Air Motors!

This video shows the three different types of compressed air motors made for ME 2900, “Introduction to Design in Mechanical Engineering,” at The Ohio State University.


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2 Comments

  1. Just for the record, the original two-cylinder air motor was completely mechanical, but the radial motors (6 cylinder and 9 cylinder) both use the Arduino to control the air flow to each cylinder. All new Mechanical Engineering students at Ohio State take this course, which requires them to spend seven weeks in the machine shop, and seven weeks learning to program Arduinos. The course has been a big hit with the students!

  2. There is actually “air logic” – the equivalent of relays using compressed air. (I could also mention vacuum was used under the hood of engines before we had microprocessors).

    I was working where they were using a gasoline like fluid that could go to explosive levels if it leaked, so you didn’t want anything electrical outside a really, really, sealed case. But to manipulate things including servos and mechanics, they used compressed air, and even the equivalent of and/or/not gates.

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