# Give me ideas for air cylinder use



## AGCB97 (Sep 20, 2018)

I've come across a few Pneumatic cylinders and am wondering what I can make with them. I believe they are in the neighborhood of 2" x 12". Please put your imaginations to work and give me some ideas. Also maybe a website with design fundamentals.
Thanks
Aaron


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## Downunder Bob (Sep 20, 2018)

wind chimes comes to mind.


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## C-Bag (Sep 20, 2018)

That's very open ended question in a field that is so huge and diverse as pneumatics is. If you look on eBay I'm pretty sure you'll be amazed and swamped with the variation in sizes and motions. I worked in fruit and veg packing for 10 yrs and most of the automation was done with pneumatics. They are clean compared to hydraulics, fast and less expensive. Lots of machines in the packing house were air operated like box fillers, labelers and box makers to name a few. Most of small robotic test beds are pneumatic. 

My metal forming stuff is all pneumatic because I work with 1/8" wire so it's plenty strong for that. I'm also finishing up a automatic feed for my 14" verticle bandsaw using a 1/2"x 10" stroke air cyl based off Frank Ford's grav feed. 

Once you get the basic principles and realize pneumatics are not weak toys(any one of the machines I mentioned will tear a person up if you get tangled up with them), the application is endless.


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## Janderso (Sep 20, 2018)

We have a 6 ton bumper jack at work. It has been there since I began working at the dealership 32 years ago.
It uses shop air.
Yep, pneumatics are not wimpy.


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## Bob Korves (Sep 20, 2018)

They can also be used as low pressure hydraulic cylinders.  Perfect for a downfeed control on a band saw.


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## JPigg55 (Sep 20, 2018)

There's a myriad of possible uses, but can be limited by the constraints of the cylinders.
Bore, stroke, operating speed, and operating pressure define the force they can apply which also defines the possible uses.
You could make an air operated hydraulic jack, a door operator, or many other things. Add a little open source electronics and a linear scale and you have a pneumatic positioner.


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## AGCB97 (Sep 20, 2018)

All good ideas but I'm not sure I want to destroy them for windchimes. Windchimes are already pneumatic devices, how could they be improved


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## Shootymacshootface (Sep 20, 2018)

Halloween is coming. You could make something that will scare the **** out of people walking to your front door.


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## pineyfolks (Sep 20, 2018)

You could make the ultimate can cruncher for recycling.


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## Ken from ontario (Sep 20, 2018)

Pneumatic cylinders can also be used on punch presses,either to replace  mechanical foot pedals or double safety hand pedals.


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## bhigdog (Sep 20, 2018)

Use them for anything that imparts a linear or, connected to a crank, rotary motion. Let your imagination run wild. Make anything from the mentioned can crusher to a multi cylinder air motor driving a screw driven wedge log splitter...................Bob


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## AGCB97 (Sep 20, 2018)

C-Bag said:


> My metal forming stuff is all pneumatic because I work with 1/8" wire so it's plenty strong for that. I'm also finishing up a automatic feed for my 14" verticle bandsaw using a 1/2"x 10" stroke air cyl based off Frank Ford's grav feed.



What kind of metal forming stuff do you have? I don't understand your statement.
I'd like to see your progress on that automatic feed



Ken from ontario said:


> Pneumatic cylinders can also be used on punch presses to replace  mechanical foot pedals or double safety hand pedals.



I hate that pedal on my punch press. One will surely replace it!


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## hman (Sep 20, 2018)

A 2" air cylinder will produce ~250 lbs force with air at 80 PSI, or ~314 lbs with 100 PSI ... and that ain't hay!   You can design around these numbers when coming up with goodies to build. 

The speed at which the cylinder operates can be controlled by using flow control valves at the input and output ports:
https://www.grainger.com/category/p...+flow+control+valve?sst=subset&ts_optout=true
Lots of manufacturers offer such products.

Depending on whether the cylinder is equipped with a magnetic piston, various positions can be detected with strap-on sensors, either solid state or reed switches:
https://www.grainger.com/category/c...c-system-components/pneumatics/ecatalog/N-dem
https://www.automationdirect.com/ad...mponents/Pneumatic_Cylinder_Position_Switches

Enjoy!


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## Dave Smith (Sep 21, 2018)

you can put a handle knob on end of cyl rod and a hose on the other outlet for a liquid suction transfer pump-----they will quickly knock a squirrel off a bird feeder---your imagination will find many uses in projects---with valves and controllers you can control the power and speed of air cylinders.--they are very useful. Dave


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## homebrewed (Sep 21, 2018)

If you have a cheap band saw (4x6 category) you could make a downfeed attachment for it.


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## mmcmdl (Sep 21, 2018)

I made some very very large tiki torches out of some scrap cylinders from work . Machined bases and tops for them and o ringed everything together . They work and look great . A bit of overkill when I had too much time on my hands .


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