High-Tech Pneumatic?

[HaiThar]

OIC. For the horizontal movement, I think I will make my own pneumatic cylinder with a magnetic sphere in the middle of the piston. I will construct a magentic slide on top and control the piston with pressurized air...

This is getting pretty costly...

[mark.f]

Whoa, hold on. All of those ball valves and tees and crosses are not required to control a double-acting pneumatic cylinder.

Take a look at this valve, #62475K53. It's a four-way toggle-valve you can mount in your control panel. Albeit, it's not a three-position one, (which would allow you to have a center position for "stop" or "hold"), but you could install a small ball valve or other small valve before it to stop the flow of compressed air and hold it's position. You'd also have to grab a #10-32 x 1/8" NPT adapter to make hooking up easier.

[HaiThar]

Whoa, hold on. All of those ball valves and tees and crosses are not required to control a double-acting pneumatic cylinder.

Take a look at this valve, #62475K53. It's a four-way toggle-valve you can mount in your control panel. Albeit, it's not a three-position one, (which would allow you to have a center position for "stop" or "hold"), but you could install a small ball valve or other small valve before it to stop the flow of compressed air and hold it's position. You'd also have to grab a #10-32 x 1/8" NPT adapter to make hooking up easier.

This isnt for one cylinder. This is for 3 cylinders, two verticals and a horizontal. You are correct though, I could ditch the elaborate setup on the horizontal, but it would just be the same as what I'm already using and probably more costly. You are forgetting that there has to be a way for air to go OUT as well as in.

[clide]

You are forgetting that there has to be a way for air to go OUT as well as in.

Thats what the 4-way is for. One port for air in, 2 ports going to the cylinder, and 1 port for exhaust. You would need two 4-ways, one for vertical movement and one for horizontal. You could probably even design it with a 3-way for the vertical and use the weight to move the other direction.

[HaiThar]

You are forgetting that there has to be a way for air to go OUT as well as in.

Thats what the 4-way is for. One port for air in, 2 ports going to the cylinder, and 1 port for exhaust. You would need two 4-ways, one for vertical movement and one for horizontal. You could probably even design it with a 3-way for the vertical and use the weight to move the other direction.

That's pretty much how I have it set up right now, it's just hard to see or understand in the diagram, the only difference is that I have it all connected up to one inlet point.

[mark.f]

How about a pneumatic circuit diagram? They're a little easier to comprehend than 3d drawings.

I see what Clide is saying about the three-way and a single-acting cylinder for vertical movement. Maybe a flow-regulator on the exhaust of the three way to bring the launcher down nice and smooth. Three-way ball-valves are definitely cheaper than four-way control valves, I will say that.

Keep in mind that unless you want to pay over 60 bucks, your four-way valve is going to most probably be two position, so you will need a ball-valve before it to turn the cylinder "off", (hold it in place).

[HaiThar]

Hmm...I'm not sure how I could show or animate it. Basically, all the sprinkler valves are exhaust valves(except for one). The horizontal cylinder is just an airtight piston(like in a gun) inside PVC with a magnet in a middle of it. On top of the PVC pipe there is a magenetic slide. So when the piston inside the cylinder moves to the right, the magnet pulls the slide on top outside of the cylinder to the right. For the vertical cylinders, they are ordered as two way cylinders, but I will only be using a single input, as gravity will pull the cylinder back down. The verticals wills be controlled simultaneously and therefore I can use a single 4 way valve to control the entire system, along with seperate exhaust systems.

If it's still not clear, I suppose I can make a diagram.