Low Pressure Pneumatics

This Technology Enhancement Programme (TEP) publication is about the TEP low-pressure pneumatics system. This provides a comprehensive teaching resource made up of low-cost components connected by standard PVC tubing. The system offers excellent performance at pressures as low as 0.5 bar for a fraction of the price of commercial equipment. It also provides important practical insights into the way air cylinders are designed and built. Since the early days of pneumatics work in schools and colleges, there has been a quiet revolution in the way commercial air systems are designed and built. It is now commonplace to use programmable electronic devices, including programmable logic controllers, to provide the control function, with air for primary power only. The TEP system makes it possible to emulate this concept through the use of either one of its two PLC-type controllers. These provide 'intelligent' air control via the use of a unique, mainly-plastic solenoid valve. This handbook describes the parts of the low pressure system and simple applications examples. The contents include:

• Low pressure pneumatics system
• Assembling a TEP air cylinder
• Stages in construction of a cylinder
• Solenoid valves
• 'Bit by bit' control
• PLC chip control
• Dedicated electronic control
• Sequential control
• The pet bottle
• The Isonic solenoid valve
• TEP bit by bit controller