We were very fortunate that James Paskell stepped in at short notice to give us a lecture on developments in Pneumatics over the last fifteen to twenty years. James is a well travelled engineer, working for Thorite of Bradford.
He began his lecture by giving us some background history. The first records of pneumatics tell of the use of animal skin bellows by the ancient Greeks. The modern way to compress air is by using the three main types of compressor, namely, reciprocating, vane and screw types. James pointed out that although compressors are only about 20% efficient, compressed air plays an enormous part in the field of automation, often providing motive power in a cheaper, safer, more flexible, and more reliable way than a large number of electric motors and actuators.
The commonest pneumatic actuator is the cylinder, or piston actuator. These cylinders have been improved by the addition of cushioning valves at each end of the stroke in order to eliminate wear and damage to mechanical handling systems. James also described the effectiveness of locating actuating valves close to the cylinder to drastically reduce the pressure requirements within a pneumatic system.
Many examples of applications were shown during this illustrated talk, along with short video presentations. James answered some interesting questions both during, at at the end of his talk which was greatly enjoyed by those present.
Venue: The REA Scandinavia Trust Meeting Hall
Date: Thursday 28th March 2013
Time: 7.15 p.m.