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Basic Pneumatics

Properties of Compressed Air Availability Easily stored in large volumes Simplicity in design and control Provides linear and rotary movement Installation Low system cost due to low component cost

Components have long working life resulting in longer system reliability Environmentally friendly Safety issues are minimized e.g.. Fire hazards; unaffected by overloads (actuators stall or slip) Pneumatic actuators in a system do not produce heat (except for friction) Properties of Compressed Air

Parts of a Pneumatic System What are they? and What do they Do?

Pressure Switch Compressor Drain Check Valve A Basic Pneumatic System Air Production and Distribution System Motor Tank Pressure Gauge Refrigerated Air Dryer Line Filter

Directional Valve A Basic Pneumatic System Air Consumption System Air Line Take-off Drain Conditioning Unit Actuator

Air Compression Reciprocating: Single stageDouble Stage

Air Compression Rotary: Vane Screw

Compressor

Air Receiver A pressure Vessel (Tank) normally made of metal and installed either horizontally or vertically. This vessel provides a volume of air to be utilized by the system and reduced the loading and unloading of the compressor. Air Receiver (Tank)

Air Treatment All atmospheric air carries both moisture and dust Inlet Filter Used to remove large particle dirt from entering the system. Used to prevent excessive wear of cylinder, piston rings and other moving parts in the initial stage of the system

Air Dryer Compressed air cannot hold the same amount of moisture as non compressed air. Once the air is compressed, some of the moisture condenses in the tank and is removed through a drain valve. The remaining moisture will rust internal components of the system and must be removed. One way this is done by sending the air through an air conditioned chamber which will condense more of the moisture which is present.

Regulating and Conditioning The compressed air to be used in a system needs to be treated because of contamination inside the system. An example of this could be the scaling of piped or worn seal material. A line filter is used to collect water and solid impurities. A Lubricator is used to vaporize oil into the air stream to lubricate moving parts in the system such as air tools A regulator is used to adjust the line pressure to a lower usable pressure needed for some tool applications.

Control Valves Double Pressure Operated 5 Port Valve 3 Port Pilot Valve

Actuators The work done by a pneumatic actuator can be linear or rotary. There are two basic types of linear cylinders Single-acting Double-acting