actuator can apply, we need to calculate the
Theoretical Force. For a pneumatic piston actuator, that is determined by multiplying
the surface area of the moving piston by the pressure applied. In other words, for a
round piston:
Force = Area x Pressure, equally to
Ft = p * D2/4 * P
Where D is the diameter of the piston and P is the
working pressure of the injected air. Note that on
the reverse stroke of the piston, the available surface
area of the piston is decreased by the area of the
piston rod. In that case:
Ft = p * (D2 d2)/4 * P
Note this does not account for inefficiencies in the actuator due to friction between the
piston and the cylinder wall, the piston rod and the packing gland, stiction forces, etc. For
our purposes, these factors contribute to an approximate 5% loss in efficiency (i.e. the
practical force available from the piston is about 95% of the calculated force).
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PNEUMATIC SYSTEM DESIGN

Is that force sufficient to move the desired load?
To determine the Required Force, we need to know the mass of the object to be moved,
the direction of motion relative to gravity, and the effects of any friction between the object
to be moved and whatever is supporting it. To calculate the required force, use:
Fr = G * (sin a + * cos a)
where G is the mass of the object to be moved, a is
the angle of inclination that the mass will move
(between 90 and 90 degrees), and is the
coefficient of friction between the moving object
and any supporting structure or surface ( may
vary between 0.1 and 0.4 for sliding metal-on metal parts, or about 0.005 for iron rolling on
iron as in a ball bearing, etc.).

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PNEUMATIC SYSTEM DESIGN

How fast can the load be moved?
The Load Ratio is the relationship between the force required to move the load and the
available force from the actuator. The load ratio is determined by:
Load ratio = (Required Forced / Theoretical Force) * 100 %
In theory, the load ratio must be 100% or lower to be able to perform the task. In practical
applications, the load ratio should be 85% or lower. Also note that if the actuator is able to
deliver more force than the minimum needed to move the load, then the excess force
delivered by the actuator is used to accelerate the load. In other words:
Acceleration Force (Fa) = Theoretical Force (Ft) Required Force (Fr)
From the first lesson on forces and accelerations, we know that
Acceleration (A) = Force (Fa) / Mass (G)
Distance (d) = 1/2 * Acceleration (A) * Time (t)2
Knowing the acceleration of the object and the distance to be traveled (the stroke of the
piston), we can calculate the time required for the object to move from rest to the end of
the piston stroke (remember that the value of G is determined by the weight of the object
divided by acceleration due to gravity; 32 ft/sec2 for English units, or 9.8 m/sec 2 for
metric).
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PNEUMATIC SYSTEM DESIGN

Rules of thumb for pneumatic design:
- Larger tubing, valves and fittings are preferable to smaller (large diameter
tubing adds
less resistance to the air flow than smaller tubing)
- For a given tubing size, the shorter the run, the better (long tubing runs add
resistance
to the air flow from the source to the fittings and actuators)
- The straighter the tubing run, the better (bends and curves induce turbulence,
which
slows the flow of air into the fittings and actuators)
- The fewer valves (and other fittings), the better (fittings add resistance to the
air flow)
- The higher the air pressure, the better (for a given equivalent flow section, this
gives a
higher flow rate)
- For bi-directional piston actuators, place the control valve as close to the
actuator as
possible (this reduces the back pressure on the exhaust side of the piston)

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